Aditya Bhattacharjee

What’s your thesis title?
My thesis title is “Self-supervision in Audio Query-based Search and Retrieval.”

Can you summarise your research in one sentence?
My research develops self-supervised methods that allow systems to recognise and retrieve songs or sound effects from a database, even when the audio snippet is distorted by creative editing, background noise, or vocal imitation (like humming or mimicking a sound).

Why did you choose to do your doctoral research at QMUL?
The Centre for Digital Music (C4DM) at QMUL is one of the most prolific research labs in AI and music. A doctoral research position here is highly sought after, and I am glad to be part of this team and contribute to its academic impact.

How does your research group support you?
I am constantly influenced by my peers and their research. The diversity of expertise and backgrounds in our lab gives me the perfect environment to refine my ideas, validate them, and benefit from constructive criticism. Having some of the brightest minds around me is also deeply inspiring.

What’s a typical research day like for you?
A lot of research is collaborative. My days usually involve scheduled meetings with collaborators in our lab and with researchers from other universities. Our workflow often depends on the conference calendar; an upcoming deadline means caffeine-fuelled writing and editing, while other times are spent on development, programming, training machine learning models, and reading research literature. My work is also punctuated by teaching responsibilities, which I find deeply fulfilling.

What’s been your most exciting research experience so far?
I was awarded an enrichment placement by The Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute in artificial intelligence and data science. My placement is hosted by the institute's Fundamental Research in Data Science and AI programme, and I feel honoured by the prestige of this opportunity. It has given me a platform to share my research with a wider audience and opened doors to exciting collaborations with leading researchers in the field.

Any advice for anyone about to start their PhD journey?
Don’t be afraid to fail. During your PhD, you will inevitably encounter dead ends, and it may feel like you should have foreseen them. But rejection and failure are part of the research process and they make the successes all the more rewarding.