Skip to main content
Global main menu
Study
Study
Close menu
Skip to next tab
Areas of study
Foundation courses
Biological and biomedical sciences
Business and management
Chemical sciences
Comparative literature
Computer and data science
Dentistry
Drama
Economics and finance
Engineering
English
Environmental Science
Film studies
Geography
Global Development
Global and Public Health
History
Law
Liberal arts
Linguistics
Materials science
Mathematics
Medicine
Modern languages and cultures
Physics and astronomy
Politics and international relations
Psychology
Study at Queen Mary
Undergraduate study
Postgraduate study
Online study
International students
Short courses
Summer school
A-Z undergraduate courses
A-Z postgraduate taught courses
A-Z PhD subjects
Degree Apprenticeships
Experience Queen Mary
Why Queen Mary?
Accommodation
City campuses
Open days
Student life
The London advantage
Explore our campuses
About
About
Close menu
Skip to next tab
About home
Giving
Welcome
How to find us
Calendar
Our history
Alumni
Local community
Global
Facts and figures
Freedom of information
Who's who
Sustainability
Arts and Culture
The Medical College of Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital Trust
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Volunteering
Education and the student experience
Active Curriculum for Excellence
Research
Research
Close menu
Skip to next tab
Research and Innovation
Research home
Strategy, support and guidance
Research highways
Featured research
Facilities and resources
Publications
Postgraduate research degrees
News
Research impact
Research culture
Research by faculties and centres
Humanities and Social Sciences
Medicine and Dentistry
Science and Engineering
Collaborations and partnerships
Collaborate with us
Contact us
Find an expert
Search
Search Queen Mary University London website
Close
Home
Back to home
Study
Areas of study
Foundation courses
Biological and biomedical sciences
Business and management
Chemical sciences
Comparative literature
Computer and data science
Dentistry
Drama
Economics and finance
Engineering
English
Environmental Science
Film studies
Geography
Global Development
Global and Public Health
History
Law
Liberal arts
Linguistics
Materials science
Mathematics
Medicine
Modern languages and cultures
Physics and astronomy
Politics and international relations
Psychology
Study at Queen Mary
Undergraduate study
Postgraduate study
Online study
International students
Short courses
Summer school
A-Z undergraduate courses
A-Z postgraduate taught courses
A-Z PhD subjects
Degree Apprenticeships
Experience Queen Mary
Why Queen Mary?
Accommodation
City campuses
Open Days
Student life
The London advantage
Explore our campuses
About
About home
Giving
Welcome
How to find us
Calendar
Our history
Alumni
Local community
Global
Facts and figures
Freedom of information
Who's who
Sustainability
Arts and Culture
The Medical College of Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital Trust
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Volunteering
Education and the student experience
Active Curriculum for Excellence
Research
Research and Innovation
Research home
Strategy, support and guidance
Research highways
Featured research
Facilities and resources
Publications
Postgraduate research degrees
News
Research impact
Research culture
Research by faculties and centres
Humanities and Social Sciences
Medicine and Dentistry
Science and Engineering
Collaborations and partnerships
Collaborate with us
Contact us
School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science
School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science
School home
Section navigation
About Us
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Jobs
Intranet
Contact us
Facilities
Undergraduate
Degree programmes
Degree apprenticeships
Professional accreditation
Industrial experience
Research Ready Programme
Why choose us
Meet our students
qTech Programme
Postgraduate
Postgraduate programmes
MSc project with industry
Professional accreditation
Entry requirements
Fees and funding
How to apply
Why choose us
qTech Programme
中国China
Teaching
JTLC
JSIC
PhD
PhD studentships
PhD fees and funding
Meet our PhD students
How to apply for a PhD
Why choose us
Research
Research centres and groups
Research impact
Industry collaboration
Research highlights
Featured research
Postdoctoral fellowship opportunities
Education
Outreach
For Schools
For Teachers
People
Academic staff
Research staff
Professional services staff
Technical staff
PhD students
Emeritus staff
Visiting staff
Alumni
News & Events
News
Events
School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science
About Us
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Women in Computer Science and Electronic Engineering
Elona Shatri
Elona Shatri
Tell us about your work
I am in the third year of my PhD research as part of the 4-year AI and Music Program (AIM), which is part of the Centre for Digital Music at QMUL. My research is focused on using deep learning to improve Optical Music Recognition (OMR). OMR is the field of computationally reading sheet music. In other words, retrieving a machine-readable file (MusicXML, MEI) from an image of a music score. OMR is an intersection between fields like Music Information Retrieval, Computer Vision, Digital Musicology, Digital Libraries and Music Composing Practices. We want to detect and recognise musical symbols and their relationships from an image and then encode that information in formats that allow editing, conversion, playing demos and more. I am under the supervision of Dr George Fazekas and work closely with my industry partner Steinberg.
What inspired you to choose EECS?
EECS was not a destination for me, it has rather been the only path I have ever known since primary school. My father used to fix electrical equipment at home. I was always interested and competing with him on who can better and faster fix a short-circuit, a TV remote, build simple antennas and similar. That fitted well with my favourite subjects in school like mathematics, physics and informatics. I often wondered where I would be if I did not have such influences early on in life.
What are the challenges and opportunities of being a woman in EECS?
I often find myself trying to compete with men to show them what I can do. I am unconsciously trying to fight the stigma that women cannot be as good in a male-dominated field. While I did not get any opportunity because of my gender throughout my career, I was often stereotyped based on my gender. I was lucky to have a supportive circle of family and friends who never questioned my decisions or abilities. They were always there applauding every decision and step I took.
Why would you say women should consider a career in engineering or computer science?
I think women should not consider a field only to show that they can do it. We must all keep in mind that we can excel as much as men in any field and there is not a single field we cannot make it. Women should feel free to choose a field they want, without having to prove a single thing to men and society.
Do you have a role model who inspires you?
Although women should be free to choose fields they like, there is a gap in promoting male-dominated fields to women. We often miss having a real-life woman as a role model. We need to work and bring such role models to every single woman. When I look back on my education, I realise that my interests were mainly shaped by women. My mathematics and physics teachers in primary school were both women and those quickly became my favourite subjects. My high school mathematics professor, Nimete Vrenezi, is still a constant role model. She amplified my confidence that my gender does not stand in the way of being good at something. During my undergraduate degree at the University of Prishtina, I had the opportunity of being taught by some brilliant women who still teach there and do not get so much recognition. I want to particularly thank Vjosa Shatri, Mimoza Ibrani, Myzafere Limani and Rreze Halilaj. During my master's degree at NTHU in Taiwan, I had a women supervisor Dr Yi-Shin Chen whose presence never made us doubt our choice of field. Regrettably, I did not find such a role model at Queen Mary just yet. However, I have many excellent women PhD colleagues who I am sure will be the next role models to younger generations.
What’s the best thing about your work?
The advantages of being a PhD researcher very much outweigh the disadvantages. Researching is more than a full-time job, but with the perks of using this time to explore something that deeply interests you. You are free and motivated to explore new solutions, which is not always true for industry jobs. I enjoy being surrounded by people who constantly challenge me and I enjoy interesting research discussions we end up having at every social event.
When not at EECS, what are your interests?
I enjoy watercolour painting, reading history, philosophy, and novels. I also enjoy running long distances, last year ran three half-marathons and am planning to do some this year as well. I also started doing bouldering lately and playing volleyball.
Back to top