Ahmed Haj Ahmed '26 - Self-Design

This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at the University of Maryland, where I worked on cutting-edge research in the field of multimodal question answering under the guidance of Professor Jordan Boyd-Graber. As a Computer Science major passionate about machine learning and natural language processing, this experience was transformative in many ways.

One of the most exciting aspects of my internship was the chance to lead significant research efforts. I was responsible for conducting a comprehensive literature review on multimodal question answering, which allowed me to identify critical gaps in the audio modality. Building on these findings, we created a state-of-the-art benchmark dataset of audio-based question-answer pairs, advancing audio-based QA for Generative AI research. Additionally, I developed pipelines to evaluate state-of-the-art audio language models using this benchmarking dataset, which improved model assessment accuracy. My work is contributing to a research paper that is being prepared for submission to top conferences in the field.

The program provided an environment that was both challenging and supportive, pushing me to grow as a researcher while offering the resources and mentorship needed to succeed. My biggest takeaway from this experience is the realization of how much I enjoy the process of identifying gaps in existing technologies and working to create solutions that push the field forward. This experience has solidified my aspiration to pursue a career in research, where I can continue to contribute to advancements in AI and machine learning.

I’m grateful for the funding provided by the Whitehead Internship Fund, which made this opportunity possible, and for the chance to work alongside such a talented and passionate group of researchers. This summer has been a defining moment in my academic career, and I look forward to continuing this journey.