Aitor Sánchez
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Aitor Sánchez

My Research Stay at Visual Intelligence: Aitor Sánchez

Aitor Sánchez is a PhD candidate at the Intelligent Systems Group of the University of the Basque Country in Spain. He visited Visual Intelligence in Tromsø from March to June 2025.

My Research Stay at Visual Intelligence: Aitor Sánchez

Aitor Sánchez is a PhD candidate at the Intelligent Systems Group of the University of the Basque Country in Spain. He visited Visual Intelligence in Tromsø from March to June 2025.

By Petter Bjørklund, Communications Officer at SFI Visual Intelligence

Tell us about your PhD project 

My research focuses on the use of self-supervised learning for time series anomaly detection. I design and implement methods that can identify anomalous regions in time-dependent data across a variety of domains, without requiring specialized knowledge about the specific data. This includes detecting events such as arrhythmias in electrocardiograms, seizures in electroencephalograms, or even water leaks in water distribution systems.

Why did you choose Tromsø and Visual Intelligence for your research stay?

One of the main drawbacks of current methods for anomaly detection in time series is their lack of explainability. To help bridge this gap in the literature, I chose the Visual Intelligence at UiT because of their extensive work in explainable deep learning. Additionally, a few years ago, another PhD candidate from my group conducted her research stay with this same team and had a very positive experience, which was also an important factor in my decision to come to Tromsø.

What has been the outcome of your research stay?

My experience with Visual Intelligence at UiT has been fantastic. I have had the privilege of working with Robert Jensen, Elisabeth Wetzer, Michael Kampffmeyer, Kristoffer Knutsen, and Tianchao Li, who, in addition to being outstanding researchers, are also incredibly kind and welcoming people. Before this research stay, I had never worked in the field of explainable AI, and I feel I have learned a lot. We are currently working together on a deep learning method for time series anomaly detection that combines the strengths of self-supervised learning and explainable AI, which we hope will make a valuable contribution to the field. Professionally, this stay has been a truly rewarding and valuable experience for my development as a researcher.

How was life in Tromsø?

Apart from enjoying a great professional environment, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people, both inside and outside Visual Intelligence. I already miss the Thursday evenings when we went to Fun Pub for karaoke sessions, always surrounded by the group’s kindness and good energy. I must also admit that, even though I was a bit of a midnight sun hater while I was in Tromsø, I now wish I could go back to those sunny nights spent hiking in beautiful landscapes or visiting the botanical garden. Many thanks to everyone who made this experience truly unforgettable. I promise I’ll come back visiting!

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