Zijie Feng - alumn from Statistics and Machine Learning
Name: Zijie Feng
Job: Industrial PhD Student at Micropower and Linnaeus University
Programme: Statistics and Machine Learning, graduated in 2021
How I got my job and what I do
I was quite unlucky as the COVID pandemic had just started when I applied for my degree project. My first project with a company was cancelled, but my new bioinformatical project from university contributes a lot to my further application to academic-oriented positions. I got the opportunity to attend many interviews, which led to a job as a data scientist at a pharmaceutical company in Shanghai, China. After 1 year, I returned to Sweden and got an internship at a startup in Lund from Jobbsprånget, researching image processing algorithms. Later, I got the opportunity to be an industrial PhD student at Linnaeus University and Micropower in Växjö.
Nowadays, a typical working week of mine tends to involve studying the company’s data and discussing project details and algorithms with our stakeholders and supervisors in the regular meetings, or the researchers I met from seminars or courses. However, the most important task is searching for free fruit, cookies, sandwiches and coffee in the workplace.
Why LiU?
I knew LiU from the program coordinator in my bachelor University. I remember that LiU was one of the first universities in Northern Europe that offering a master’s programme in machine learning and, on comparing syllabuses, I noticed that LiU provided the most statistical knowledge. So, I thought that LiU would give me a strong theoretical background.
When I began studying, what impressed me the most were the assignments and exams, which allowed me to fully utilise my maths background and improve my skills in programming. This fitted in well with my future career plans, allowing me to quickly complete data analysis, visualisation, cleaning and modelling using R or Python. Furthermore, the dormitory life was also nice. The sauna, study room, BBQ area, and the kitchen complete with dishwasher in the dormitory area provided me with many memories. I made a lot of friends there, who I biked with to nature reserves or took a bus to either Motala or Norrköping to experience a different city.
The most meaningful part of my time here, however, was meeting my wife. We shared countless moments together — studying, travelling, job hunting and navigating life during COVID in Linköping. When we planned our wedding in China, LiU surprised us with a heartfelt gift, and many friends we made at LiU joined us to celebrate. These experiences are ones I will cherish forever.
Some advice for future students
Get to know people, team up with different people, be active in the classroom and communicate with your teachers and classmates. Start planning your degree project in advance and, if you are OK, apply to be a research/teaching assistant; you can learn even more than the lecture. Be aware of the job fair LARM and don't hesitate to learn Swedish. The more people you know, the more people you will get to know, and that’s a good resource to have in your life!
