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Double degree, twice the opportunities

A doctoral degree can open up many doors. Double that, and you might just double the opportunities available to you both during and after your studies. 

  • Text by Maj Vuorre
  • Photo by Varpu Heiskanen
Photo of Alexey Sholokhov, Mikko Kurimo, Tomi Kinnunen and Yuri N. Matveev.
Alexey Sholokhov after the public examination of his thesis, accompanied by Professor Mikko Kurimo from Aalto University, Associate Professor Tomi Kinnunen and Professor Yuri N. Matveev.

Alexey Sholokhov MSc defended his doctoral dissertation in Joensuu last December. Thanks to a double degree programme between the University of Eastern Finland and ITMO University in Russia, Sholokhov will obtain a PhD from both. His doctoral dissertation is in the field of computer science, focusing on speaker recognition. 

“When you study in a double degree programme, you meet more interesting people and you have more opportunities for collaboration. Good connections and networks are very important for science and research,” Sholokhov says. 

During his PhD studies, he contributed to the work of both Finnish and Russian research groups. 

The double degree programme between UEF and ITMO University began in 2012, following some joint summer schools and collaboration in research.  
 
“We have a very strong team between ITMO University and UEF, especially in speaker recognition. Associate Professor Tomi Kinnunen at the University of Eastern Finland is a globally recognised, leading specialist of speaker recognition. This is why we are happy to collaborate on this topic,” Professor Yuri N. Matveev from ITMO University says. 
 
 

Speech is the primary mode of communication between humans. Speech signals contain biometric data, which can be used in biometric security systems similarly to face recognition and fingerprint scanning. However, automated speaker recognition systems are difficult to build because many different factors affect speech signals, such as the speaker’s emotional state or their health. 

“My thesis focused on increasing the accuracy of automatic speech processing systems, with an emphasis on voice biometrics. I’m happy to say that I have managed to improve the robustness of speaker recognition systems and the current state of technology a little bit,” Sholokhov says. 

He hasn’t made up his mind about the future just yet: 
“One option is to continue my career in academia and apply for a postdoc position – maybe even here in Joensuu, or in some other city or country. The other option is to start working for a speech technology company.”