CHAN Chi Bun, Ben Senior Software Engineer Xilinx, San Jose, CA The three years of study at CSE was like sketching. Every line and stroke added a bit more detail, but I never realized the whole picture until the end. And now I begin to appreciate it. I still remember those "crazy" days working forty hours non-stop on five projects concurrently. Yet there were always fun and challenging elements in the coursework that suppressed my sleepiness. I enjoyed very much the micro-mouse project coached by Prof KH Lee. I loved the hardware projects from Prof Philip Leong and Prof KH Wong, in which I learned many useful skills that I can apply to my current work. Like many others, I also at one point questioned about the practicality of a Turing machine, wondered why the Linux kernel goes panics, and was amazed of how little VLSI stick diagrams can be used to design turn into a complex processor. However, all these question marks eventually became skills and insights that benefited my graduate study and career. I always find myself a newcomer in front of the fast evolving technologies. But tThanks to the comprehensive training at CUHK, I learned how to effectively acquire knowledge, think analytically to solve problems, and more importantly, motivate myself to face new challenges. The diversity at CSE also enriched my vision. During the second year, I was exposed to a variety of courses including operating system, computer architecture, networking, FPGA, and VLSI. That really boosted my interest in system development that involves software, hardware, and protocol design. It also helps me to position my current career at Xilinx to develop co-processing technologies on reconfigurable hardware platforms. I am thankful for the opportunity to meet many smart and motivated people in the university. I appreciate my final year project supervisor, Prof John Lui, who encouraged me to think freely and explore different opportunities. When I look back, I had never thought I would survive through the rigorous study at CSE. It was really the people there who energized and inspired me!

在修讀中大計算機工程博士學位之前，我已經在其他大學拿了電子工程 及應用物理的學位。我修讀的是研究型的博士課程，使我的技術更全面。 這對發明創新有很大的幫助。但這不表示每位發明家都應修讀相關之 研究學位。平心而論，發明天份很難單靠一個學位或課程修讀得來的。 最不幸的是，即使是擁有最著名大學的博士學位，也不能把發明天份 自動轉帳。但有一點可以肯定的：那些認真完成中大計算機工程學系 博士課程的人，不管是不是發明人才，也有一定的水平，因為他們都是 打過木人巷才下山的！ 我很喜歡研究、發明等的工作。作為一個獨立而沒有強大背景支持的 發明家，只有申請專利保護，才能把自己的發明變成產品。否則，偉大 的發明只會淪為立心不良的人之發財捷徑。多年心血，附諸流水。一生 努力，朝不保夕！此外，我的夢想是擁有自己的國際級研究發明中心。 對當前人類面對的難題，如能源短缺、溫室效應和環境污染等作出更多 的貢獻。又同時給予那些正在艱苦經營的獨立發明家多一點技術及財政 上的支援。 (more...) 陳家祺 CEO AfforTech Co. Ltd.

CHEUNG Chak-Chung Post-doctoral researcher Electrical Engineering Department UCLA In 1995, the Form 6 orientation day in the CSE department helped me to make an important decision. At that time, I wanted to acquire any knowledge related to computers and Max, the advisor, told me that the CEG program is the most comprehensive undergraduate program in Hong Kong for young computer engineers. He was absolutely correct and CUHK became my first choice. In the next three years of intensive undergraduate training, I not only studied theoretical computer science and practical engineering in a stimulating atmosphere, but also embraced the countless social activities provided by the CSE department, the ERG faculty, and the New-Asia College. All these experiences and solid training built up my confidence and provided me a substantial base to plan for the future. I was delighted to become another form 6 orientation group leader and help potential students make their decisions. The two years master degree study in the CSE department had a profound influence on my attitude toward computers and knowledge. Apart from doing my own research, attending lectures from renowned professors and tutoring undergraduate students were two major highlights. I also realised that knowledge is built on top of people's past experience, merged with dedication and creativity. The CEG society is a major party which interconnects students of different years within the same department. I still remember I was invited to a UNIX talk which taught informative and handy UNIX scripts to our freshmen. That experience gave me a really good impression on how eager everyone is to help the year 1 students. In the next two years, a junior instructor appointment enabled me to work and learn in the same department from another perspective. I was involved in developing courses for minor and year 1 students. That experience was really fruitful because preparing course work and examination papers are not the most exciting part of the job, but delivering materials for students to assimilate is very rewarding. I observed the excellent integration between different courses and the partitioning of fundamental training for each CSE course. The theoretical and practical knowledge gained from my studies at CUHK was a solid foundation for me to continue my doctoral training. For instance, the first year hardware programming course CEG2400 taught me assembly language; the second year computer architecture course CEG3420 microprocessor architectures; graduate course rapid prototyping CEG5010 and computer-aided design CEG5270 introduced me to efficient FPGA programming and CAD algorithms. Each year, courses are improved based on student feedback. Being a CSE graduate, I am grateful to our professors for writing me strong reference letters. They were very important for me to apply for financial support to pursue my PhD study at Imperial College and now my post-doctoral work at UCLA. Finally, I want to sincerely thank our department and all the people I have met throughout the years in the CSE department.

陳碧華 計算機科學與工程學系 博士研究生 我在數年的課程中得到邏輯思考及分析能力的訓練，並學會許多電腦知識。 計算機工程學課程教授豐富的理論和提供學生實踐的機會，這些訓練使我們 成為知識充沛的工程師。而課程不只教授理論，包括電腦製作、運作系統， 還有實習上的訓練，如程式設計、機械人創作及專題研習等。當中的過程 雖辛苦，但也教人感到滿足。 這課程同時鼓勵學生進行研究。我們在最後一年所做的畢業論文，讓我們 清楚知道自己想做些什麼，也接觸到最新的科技。我們更因此而明白到做 研究的重要性，而我亦選擇繼續攻讀碩士及博士課程。

As a CSE MPhil graduate, I am very thankful for the three years I spent in the department. I can still remember the first day I arrived in Hong Kong, filled with curiosity and expectation. Upon leaving for Princeton University to do my PhD, I realized that my time in Hong Kong was wisely spent. I was lucky to meet a group of good friends and professors during my study at CSE. I was able to take many interesting courses which were useful for my research, such as game theory and queuing theory. Furthermore, I was able to receive much guidance from not only my advisor, Prof. John C.S. Lui, but also other professors in different research areas. It was a good experience to work with other graduate students in CSE, a bunch of smart and friendly guys. We could often be found in the fierce discussions in front of the whiteboard, or in the lovely garden outside our offices. In addition, I was fortunate to meet my advisor, John C.S. Lui, who not only taught me about research, but also is a mentor for both my life and career. It is hard to say how the experience working with them has shaped me, but I am sure they have made my life more fruitful and given me the strength to pursue my career goals. JIANG Wenjie Joe PhD. student Department of Computer Science Princeton University

霍嘉凌 匯豐銀行 System Analyst Programmer 我們每天都要解決許多問題，包括程式及論文上的疑難。說實話，我認為 在這學系所學的是所有工程學系中最艱苦的，但也是充滿挑戰性的。我們 不只學會電腦知識，還有其他各種各樣的技能。在團隊中參與、撰寫研究 式的畢業論文，讓我得到全面的個性發展。教授及導師都很友善，他們會 鼓勵學生在課室內外多溝通、多分享。此外，學系的系會舉辦許多活動， 而我最喜歡的是C.S. Cup，因為當中有電子遊戲、羽毛球和拔河競賽。 總括一句，在這學系裡，我的學習生涯是充滿樂趣的。

LAM Yu Po Being able to study things about computers had long been what I strived for since the early days of my childhood. While others might treat studying computer science as a ticket to the technology bloom in the late 90's, I let my interest drive my decision. I could still remember when I told my classmates and teachers that I would like to study computer science in year 2003, a time when the dot com bubble busted, nobody appreciated my choice. Everyone believed technology is going to have a dim future and suggested me to choose something else. But through all these years, the faith in pursuing my interest had not disappointed me and I felt lucky to have chosen CS as my major in the university studies. The department provided a structured and comprehensive curriculum which covered many different areas in computer science. Both the theoretical and practical level of knowledge are delivered through the courses, so we are able to have a complete training to prepare ourselves for further studies or work in the future. People often complain about the heavy workload of CS, but I just saw that as a necessary measure to enhance the capabilities of our students nowadays. After all these hard works, I was equipped with concrete understanding of the things I learnt in class and still be able to push them to the practical level. The various project experiences also allowed us to learn how to work with others. That is very important as the communications together with the teamwork skills are universal and crucial to us in every aspect. In the year 2005-2006, I was given a chance to study aboard in the US. It was a valuable experience which definitely broadened my horizon. Throughout the year in the states, I had seen, worked and studied with people from all over the world. Very often from the things I observed and the cultural difference among us, I was able to generate new understandings about my studies and my life. In addition, my English skills were also polished much as I have to put down my Chinese starting from the very first day when I arrived. Apart from the life in the university, this exchange opportunity had allowed me to travel around the USA during the breaks. I had been to places like Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Toronto etc. That one year's time was truly unforgettable. Currently I am about to complete my undergraduate study, looking back to the four years of CS life I had, times was once hard but nevertheless it is fruitful after all. I would like to take this chance to encourage students that like computer science to make your right decisions, I am sure you will not regret for the choice you make today.

After completing my MPhil degree in Computer Science at CUHK since 2003, I have been working toward my Ph.D. degree at Columbia University in the United States. Thanks to the competent education at CUHK, I have prepared myself for surviving the many challenges that I encounter. The technical training at CUHK was rigorous. I still remember the days when every one of us was working non-stop on the course projects in data structures, computer networking, database, etc. Although we did not have much sleep as a result of these challenging projects, we did have a lot of fun during the process. Through the hard work on these projects, we learned a lot of technical skills in coping with real-life engineering problems. I found the rigorous training very fruitful for my current PhD study at Columbia University, whose expectation on students' technical backgrounds is highly demanding. CUHK provides fertile grounds for students to enrich their cultural diversities through a series of overseas exchange study programmes. During my undergraduate years, I studied for one year at the University of British Columbia in Canada. The overseas study boosted my confidence in communicating with people from different cultures. This valuable experience cannot be learned from textbooks, and it has helped me a great deal to adapt quickly to the new culture during my Ph.D. study. LEE Pak Ching Patric PhD. student Columbia University

I was born in Shanghai and was admitted to Fudan University in 1998. I didn't expect that I would spend the next six fruitful years in Hong Kong instead of Shanghai. After the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, I fortunately became one of the 28 mainland students who obtained the Jockey Club scholarship to study in CUHK for four years. The decision to study in the department of CS&E changed my life dramatically. Not only did I gain knowledge in Computer Science, but I also enjoyed the journey of exploring a new life style. I proudly joined the ACM programming contest team of the department, led by Prof. Irwin King, in 2000. We spent extra-curriculum time in learning algorithms and practice programming. Through the building of teams, we learned both programming techniques and cooperative team work. Our teams attended regional contests, held in Taipei, Singapore, Beijing, Xi'an, Bangladesh, and etc, and advanced to World Final four times in a consecutive five years. In 2000, our team beat famous schools including MIT and Stanford, and won the 8th place in the World Finals 2000 in Orlando, Florida. The more I learned from CS&E, the more I felt my ignorance. As a result, I continued to pursue an MPhil degree after obtaining my bachelor degree in CS&E with Prof. John Lui. In the following two years, I started to do research in the networking area. Unlike the course work which I did in undergraduate years, doing research was new to me. Prof. Lui encouraged me to absorb different knowledge which might be useful to apply in our research. I learned Game Theory and Microeconomics Theory and applied them to build incentive mechanisms in P2P networks. With the great help by Prof. Lui, I complete two papers in major conferences and presented our work in Japan and USA. The experience in doing research inspired my curiosity in exploring and learning new knowledge; consequently, I considered applying for a PhD. Program in the US. I was worried that I couldn't be admitted by any famous school there, although I was always dreaming of studying in an Ivy League school. Because our research work was recognized by professors in Columbia University, I was finally admitted to department of Electrical Engineering there. Now, I realize that the education I received in Hong Kong has already guaranteed my qualification to be admitted by any prestigious school in the US. After leaving Hong Kong for three years, I am still missing the years with CS&E, which I believe is the most precious experience in my life. MA Tianbai PhD. student Department of Electrical Engineering Columbia University

SO King Yan Oldfield Vice Chairman Hong Kong Linux Industry Association I graduated in 1997 and I guess most of you would share the same feeling; I did not want to leave such a wonderful place at the time. So, I took the plunge and enrolled in my Masters studies. Of course, I did not make a wrong choice and I learned a lot during my stay in graduate school. Now, I'm working in a company specializing in Linux, and am a vice chairman of the Hong Kong Linux Industry Association. If you asked me why Linux, I would tell you that back in the summer of 1996, I was motivated by a final year project from Prof. John Lui. Being strongly attracted to the fun of kernel hacking with my close friend Peter Tam, approached Prof. Lui immediately after our examination fearing that someone else might take this project before we did. Later we found that no one else was interested. You're right, not everyone wants to be a kernel hacker. At CUHK, you can find your way to your own unique interest and better yet, you have great opportunities and guidance to further develop it! It was definitely a very important first step.

If you are looking for a chance to take a break during your course of study and want to have an unforgettable experience at the same time, an exchange program will undoubtedly be the best choice. During my third year of study, I spent a full academic year studying abroad at University of California, Davis. Studying in another country was a totally new experience. Life in the beginning was quite a challenge. Things as simple as greeting and chatting with friends, or asking questions during lectures became a difficult task if you were not confident enough. Luckily, I have met a lot of friends coming from both local and other countries such as Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, etc. Speaking with them gradually made me used to conversation in English and got me over the adaptation period. Personally, I consider it as very rewarding because I am now no longer afraid of speaking English in front of people and have a lot of friends from different places. With only around 65,000 residents, Davis is a medium-sized city located in Northern California, about one hour east of the Bay Area and 15 minutes west of Sacramento. The slow pace of the living culture and calmness of the city provide a great contrast to the prosperity of Hong Kong. Although the city is not as entertaining as Hong Kong, there are plenty of enjoyable activities you can participate from visiting the Bay Area and taking a walk on the Golden Gate Bridge, to learning how to throw a Frisbee and taking a bowling course at the game area on campus. However, among all of them, my most-missed activities are probably the snowboard and ski trips. I had no idea how fun it is until I stopped falling down and managed to glide down the slope in breath-taking speed that is the most fun and exciting sport that I have ever tried! Going on a trip is also a good idea to spend the holidays. During the Christmas and the New Year, I flew all the way to the East Coast and visited New York and Pennsylvania. This is such a remarkable and memorable trip as my friends and I were fortunate enough to be able to squeeze into the crowd and celebrate on New Year's Eve at Times Square. I have also been to Las Vegas during the spring break and learnt quite a lot about the glamour of the entertainment capital of the world. Of course, being a computer science major, I would not miss the chance visiting Silicon Valley, the famous high technology business area. I am glad that the exchange program has given me the chance to reach out the world and has broadened my horizon. I highly recommend everyone to give it a try because I truly believe the overseas experience will be the most precious and fruitful time in college life. SUEN Kin Dick Raphael

I graduated in Year 2005 and I am now working in Microsoft at Redmond, USA. Life goes too fast to give me the opportunity of retrospect. But I really would like to take this chance and this special peaceful time to look back my student life in CUHK. For me, the student life in CUHK did give me a lot of sweet memories. I lived happily everyday, learnt quite a lot of interesting, very useful knowledge and skills, and developed good appreciation of new culture. I am glad to share my experiences with others. I think besides the advanced facilities and equipment in the department, and the high-quality academic environment, I would like to stress and appreciate the freedom atmosphere as one of the most valuable feature in the CSE department of CUHK. New students in the CSE department are allowed to choose their academic advisor freely. There is detailed profile of each professor on the website. Students can freely stop by any professors' offices and talk whatever they want. Thanks to this great policy that I found an excellent professor, Prof. John C.S. Lui, as my advisor for my study in CUHK. During these years of study, there are many courses that we could freely take. Students could talk with the teacher individually about the courses they would like to take, and get valuable and constructive advice. They could also freely and confidently choose their research direction (not just menial programming work). More importantly, students may have different career design or dreams nowadays, and the department really appreciates such diversity that encourages them to take their own decisions and shows them the right way towards their career path. Finally, I enjoyed my life very much in CUHK. I believe the freedom atmospheree is really one of the most important positive features of an organization. Not only to students, but there are many good and young professors who are willing to come and work in such a wonderful organization. SUN Haibin Member of Technical Staff Microsoft, Redmond, USA

黃劍翹 Cambridge Wong Managing Director Wealth Bridge Asia Ltd. Cambridge是第一屆CS畢業生，但這第一屆學位真的得來不易。原來當年預科是有 兩年制及一年制之分，Cambridge起初選讀兩年制，但未能考入 理想中的學位， 遂投身社會，及後再自修一年，取得優異成績，但仍未能考取中大第一屆電子 計算系，因為當年只得12個學位。Cambridge憶述有幸得到一位師兄建議，直接 向學校查詢，幾番波折，終獲取錄。 Cambridge畢業後加人了怡和的EDP部門，其後亦曾任職Digital、Town Gas等 電腦部門。及後怡和開發基金服務，需要一位電腦專才，Cambridge獲前上司 推薦，出任主管一職，一去便十六年。因經濟及機構紛紛轉型，憑著多年的經驗 及市場的觸角，Cambridge向公司建議，私有化他所管轄的部門及服務，一方面 可減輕公司財政負擔，他的團隊亦有信心作業務發展。得到公司的同意及支持， Cambridge便開始他的個人業務，也成為他事業上的一個轉捩點，不足一年的 時間，他已簽訂了數間國際金融機構，證明了他的眼光及決定。 (more...)

As an engineer in semiconductor device design and fabrication, many of my colleagues know that I obtained my PhD in Electrical Engineering from UC Berkeley, while very few know that my bachelor and master degrees were from CSE, CUHK. But they would find out soon when they realized that I was able to write a simple C program or PERL script to pre-process test chip tapeout data, or to filter DRC errors to increase the productivity. These are simple tasks for a computer science/engineering student, which capture only a tiny subset of the knowledge we learnt in programming, database, data mining, CAD etc.. While such superficial skills may have already impressed some people, I believe what really differentiate me from the others are the philosophies in computer science and engineering I was instilled during my five-year stay in CSE. In an environment with so many world-class scholars of various fields in computer science and engineering, although not all the profound theories could be understood, a "computer-mind-set" could have been cultivated. Many believe that a solid foundation of mathematics and physics in high school is a key to the success of an engineering/science degree. To me, a solid undergraduate training in computer science and engineering is a promising stepping stone to the success of the next stage of life, namely, graduate or career life. This is because, simply, this is an information era. I have seen or engaged in many engineering research projects, in which without the help of computing theories and tools, no progress would be possible. Therefore, after debating myself for a few years if I have "wasted" my time in computer science and engineering as I eventually work in a completely different area, I do not regret my choice. Indeed, I think my computer training background in a world-class school like CUHK gave me many advantages during graduate school, scholarship and job applications. WONG Hiu Yung Senior Device Engineer Spansion LLC

ZHENG Jiayi Associate Morgan Stanley Asia Limited I graduated in 2002 and am now working at Morgan Stanley Asia Limited as an Associate. My major responsibilities are to develop and support trading and settlement applications for Asia traders and operations users. University is not only a place for us to study a degree but also a stage to prepare ourselves before stepping into the society. Staying up late for projects is not the only solution. Instead, I explored different ways to improve efficiency. CSE department encourages discussion among students and also welcome proactive questions and discussions with professors. The department and the university also provide various opportunities to development ourselves. By being the counselor of CS Orientation Camp, I learned communications, and coaching skills. Through joining the organizing committee of Anniversaries of Shaw College, I sharpened my problem solving, decision making, and communications skills, which help me quite a lot in my daily work. The advantages of coming to study at CUHK are the exposure and opportunity. Students in Mainland universities have more and more exposure nowadays, too, however language is still a barrier. Having the chance to study in English makes communication much easier in a professional environment. Although quite a lot of multinational institutions have stepped into mainland China market, Hong Kong will still be a regional hub in the near future. There are more opportunities to learn and play a key role in such companies. Therefore, grab every opportunity in the university to prepare yourself to welcome new challenges ahead! Good luck~