����Ӱ��

Kais Allkivi, Junior Scientist, Tallinn University School of Digital Technologies

I had media classes in the 10th and 11th grades. That’s where I received my first media knowledge and some practical writing skills. Based on that knowledge, I applied for an internship at Õhtuleht during the summer break before 12th grade. I was happy when I was chosen and excited beyond measure. After three months of the summer internship I got the offer to continue the job part-time, if I only had the time and energy. So I started working as a journalist at a 0.7 part-time workload in 12th grade. The job did not hinder my studies, as my task was to publish stories about events related to culture and entertainment, which took place in the evenings or during weekends.

In the breaks between classes, I went to the library to see if anyone had answered my emails or if I had received a new and interesting work task. I was filled with energy and enthusiasm, and I was not the only one in my class whose mind was occupied with work during breaks. However, I felt exhausted in the spring of graduating from secondary school and needed some recovery.

During my studies for a reviewer-editor degree at university, my life continued in the same rhythm. I alternated between my studies and writing or editing articles for the newspaper. I also started working in research. For years, I was occupied by my two passions. While I found the Bachelor’s studies easy, it was difficult to pursue a Master’s and work at the same time. My supervisor encouraged me to apply for projects and take part in academics quite early in my Master’s studies, which I enjoyed. During my Master’s studies in linguistics, I managed to publish two scientific articles. When my studies were nearing their end, I was doubtful of whether or not to pursue a PhD.

I felt like I could not afford to give up my job in media. I had a wide range of contacts and a varied and interesting job, which also allowed me to socialise a lot. I had become an editor, meaning I managed my own topics and areas of responsibility. There was a lot that I had shaped by my own vision in Õhtuleht’s weekend papers. It hurt me to give it all away. The decision to leave was made after I realised that, as I had started working at a young age, I had already managed to accomplish a lot in media. The only logical next step would have been a managerial position in journalism, but I knew I would prefer a more hands-on job over constant meetings and delegating tasks.

I started a PhD to advance myself. I did not leave my job immediately. I remained as a part-time editor for my sections for another year, but every week, I felt like I was struggling to keep up. Six years ago, after I finished my first year of PhD studies, I had come to realise that science was a full-time job for me.

Leaving Õhtuleht was an emotional experience. I still miss some aspects of media work, especially the fun coworkers and fast-paced cultural life. In comparison, science work requires a lot of independence, which can make it seem quite lonely at first. Thankfully, the colleagues in my work group and the institute are very fun to be around.

Both scientists and journalists need to keep themselves up to date with new information and write a lot, but they have to do so in different ways. As a journalist, I had to keep my texts stylistically rich, vibrant and varied. As a scientist, it took time for me to get used to the fact that using synonyms might create confusion among readers about whether I was referring to the same thing or not.

My previous job in media imparted many positive qualities on me. A scientist needs to talk and write about complex topics in a manner that others would understand. As such, I got a head start in science communication. I am not afraid to talk about my science topics in an easy-to-understand fashion. Journalism also gave me the courage to network and talk to other scientists at public events.

Despite being a humanities student, I pursued my PhD at the School of Digital Technologies, which is also where my thesis supervisor worked. This seemed scary at first, as I felt out of place in the world of computers as a person who works with language, although my topic of research was still the Estonian language. I enjoy statistics, and I had previously used computer programs to analyse language. However, I never expected I would be creating programs myself.

One of my colleagues has said that a person who comes from a different field can sometimes create the best software, as they are the best at keeping the end-user’s needs in mind.

As a scientist, I dream and hope that the programs I help create will make studying a language more efficient and simple. I am researching possibilities of how computers can assist in evaluating the writing of first and second language learners. This tool would help receive and provide feedback during studies, but can also help check exam results, either as an additional grader or in place of a human expert. Current results show that a computer and a human grader can sometimes agree more than two different human graders.

The automatic grader is just one part of ELLE (Estonian Language Learning Environment), which provides tools for language learners, teachers and researchers. The environment already has a spelling and grammar checker and applications for analysing words and grammar. Nonetheless, we still have much to do. In our language technologies group, eight researchers are working on creating language study tools. We collaborate with peers from Tallinn University and beyond.

The joys of being a scientist:

• I am extremely happy when I receive feedback on scientific articles or presentations that highlight the practical value of my and my work group’s work.
• I feel great joy when I finish something. In science, you often need to put in a lot of effort to see results.
• I am glad when I manage to motivate students to participate in our project.

Career:

• Journalist – 11 years
• Scientist – 6 years

Education:
2018 Tallinn University School of Digital Technologies, PhD candidate
2016 Tallinn University, Master of Humanities (Linguistics), cum laude
2012 Tallinn University, Bachelor of Humanities (Reviewer-Editor), cum laude
2009 Tallinn School No. 21
 

More information about the exhibition