Eligibility

The workshop is geared towards senior PhD students and postdocs. The notion of a “senior” PhD student varies across geographic locations and programs, and the expectation is that the applicant has a well-defined research outline and has potentially published research at robotics venues. Since we have a limited number of spots each year, we will prioritize applicants who are closer to graduation. Research scientists within two years of their graduation are eligible to apply. Applicants from previous years are encouraged to apply; applications are evaluated by an independent committee each year. Past participants are ineligible.

Applications are due March 22, 2021 March 30, 2021 (anywhere-on-earth). Submissions can be made via our CMT portal (http://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/RSSPW2021).

Research Statement

We seek a two-page research statement containing a high-level description of the research problem(s) that the applicant is addressing in their current and future studies. The research statement must have an explicit title, but there is no requirement to include an abstract section given the page limit. The research statement is expected to contain and will be evaluated for the following:

• Motivation behind the research question(s) addressed in the applicant's studies

• Clarity in defining and scoping the problem

• A brief review of related work on the aforementioned research question(s)

• A description of approaches contributed by the applicant, their novelty and potential advantages over existing ones

You can find many good resources for writing a research statement online (this, and this).

Anonymity

The research statement must be anonymized according to RSS guidelines. While detailed instructions may be found in the sample LaTeX template, this largely means that applicants cannot add external links/grant numbers/videos/code repositories that explicitly or implicitly reveal identities. Anonymization is mandatory, and submissions that are not adequately anonymized will be rejected without review. The anonymity clause applies only to the research statement. A few examples of anonymized research statements from previous years may be found here. Other application materials (CV, statement of motivation) do not need to be anonymized because they will not be peer-reviewed, but will be reviewed by a pre-selected faculty committee.

Template

The main content of the research statement should be no longer than 2 pages. Anything on the third page or beyond must be only references. Submissions should be in PDF format and use the RSS LaTeX or Word templates. Any violation of the template including tampering with margins, font size, and line spacing will be grounds for desk-rejection (i.e., rejection without further review). Please refrain from using PDF editors, such as Mac OS Preview, for processing LaTeX PDF outputs as this may lead to margin violations.

Statement of Motivation

A statement of motivation should answer the following question: "why do you want to participate in this workshop, and what do you hope to gain from it?"

This statement of motivation should be no longer than 2000 characters, and is directly entered into a text field on our submission portal. This statement is a critical component of your application; please take care to describe why the pioneers program is important to you. The RSS pioneers will prioritize applicants that most greatly benefit from it. This section need not be anonymized as this is only evaluated by the program committee and our faculty panel.

Curriculum Vitae

An updated academic-style CV should be submitted as a PDF document. For reference, we provide a non-exhaustive list of fields that may be included in the CV as deemed applicable: Education, Work experience, Awards and honors, Grants received, Publications, Projects, Professional service and volunteering, Talks, Students mentored, Teaching experience.

Peer Review

The applicant is required to submit 2-3 peer reviews of other submitted research statements. The research statements for review will be assigned to applicants after the submission deadline. These reviews are expected to be informative and to strictly adhere to the review guidelines stipulated by the program committee. Failure to submit reviews or unreasonable delays will impact accept/reject decisions.

Please log in or create an account at http://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/RSSPW2021 (active beginning Feb 1 2021) and submit: (1) your anonymized research statement (2 pages excluding references), (2) your statement of motivation (2000 characters max.), and (3) your CV.

Your CV should be uploaded as supplementary material. Please note that the link to upload supplementary material becomes active only after the paper submission is complete.

The research statement should be anonymized according to RSS standards and those that are not anonymized will not be reviewed. Other application materials do not need to be anonymized because they will not go out for peer review. We suggest that you refer to your past work in the first person (e.g., "Previously, we have done this...) but anonymize the bibliographic references associated with your past work (e.g., [1] Anonymous authors “title of the paper”).

Applications are due March 22, 2021 March 30, 2021 (anywhere-on-earth).

RSS Pioneers is committed to ensure and continually improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of the workshop. Diversity, equity, and inclusion at our workshop mean new perspectives, ideas, and applications, all of which contribute to the success of our field. Individuals from groups underrepresented in robotics, such as minorities, women, and persons with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.