I am always looking for students and postdocs interested in doing a PhD or a research period in my group, even when I don’t have specific positions open. If you are interested in computer networks and have explored my research by reading some of my papers, you should not hesitate to drop me an email!

Contrary to other academic systems (e.g., the US), France does not have a strict admissions calendar. Thus, both internships and PhDs can start throughout the calendar year. This translates to the fact that you should always feel free to get in touch and inquire about the possibility of working with me.

However, I do receive a large number of inquiries. Meaning that it is impossible for me to schedule interviews with every single candidate that reaches out to me. It is thus critical for you to make sure I that I correctly understand your background and your motivation.

To help avoiding any problem, here are a few guidelines on what to include in your introductory email. Please make sure to include the following information:

A paragraph about yourself

Try to answer, concisely, the following questions: Where do/did you study? Do you have any internship or work experience?

A paragraph about your research experience

Previous experience is always appreciated. While it is not mandatory to have worked exactly on the topics connected to my research, it is paramount for you to show me that you have the necessary skills to work on research projects around networking / systems topics (my favorite 😁). Thus, make sure to answer these questions on your previous project experience: What was the project about? How big was the team and what was your role? What did you find the most interesting? What did you enjoy the most?

Failing to answer these questions will negatively impact my ability to understand whether you are a good fit for my team.

A paragraph about why you want to pursue research in networking and my research group

One of the most important factors in succeeding in a PhD program is liking what you work on! So, take your time to explore and think about what kinds of problems you enjoy thinking about, what kind of solutions appeal most to you, and what you prefer to spend your time doing (system design and development? applying ML to networking problems? A mixture of the two? something else?). Specifically, take a look at the recent papers at networking conferences like ACM SIGCOMM and USENIX NSDI, as well as my recent papers, and think about the above questions. If you find networking research in general, and the research in my group in particular, a good fit, tell my why in your email.

My first suggestion to any student thinking of doing a PhD is: read your potential advisor’s articles and project yourself writing these articles for the next three/four years. If you like the idea, you found your potential advisor. If not, keep searching!

Your CV

If you follow these guidelines, I will make sure to answer your message! I do try to make sure I answer to all inquiries, even when I do not feel that we are a good match to work together.