Prospective Students

Join DELTA Lab

I am actively recruiting PhD students, research interns, and engineers to join DELTA Lab at Shanghai Innovation Institute. We focus on using AI and data to solve real-world decision-making problems.

Research Directions

Our lab works on the intersection of AI, Data, and Decision Making:

• Collective Intelligence: Scalable human-in-the-loop data annotation methods to enhance AI capabilities
• Event Perception & Forecasting: AI-powered global event perception and prediction systems
• Data-driven Decision Systems: Applying ML models to improve decision-making in various domains

What I’m Looking For

Ideal Candidates

I value execution ability and curiosity over traditional metrics. The ideal candidate:

• Has strong programming skills (language doesn’t matter)
• Is genuinely curious about data, AI, or decision-making
• Has hands-on project experience (scale doesn’t matter)
• Is comfortable with “learning by doing”
• Can work independently while being a good team player

What Matters Less

• Perfect GPA (though academic foundation helps)
• Existing publications (nice to have, not required)
• Specific technical background (we welcome cross-disciplinary candidates)

What You’ll Get

Training Philosophy

My training philosophy emphasizes practice over theory:

• Real Projects: Everyone works on real data and real problems
• Engineering Skills: Git, Docker, cloud services, databases - these are fundamentals
• Full-stack Data Awareness: From data collection, cleaning, to analysis
• Collaboration: Code reviews, documentation, teamwork

Resources

• Adequate computing resources (GPU clusters)
• Research funding for conferences and collaborations
• Small team = more personal attention
• Access to industry connections (VC, startups, tech companies)

Career Paths

Our alumni pursue diverse careers:

• Academia (research positions)
• Industry (AI/ML engineers, data scientists)
• Startups (founders, early employees)
• Finance (quant researchers)

About Shanghai Innovation Institute

Shanghai Innovation Institute (上海创智学院) is a unique cross-university collaborative platform. Key features:

• Multi-school Collaboration: Students maintain enrollment at their home universities (SJTU, Fudan, ECNU, Westlake, etc.) while receiving joint training
• Industry Connection: Strong ties with industry partners
• Flexible Training: Customized research directions based on student interests
• Resource Sharing: Access to resources across multiple institutions

How to Apply

PhD Students

• Check the admission requirements of your target university (SJTU, Fudan, etc.)
• Contact me before the application deadline with:
  • Your CV
  • A brief description of your research interests
  • Any relevant project/publication links

Research Interns

• Minimum 3-month commitment (6+ months preferred)
• Send me:
  • Your CV
  • Available time period
  • What you hope to learn/achieve

Engineers

• We occasionally hire full-time engineers for data infrastructure and ML systems
• Check our job postings or send an inquiry

Contact

Email: lyk [at] sii.edu.cn

Please use a clear subject line like: [Prospective PhD/Intern/Engineer] Your Name - University

I try to respond to all serious inquiries, but please understand if responses are delayed during busy periods.

FAQ

Q: Do I need publications to apply? A: No. Hands-on experience and genuine interest matter more than publication count.

Q: What’s the typical PhD duration? A: Depends on your home university’s policy (typically 4-5 years in China).

Q: Can international students apply? A: Yes, but you’ll need to meet the admission requirements of the partnering Chinese universities.

Q: What programming languages should I know? A: Python is most common in our lab, but we care more about your ability to learn than your current stack.