Computer Vision News - January 2018

26 Computer Vision News Raquel Urtasun shooter. I played when I was little, and I played in university. Do you still play? Ah, no. I broke my knee many years ago. I play soccer. I love soccer. Football! The other word does not exist! [ both laugh ] I’ve been in America for too long… In which position on the field? Anything. I don’t like defense too much, but anything. Do you score many goals? Depends on the game. I play with my students in the summer weekly. I like doing that. I used to play with a team in Boston a while ago when I did my postdoc at MIT. Now I cannot commit to regular practices, but I definitely like sports a lot. Team sports also can teach a lot of things. They are very useful for research, sacrificing for the team and always having team goals instead of individual goals. This is super important. I hope that my students learn the same. What did you learn in Canada that you couldn’t learn in Europe? Canada has a very good trade-off between the North American research style and the European style of living. Also Canada is very welcoming to immigrants. Toronto is a fantastic city and very diverse. I think 50% of the population is from a different country, and what they really appreciate is that you don’t need to change the way you are. Actually, people like to see diversity and different opinions. They expect you to continue with your traditions, which is really interesting. What does it mean to you when you discover new things every time? I think it’s a really interesting part about research: to do something that nobody has done before. I really drive my curiosity these days when I wake up in the morning, and I run to the lab to see what happened, to see the answers to some of the questions I asked my students, to see what is the new thing that we have done. You have many drives: curiosity, passion and cooperation. At the same time, you have all of the things that you enjoy: a team that works together, people that care about each other, a society and corporations that care about people. How are you able to fulfill all of these goals and drives? I don’t know, but I’m in a position where all those things are coming together right now. It’s not necessarily something that I planned. It just turns out to be. You are a lucky girl! But at the same time, it is important for everyone to see that the opportunities are there and not be passive about, but try to get these opportunities. When I grew up, I studied undergrad in a university that nobody knows about. I also had to grow from nothing to what I am today. It’s just a matter of trying hard and discovering what you’re good at, then have your passion and your expertise match. Then you can go really far! What would you advise to a young student who does not have these opportunities? Don’t stay passive. Always look for opportunities. Without that, I would never have had many of the opportunities “ Then you can go really far! ” Guest