Advanced NLP Seminar (11-713)
Course Description
This course aims to improve participants' knowledge of current
techniques, challenges, directions, and developments in all areas of
NLP (i.e., across applications, symbolic formalisms, and approaches to
the use of data and knowledge); to hone students' critical technical
reading skills, oral presentation skills, and written communication
skills; to generate discussion among students across research groups
to inspire new research.
Format
In a typical semester, a set of readings will be selected (with
student input) primarily from the past 2-3 years' conference
proceedings (ACL and regional variants, EMNLP, and COLING), journals
(CL, JNLE), and relevant collections and advanced texts. Earlier
papers may be assigned as background reading. In 2010, the readings were recent dissertations in NLP. The format of each
meeting will include a forty-minute, informal, critical student
presentation on the week's readings, with presentations rotating among
participants, followed by general discussion. Apart from the presentation
and classroom participation, each student will also be graded on writing assignments (e.g., in 2009 and 2010, each student wrote a
3-4-page white paper outlining a research proposal for new work
extending research discussed in class; in 2011 there was a collective journal).
White paper assignment instructions (2010)
White paper assignment instructions (2009)