Nice to Meet You, I'm Natalia

I’m excited to introduce myself and share a bit about my journey in psychology and AI. My passion has always been about making a positive impact on people’s lives, and I believe my work has given me the tools to do just that.

A Lifelong Passion for Psychology

I graduated with honours from Moscow State University, where I studied social psychology. My diploma focused on distance education long before it became mainstream during the COVID-19 era. Through my research, I explored how professional identity can be even more crucial than the knowledge itself—believing that building a strong sense of self as a professional is key to success.

Teaching has been a constant part of my journey. I started tutoring while still a student, and my favourite group to work with has always been teenagers. I love their creativity, rebellious energy, and the way they thrive with a bit of guidance and support. I’ve taught at the School of Young Psychologists and worked as an assistant at London Gates Education Group, where I discovered just how powerful education can be in shaping minds.

One of my proudest milestones is designing a psychological onboarding course at the School of Data Analysis (SHAD), which helps students boost their learning skills and adapt to academic challenges.

My talk at RecSys conference in Seattle, 2022

Venturing into AI

For the past several years, I’ve been deeply involved in AI, working at Yandex for five years where I led initiatives to build educational programs and foster university partnerships. Yandex, often compared to Google, is much more—it's also Russia’s Netflix, Amazon, and Tesla all rolled into one. My role there was to nurture new talent, and it gave me invaluable insight into the world of tech and a rich network of brilliant minds.

Currently, I’m the Head of Academic Partnerships at an AI startup, working on cutting-edge technologies while keeping education at the forefront. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to present at top conferences like NeurIPS, ICML, WSDM, and RecSys, sharing research that blends AI, psychology, and education.

Yandex office tour for Coursera representatives from USA, Moscow, 2022

One of my most recent papers, "Unlocking the Personality of AI: How Large Language Models Simulate Human Traits," delves into how AI mirrors aspects of human behaviour.

Helping Others Grow

Beyond the technical side of things, my passion lies in helping others discover their potential, whether it's guiding students, shaping educational initiatives, or working with the next generation of AI experts. This blog will cover the intersections of psychology, education, and technology, and I hope it sparks curiosity and inspires readers to explore how these fields shape our world.

Thanks for taking the time to get to know me! I’m looking forward to sharing more insights with you.

NeurIPS conference, USA 2022