WEBVTT 00:00:01.740 --> 00:00:04.900 The Max Planck Institute for Informatics was founded a 00:00:04.920 --> 00:00:08.340 little over 30 years ago and was the first instute 00:00:08.340 --> 00:00:13.440 in the Max Planck Society entirely dedicated to research in computer science. 00:00:13.440 --> 00:00:17.100 We strive to be one of the world's leading research institutions 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:19.740 that address frontier research questions 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:22.500 on the foundation of computer science. 00:00:23.100 --> 00:00:26.240 These are in particular in the areas of algorithms, 00:00:26.500 --> 00:00:30.500 networking, computer vision, graphics, and machine learning. 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:34.140 We believe that these are the essence of what 00:00:34.140 --> 00:00:36.180 drives the future of computing. 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:40.720 I think MPI really stands out in the pursuit 00:00:40.740 --> 00:00:43.320 of high quality, high impact research. 00:00:43.320 --> 00:00:46.560 I would like to see it as a utopia for researchers 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:51.180 who can die very deep into the topic any topic they choose. 00:00:51.720 --> 00:00:54.780 Our institute provides an environment to really 00:00:54.780 --> 00:00:58.620 deeply think about this longstanding far reaching research questions 00:00:58.620 --> 00:01:03.060 that we need to solve in order to develop the computing systems of the future. 00:01:04.500 --> 00:01:07.560 The Institute is extremely successful not only in terms 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:11.040 of publication, for example more than 600 peer-reviewed 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:14.940 publications within the last two years in top venues, but also 00:01:14.940 --> 00:01:17.160 in influencing industry. 00:01:18.240 --> 00:01:21.640 The people around me are quite motivated and fascinated 00:01:21.660 --> 00:01:24.600 with their own research work, which motivates me as well. 00:01:24.600 --> 00:01:27.120 It's really a fun place to work. 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:30.180 People collaborate and exchange ideas across 00:01:30.180 --> 00:01:33.600 the departments and also with the broader community outside. 00:01:34.740 --> 00:01:37.960 The MPI for Informatics offers great opportunity to 00:01:37.980 --> 00:01:41.760 PhD students because we have multiple structured programs that 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:45.360 are there to actually match the interest of the PhD 00:01:45.360 --> 00:01:48.600 student with the various different research topics that are 00:01:48.600 --> 00:01:50.700 available at the Institute. 00:01:51.500 --> 00:01:54.840 Current research focuses on various different topics, 00:01:54.840 --> 00:01:58.260 including algorithms, machine learning and computer 00:01:58.260 --> 00:02:00.500 graphics, as well as networking. 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:06.000 On the one hand, we look on very foundational aspects, algorithms and complexity 00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:09.480 as well as logics, computational logics. 00:02:09.480 --> 00:02:12.540 But we also look into other multimodal areas, like 00:02:12.540 --> 00:02:16.260 information systems, networked systems, computer graphics, computer 00:02:16.260 --> 00:02:20.220 vision, as well as geometric processing, for instance. 00:02:20.220 --> 00:02:23.280 And more recently, it has also become much more important 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:26.880 to look into the aspects of machine learning and artificial 00:02:26.880 --> 00:02:31.000 intelligence, in particular also at the intersection to these areas, which I mentioned. 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:35.580 We have excellent research infrastructure in many regards, 00:02:35.580 --> 00:02:40.440 such as the GPU, the computing, the data recording facilities, and the light stage. 00:02:40.440 --> 00:02:43.240 This enables you to do exciting research projects. 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:47.740 Within the departments, but also across the departments at the Institute, 00:02:47.760 --> 00:02:50.940 there are very intense collaborations, very open discussions 00:02:50.940 --> 00:02:54.240 to identify new and challenging research questions. 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:59.380 The day-to-day research culture is, I think, excellent in 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:02.700 the sense that there is always a chance to 00:03:02.700 --> 00:03:06.300 bump into extremely talented people and with a lot of occasion 00:03:06.300 --> 00:03:11.640 for collaboration and to get feedback just by simply talking to who's around. 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.460 We have strong and experienced researchers at all levels who 00:03:15.480 --> 00:03:19.200 are very happy to supervise and mentor you along your project. 00:03:19.200 --> 00:03:22.260 The most important thing as a mentor is to bring 00:03:22.260 --> 00:03:25.500 out their motivation and build their confidence, making 00:03:25.500 --> 00:03:27.600 them believe they can do great research. 00:03:27.600 --> 00:03:31.680 The PhD experiences is mostly 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:35.100 related to having the chance to test out the ideas 00:03:35.100 --> 00:03:38.580 that I have and to be able to get good guidance 00:03:38.580 --> 00:03:43.240 and mentorsship from worldwide the leaders in the in the field that I work on. 00:03:43.740 --> 00:03:48.160 The community at MPI Informatics is very vibrant and international. 00:03:48.180 --> 00:03:51.840 There are people from all around the world with whom we exchange ideas. 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:54.600 The institute is overall extremely international. 00:03:54.600 --> 00:03:57.300 There are people coming from every place in the world. 00:03:57.300 --> 00:04:00.420 It's very easy to feel it in our day-to-day experience with 00:04:00.420 --> 00:04:04.080 a lot of influence from a lot of cultures that still comes 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:06.360 out with a strong sense of integration. 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:10.180 I would say it is chill, but at the same time, high efficiency, 00:04:10.200 --> 00:04:12.360 so people here work together very nicely. 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:15.900 I really enjoy hanging out with my colleagues and students 00:04:15.900 --> 00:04:18.720 and working on tough problems with them. 00:04:19.500 --> 00:04:23.280 Mentorship is an integral part of our mission at our institute. 00:04:23.280 --> 00:04:26.460 This applies to all career levels from incoming students 00:04:26.460 --> 00:04:30.000 over PhD students and postdocs to faculty members 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:33.960 Thru individual supervision, regular research discussions and meetings, 00:04:33.960 --> 00:04:37.320 we aim to help them grow to become leaders in their field and 00:04:37.320 --> 00:04:40.500 develop an impactful research agenda in computer science. 00:04:40.500 --> 00:04:43.980 We also take pride in preparing them to become world leaders 00:04:44.340 --> 00:04:46.340 in their areas after they graduate. 00:04:46.340 --> 00:04:49.200 The campus is home to 00:04:49.200 --> 00:04:53.400 around 1000 scientists and nearly 3000 computer science 00:04:53.400 --> 00:04:57.360 students from across the globe. With expertise, 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:01.140 spanning computer science and related disciplines, 00:05:01.140 --> 00:05:04.260 SIC provides an outstanding environment 00:05:04.740 --> 00:05:06.740 for research and education. 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:09.540 The Max Planck Institute for Informatics is a key 00:05:09.540 --> 00:05:13.200 partner at the Saarland Informatics Campus or SIC for short. 00:05:13.200 --> 00:05:16.200 SIC unites various world class computer science 00:05:16.200 --> 00:05:19.680 research institutions that work closely together to drive innovation in 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:23.040 the field. Our partnerships within SIC include collaborations 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:25.860 with the neighboring Max Planck Institute for Software Systems 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.800 the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, 00:05:29.820 --> 00:05:33.660 Saarland University, and in particular the faculty members of Computer Science, Mathematics, 00:05:33.660 --> 00:05:37.740 and Computational Linguistics, as well as the Center for Bioinformatics. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:43.000 We also closely collaborate with faculty at the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security. 00:05:43.380 --> 00:05:46.740 So I think in many ways, the MPI provides a unique environment 00:05:46.740 --> 00:05:50.280 compared to other institutions, both in terms of the academic 00:05:50.280 --> 00:05:53.760 freedom and the possibilities we have to think about these forefront research questions, 00:05:53.760 --> 00:05:56.880 but also in terms of the facilities and the resources that 00:05:56.880 --> 00:05:59.280 we have in order to conduct this research. 00:05:59.280 --> 00:06:02.460 To me, the hallmark of Max Planck Society is 00:06:02.460 --> 00:06:05.640 the excellence of research, from so many nobel prizes 00:06:05.640 --> 00:06:07.740 to a world-class scientists. 00:06:08.100 --> 00:06:10.140 I feel so proud to be one of them. 00:06:10.140 --> 00:06:14.040 So being at Max Planck, I remind myself I 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:17.280 should not only be a follower of some existing research 00:06:17.280 --> 00:06:22.500 area, but to build my own and shape how research influences our future.