Project Title: Discovering Novel Strategies with Reinforcement Learning
Partner Organisation: Australian Institute of Sport
PhD Student at QUT
Supervisors: Dr Simon Denman, Dr Kien Nguyen Thanh, and Dr Tharindu Fernando Warnakulasuriya
Mengmeng was born in the capital of China, Beijing. She finished her Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering from Beijing University of Technology, where she graduated with top honours. She then went on to complete her Master’s degree with distinction in Signal Processing and Communications at University of Edinburgh. She has worked in the financial sector in both China and Australia after graduation and settled down in Sydney in the past few years.
What made you interested in this program?
For the past few years, I have been working in the financial industry, but my true passion has always been in the field of machine learning, in particular, applying algorithms to develop with strategies. Previously, I have utilised basic machine learning techniques for horse racing and stock market predictions. I felt incredibly excited when I discovered this project involving the utilisation of reinforcement learning in the sports industry. I believe the sports domain offers opportunities for efficient exploration and innovative application of reinforcement learning.
What research question are you looking forward to exploring?
I will seek to develop novel reinforcement methods and explore how these methods can be used within a sporting context to discover new sporting strategies. For example, efficiently incorporating information from external simulation tools and imitation learning into a RL pipeline.
Fun fact about yourself?
I prefer to reside in a country for an extended period, allowing me to deeply immerse myself in the culture and gain a genuine understanding, rather than experiencing it superficially as a typical tourist would in just a few days. I have had the pleasure of studying in some stunning cities, such as Beijing, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, and Sydney, and looking forward for the new adventures in Brisbane and Melbourne.