Language Models for Policy Analysis at SEI

Background

A core task of policy research is the systematic policy review process, which involves experts manually reading through long-form documents to identify evidence supporting a hypothesis. This task is both valuable but also time-consuming and costly, often exceeding 10.000 pages per analysis. The KTH Climate Action Centre and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) are collaborating on a research project to develop an AI-powered, design-driven tool to augment the work of expert policy researchers with computational tools.

Task description

Students who choose this project will take an active role in defining the goals of their thesis research such that they both align with the greater research collaboration and also result in novel discovery through individually-driven research and experimentation. The supervisor will support the student in designing the project milestones and integrating their thesis research into the collaboration with SEI.

Learning outcomes

After completing the thesis work, the student will be able to:

• Define, communicate, and achieve research goals through structured, scientific methodology
• Implement computational solutions by applying and fine-tuning python-based AI/ML libraries such as Tensorflow/Pytorch/Huggingface
• Validate model results through comparative studies with human subject-matter experts

Methodology

The thesis work will follow a structured problem-solving approach to identify key challenges, distill these into focused, achievable goals, formulate a systems-level architecture, and apply available resources responsibly to develop a technical solution. Qualitative and quantitative approaches for validating model results will be implemented.

Prerequisites

Students should be familiar with python programming language, have an enthusiasm for sustainability/climate action, and the ability to work independently to lead a research project by identifying key problems and delivering a systems-level solution.

Criteria for evaluation

Critical criteria in the complete work and method development and metric for the final assessment are:

• Fulfillment of the ILOs for Master Thesis at KTH's ITM School;
• The student's initiative and independence in developing the overall research design;
• Evidence of systems perspective and critical discussion of the assumptions and results;
• Consideration of literature.
• The ability to communicate the results of scientific work clearly and coherently.

If the work is of exceptional quality, the thesis research should be disseminated to the community in the form of a peer-reviewed publication.

Track Specialization

Transformation of Energy System (TES)

Division/Department

Division of Energy Systems  – Department of Energy Technology

Duration

6 Months, Starting February 2024.

How to apply

Interested students should contact Haluk Akay haluk@kth.se

Supervision

Co-Supervisor

Biljana Macura , Senior Research Fellow, SEI

Examiner