Kristina Cergol visited the Institute for Language, Cognition and Computation,
University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK from 10/05/2023 to 25/05/2023
Edinburgh. Being immersed into this city’s history, its almost palpable drive to carry out research and gather new knowledge and the fact that it has yielded numerous ground-breaking discoveries over centuries in the course of – and often in spite of – its turbulent history was an immense privilege and joy. Being involved into the MultiplEYE COST action has provided me with the opportunity to work with experts across fields with the aim to connect computer science and psycholinguistics and deepen research into cross-linguistic natural language reading as set by the MultiplEYE aims.
Edinburgh is a very welcoming city and I felt at home here from the moment I set foot onto its grounds. Amazing history emanates from every stone of its beautiful Georgian architecture and the local people take rightful pride in being part of this great nation.
At the University of Edinburgh, the international scholars I have worked with have readily sparked my interest into computational modelling, providing me with the information I needed to get involved with the corresponding matter – the reason I came here in the first place. The Informatics Forum of the University of Edinburgh is one of the few places in the world where computer science, cognitive science and psycholinguistics come together and join efforts in uncovering the mysteries of language processing and the human mind. I have enjoyed lively discussions at the Informatics Forum where scholars from across different fields meet to discuss their research interests.
Upon my arrival, I was assigned an office and access to the University library and scholarly facilities. Moreover, I could enjoy a number of meeting areas inside the Informatics Forum building designed to accommodate discussions between scholars and the sharing of ideas.
My host, professor Frank Keller, has readily connected me with colleagues with whom I share academic interests. He has also provided me with information on cutting edge talks and lectures connected to the MultiplEYE objectives and my research interests that I attended and much appreciated. All these scholarly efforts have resulted in a number of common research topics we hope to pursue in the future.
Two weeks felt like a couple of days and I have left Edinburgh and its fantastic University deeply content, knowing that I shall keep in touch and cross paths with its scholars again.