Himanshu Sharma(LTRC)

Details

Name: Himanshu sharma
Research Experience(years): 3
Lab: LTRC
Occupation: Student
Professor: Dr.Soma Paul, Dr.Dipti Misra Sharma
Area of Interests: Natural Language Processing
Email Id: himanshu.sharma@research.iiit.ac.in

Motivation to pursue research

What was your intention or motivation to join a research program before you joined IIIT H? Interest,Aim and Purpose that made you pursue research program.

    Initially, the disinterest to work in a corporate environment led me to choose research. I didn't wanted to work in an environment where the research or your subjects of interest were controlled by their economic value. Rather, I wanted to pursue a research area that contributes more to society and where I had the freedom to do research on a topic that I found worthy of being looked into.

How did you feel in your first semester when you have to select a lab and decide under which Prof. you have to work?

I actually decided my lab of interest (LTRC) before I joined the MS program. Although, I was sure what I wanted to do, I had no idea about the kind of work or the depth of the research area that I was opting for. Based on the courses and the exposure that I got in my first semester, I chose my Prof. and the area into which I wanted to pursue MS.

What was your motivation behind staying in Academics rather than joining industry ?
In your opinion,what are the major differences between academics and industry?

First one, as I have mentioned earlier is the economic value of your area of interest. Whether your field is eligible for commercialization is in my opinion a big let-down for people who want to pursue research. Even with a limited stipend, if one gets to work in a field that he/she thinks is contributing something to the society, then one is bound to take it.

Another important criteria I think is that one gets to collaborate with people working in other institutions, or independently over the same topic. For Ex. I can talk to a researcher that works in University of Columbia for my research topic. While, this kind of interaction is limited in industrial workspace.

Thesis

How did you choose your thesis area?And why did you choose that particular area?
    I chose my thesis area on the basis of exposure to the field that I got in my courses in first semester. Also, I was very much interested in this area, as compared to the other fields that were laid down before me.This field also had much scope of research rather than the areas that have already seen much of contributions in past 2-30 years.

How did you narrow down to your search(for your thesis problem)to one particular problem?
    I tried to see many problems and narrowed down to the one that was most basic to my research area. There are many problems at a lower level that create problems or effect the solutions to more abstract problems that are built over the same. So, I narrowed down the problem to the core of the final usable application that can be delivered as a solution for society.

How was your experience w.r.t paper (or thesis) writing and do have any tips that will make paper (or thesis) writing process an easy one?

One should always start documenting/recording the experiments as one does them. It's very hard to sit after all the experiments after they have been completed and then document them. If one keeps a record of the research activities and ideas everyday, then it is very easy to take snippets of text/ideas from there and embed them into the final version/report of thesis/paper.

Suggestions to existing research students at IIIT H

What do you suggest for newly joined research students with regard to choosing lab and enrolling under a Prof. ?
What should students consider while choosing a lab and enrolling under a Prof. ?
    Interest is the prime motive for selection of lab (CDE/CVIT/CSTAR/LTRC etc.). If one thinks that he/she has more than one area of interest and then they should take a few courses in many area of interests for a basic introduction and try to channel/narrow down their fields.
For choosing a professor, one should take care of the fact that the professor should be of help in their research area. Going after few professors because they are popular among the students is the biggest mistake one can make. Just because a professor is very popular in his/her field doesn't mean that he/she would guide you to good extent. Try to opt for professors who have done work previously in your research area of interest.

Does regular writing of your ideas and your understanding of a concept (or a research paper) in own words help? If yes how?

It helps in the sense that one can recall the experiment in a more familiar handwriting that one does while reading a third-party research paper. If I document the current experiment in my own words, then it is easier for me to go back and understand the experiment 3 months later. One can always rephrase the language for publishing purposes, but otherwise, it is best to document your results and experiments in your own language.

View about research at IIITH

In your opinion, how does environment at IIIT H helps an individual in pursuing research? Anything like freedom do it your own way, weather, green campus, ...
    The timings in lab are flexible, so it is easier for one to work in his/her daily schedule. The help from peer group is good in my area of interest (NLP-LTRC). The professors are hard-working and helpful even if they have to take that extra mile for contributing something. The labs are well equipped and the technical support is excellent and they quickly respond to problems.

How does research program at IIIT H helped in your overall growth as a responsible person(or citizen) of society(or India)?
    It helps me in realizing how one can pursue academia and still contribute a lot to the society in terms of creating applications or information creation. One gets to meet different researchers from different areas of computer-science (contextual here) and see how the applications complement each other when they are released in real-world. The society seems to be the end-user of whatever research we pursue.

Centre

How was your overall experience w.r.t work culture of your centre?

The work-ethics are very commendable. There is a support system for those who lack behind in some area. People are always helpful and try to promote your interest and push you to pursue whatever it is that you are interested in. The culture in LTRC promotes one to work collectively towards the betterment of solution rather than a bitter competitive work culture, which is certainly not the best way to provide society with a better solution.

Does discussions with fellow researchers in same centre helps? How does it help?
Importance of discussions with fellow researchers !!

Many times I see that the solutions used by other labs can also benefit my research topic and I can work-around their approach to make it suitable for work in my area. When we try to model the real world, usually the most simple of the solutions are applicable to every problem that we face. For finding these simple solutions and their applicability, cross-lab discussions are a must.

Final Comments

Please quote us your favourite tagline which let you 'get going'?

Jodi Tor Dak Shune Keu Na Ase Tobe Ekla Cholo Re,

"If they answer not to thy call, walk alone." -- RabindraNath Togore