Lina Kramer

Can you tell us about your PhD?

I use a type of machine learning, called multi-agent reinforcement learning, as a tool to help optimise taxation for different countries. This sort of Artificial Intelligence (AI) could potentially help policy makers understand what could happen if they altered the tax system in different ways.

The goal is to help policy makers find the sweet spot between welfare and economic growth. Machine learning can factor in details about the country, the citizens, and other forces involved in labour supply and the economy. It could predict how citizens react to changes in taxation. 

How much research is there in this field already, and what are the challenges?

Use of AI in this field is very new, and it has not been used in the real world yet. There are only two projects that have used AI like this in recent years. I'm building on that research by adding further economic and political dynamics. But the approach has limitations. We can’t include cultural aspects, such as ‘my whole family votes Labour, so I will too’.

Where are you in your PhD?

I am starting my final year in the PhD. I started full time, and later switched to part-time. There is flexibility around this, and you can change mid-way through your PhD if needed.

Why did you choose King’s to do your PhD?

King’s is such a big university and very good at interdisciplinary work so that attracted me. I also wanted to be in a vibrant city, somewhere I could see myself enjoy life. I am from Germany and I don’t speak many languages besides English, so it had to be an English speaking country.

I worked in consulting for six years after my undergraduate degree and master's in Germany. But I always wanted to go back to university and do research. My degrees in Economics and Political Science were very broad and general. We didn’t get the chance to go into a lot of depth. I wanted to do something where I felt I could become an expert and a PhD was the way to do this. My reason for doing a doctorate is quite personal, for me it is about self-fulfilment.

Have there been any challenges during your PhD?

I started my PhD in the pandemic, and I had just moved to London without having lived here before. That wasn’t easy at all, I didn’t know anyone, didn’t have any community yet. Luckily the PhD community is great now, we were all so super desperate to connect. I have a really good friend group now.

How did you find your community after Covid?

I went back into the university as soon as possible. Once we were allowed to go back to the office, the PhD students started having lunch together. I also took a Department Representative role which helped me make connections to other departments in my faculty. I have friends in the Geography department, the War Studies department and others. I have a big community and I feel very much part of King’s.

Then I was voted in to be President of King's Doctoral Students Association. Through this I met a lot different people so I have an even bigger friend group now. I also met my boyfriend through King’s Doctoral Students Association, he just finished his PhD in Biomedical Engineering at King’s.

Can you tell us about your experience as President of King’s Doctoral Students Association?

It was a great experience, and I feel like I achieved a lot. We wanted to build a good structure to represent all of the doctoral students. So we brought in faculty representatives for every faculty and event coordinators for each campus.

We were a team of around 25 people, and were super active, running academic and social events. We also worked with the University to improve the support for PhD students.

It filled me with joy and it is the sort of work where you see the rewards quickly, which is in contrast to a PhD. It was good for my mental health, helping me out of the Covid blues.

How was your PhD funded?

I applied for the London Doctoral Training Programme and got a studentship from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). It is fully funded and I felt lucky that I got it.

What advice would you give to people trying to get PhD funding?

If you want to get a studentship in a competitive area you will need to apply early. It might also help if your research is on a trending topic. When AI became a topic of great interest to people, I felt like that helped my chances a lot.

What advice would you give to someone choosing a PhD now?

You need to pick your supervisors carefully. Try to meet with your main supervisor and have a proper discussion. Also ask them: What is your supervision style? How do you supervise students? Then ask yourself, is that the way I want to be supervised?

If your PhD project is multidisciplinary, it is worth considering having supervisors from different fields to give you access to wider range of expertise and different supervision styles. This can be very helpful, and I wasn’t aware I could do this at the start of my PhD. My advice would be to start your PhD and only then pick your second supervisor. You have about a month to confirm your supervisory team, and you’ll understand better what you need once you’ve settled into King’s and started your PhD project.

Have you done any training you would recommend to others?

Yes, I have done a bunch of training courses like 'Writing A Literature Review for the Social Sciences' and 'The Seven Secrets of Highly Successful Research Students'. King’s Doctoral College offers many useful courses for each area of the researcher development framework.

In addition, King’s offers free language courses to PhD students, and students can apply to audit undergraduate or postgraduate taught courses offered at King’s.

What do you want to do after your PhD?

I am fascinated by the whole topic of AI, and I am considering applying to research institutes that work with AI. But I can also see myself doing consulting work for the public sector again. Besides that I enjoy teaching, so I would like to continue that on a freelance base.

Have you had any career advice or support from King's?

Yes, King’s has an excellent careers and employability advice service. The service has lots of useful resources, and you can even book one-to-one slots to get personalised advice. I booked a career session this week to discuss a job I would like to apply for.

Even if you have no idea what you want to do, they can help guide you. I think it is always worth it to start thinking about what you want to do next early to make things easier later on.

What advice would you give to someone starting a PhD now?

I also think it is important to understand that even if you have a clear idea of your project in the beginning, it’s likely to evolve as you learn more about the topic. I was surprised about how many people changed the focus of their project, and I actually changed mine as well. I held on to the original project focus for way too long. I would have changed earlier if I knew it was ok.

Do you think that King’s listens to the views of PhD Students?

King's is a very good university. You can see the university trying to continuously improve the experience of PhD students. They respond to student input, as I saw first-hand in my role of President of the King’s Doctoral Students Association. Things get better every year.

I would recommend people get involved with the King’s Doctoral College and Doctoral Students Association during their PhD.