Active Members

Previous student helpers
Yichen Wan, HK PolyU Design, master student (Summer 2023)
Trung Hai Le, CityU CS, undergrad student (Fall 2022—Summer 2023)

Student Recruitment

To inquiry about potential advising/collaboration opportunities, please send an email with the following information. Although I may not reply to all the emails, I will certainly read them. But if you send me an email without reading the text, you are not likely to receive my reply.

1. English: You should be able to communicate fluently in both spoken and written English.

2. Reading: Skim the list of active projects in the home page. Find a topic that looks interesting, checkout my published papers under the topic, and pick one to read it through. If you're still interested, send me an email to briefly explain what you learned from that paper (use your own words - don't just simply summarize the paper) and we can start a conversation from there.

3. Skillsets: Provide an overview of what you can do. Typically, my research involves developing computing systems, which requires programming skills, but I'm also happy to work with students from diverse backgrounds to conduct interdisciplinary research. You are welcome to share a project (e.g., a paper/report, code sample, design artifact) that you feel proud of.

4. Work together: It's preferred if you start a small project under my supervision before we decide whether to collaborate in the long run. I encourage you to contact me a few months before your planned start date with the following info:
- Your CV, transcripts, and English test results if applicable
- Reading and skillsets mentioned above
- For Ph.D. applicant, title the email "HCI Ph.D. Applicant - [Your Name]" and briefly talk about what you think HCI is
- For undergrad students at CityU, title the email "HCI Student Helper - [Your Name]" and tell me what kinds of support you need (e.g., FYP, placement, just want to learn about HCI research)
Based on our experience working together, I will let you know if I decide to issue a Ph.D. offer/RA contract as soon as possible. You are also welcome to share your thoughts and feedback with me.

5. For non-Ph.D. applicants/non-CityU students: If you are interested in working with me, but your plan is not to do Ph.D. at CityU and you are not a current student here, I may have limited bandwidth and funding to support you. However, there will still be potential opportunities if you are highly motivated and proactive. In such case, contact me by titling your email "HCI Research Assistant - [Your Name]" and following #4.

6. About reference letter: I am more than happy to write strong letters for students who have demonstrated great work ethics and motivation while closely working with me. That said, I have to respectfully decline requests from students whom I do not know very well, as the lack of interaction details and concrete collaboration examples would not effectively support their applications.

7. A side note: When I was a student, I recognized the rarity of having a responsive and hands-on advisor, and thus, I am always grateful for my Ph.D. advisor who patiently nurtured me and helped me grow. Now, as an advisor myself, I found it even more challenging to identify student candidates who are indeed motivated and passionate about research, and that is why I wrote such a long list of requirements. For students in my group, I hope to carry forward the lessons I learned, and it is my commitment to support you to the best of my abilities.