MSR Asia StarBridge Program

The research project I collaborated on with MSRA and my research group at MIT focused on neural network detection of new physics. Our interests aligned perfectly, leading to a seamless partnership. Prior to this, I mostly worked independently (except for discussions with my advisor), but here, I learned the value of discussing and collaborating with more colleagues and peers. The free academic atmosphere at MSRA is fantastic. My mentor not only guided me but also fully listened to my ideas. In the future, I won’t limit myself to academia. I will consider collaborating with industrial research institutes (especially MSR). Students are the stars, and Microsoft is the bridge, helping students move towards a bright future. 

Binqi Sun
Software Analytics 

During my time at MSRA, my research focused on modeling the classic test set generation problem in software testing as a problem of maximizing coverage under SAT constraints. I felt that my research skills improved significantly, and I gained many like-minded friends. Interacting with researchers and peers from different fields broadened my perspective and vision. The StarBridge program builds a bridge for recent graduates entering the research field, connecting them to more advanced research areas at the beginning of their research careers. I am currently starting my PhD journey at TUM in Germany and am very eager to establish a similar bridge between my research group and MSRA for more collaborative opportunities in the future. 

Wulannaren
Computational Learning Theory Group 

I am very grateful to the StarBridge program for giving me the opportunity to pursue my research interests during a difficult period. My work is related to biomedical sciences, and during my time at StarBridge, I also gained insights into how other disciplines approach problems and focus on key challenges. This experience enhanced my research skills and gave me a deeper understanding of company projects. 

Bo Li
AI/ML Group (Shanghai)

Firstly, I am very grateful to the StarBridge program for helping students who could not go to the US due to the pandemic, allowing us to gain a deeper understanding of MSRA. I interned at the LAB in Shanghai. In the short term, this internship provided me with excellent research and work experience, advancing my current research plans. In the long term, I witnessed many collaborative projects between Microsoft and external companies, such as AI service projects with SPD Bank and energy companies. By empowering traditional industries with technology, these collaborations help transform and upgrade the sectors, creating new profit opportunities. These insights have motivated me to pursue production-based research, hoping that my future research can contribute to real-world applications. In short, the StarBridge program may guide my future career development direction. 

Jingye Chen
Natural Language Processing Group

I gained a lot from the StarBridge program. Besides coming up with more meaningful ideas, I also developed a deeper understanding of the research process. For example, I learned the importance of making your work more visible after publishing a paper, such as by building a demo. These are things I only truly learned after joining StarBridge. During my time at MSRA, I worked on three projects: some were continuations of previous work, and some were new ventures. I successfully published a paper in EMNLP-Findings and AAAI, and I currently have another paper under review. After joining StarBridge, my mentor advised me to choose research directions with more impact. This advice changed my approach to selecting research topics. As its name suggests, “serve as a bridge”, this experience helped me transition smoothly from a master’s student to a PhD candidate. I am very passionate about my current research direction, and StarBridge has given me the motivation and goals to continue pursuing my research career. 

Hao Pan
Wireless Group (Shanghai)

During my time at MSRA, I worked with Professor Li Li Qiu to pioneer a new research direction: designing a ground station system for low Earth orbit satellite communications based on intelligent metasurfaces. Throughout the project, we achieved hardware design innovations and successfully applied them to low Earth orbit satellite communication scenarios. This project was ultimately accepted by MobiCom 2023, a top conference in mobile computing and networking. After the StarBridge program ended, I joined MSRA to continue my research exploration with Professor Qiu. Joining StarBridge has been immensely beneficial to me. It was such a great honor to collaborate with Professor Qiu on academic projects. She constantly proposes new research directions and topics with an open, brainstorming approach, which has been highly inspiring for me. 

During the project, I also met and discussed academic topics with many outstanding researchers from renowned universities worldwide, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, Yale, CMU, Wisconsin, and Rice University. I believe the StarBridge program can serve as a unique bridge for students who are still uncertain or in a gap period, helping them achieve their goals more quickly and effectively.