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!

CHAN Fai MPhil. Graduate Department of Computer Science and Engineering The Chinese University of Hong Kong I studied in the CSE department of the CUHK for the past five years. I remember that computer-related subjects were not my first JUPAS choice and I was admitted to Computer Engineering, which was my third choice. From the start I studied hard to obtain a high GPA as I was considering changing to another department. It was not easy for me to obtain good grades in the competitive environment that I faced and it motivated me to try even harder. Someday in spring semester of my first year study, Prof. Moon, one of my course teachers and my MPhil supervisor, encouraged me to participate in Intel Cup, a contest held in Shanghai focused on application design in embedded system. I found it very interesting and I joined this competition with two of my classmates. Our application was a mobile fingerprint-based logon system. The original system took less than 1 second to execute on a desktop computer but 60 seconds on our mobile device. Prof. Moon stimulated our mind: "One computer, one application, how can you fit the application with the best use of that computer?" At that moment I realized the essence of computer engineering: make the best use of computers in constrained situations. Using numerous techniques, we optimized our design to finish the task less than one second on the mobile device, and were awarded a second class honor prize in the competition. Just after the competition, I received a transfer offer from a top-tier program in the Faculty of Business, the one I originally desired. I struggled with the question since I now found Computer Engineering very interesting. After much thought I turned down the transfer offer and continued in Computer Engineering. I have now obtained both Bachelor and MPhil degrees in Computer Science and Engineering and will shortly work in an engineering company on video streaming. Thanks to the CSE department and especially my supervisor, Prof. Moon, I have been given tremendous opportunities and support. I have participated in numerous oversea events, helped in coordinating teams for Intel Cup twice, and we finally won the Intel Cup Championship in 2006. This project was then presented as a business plan in the "Idea to Product" global competition, held at the University of Texas in Austin and drew attention from famous companies, such as PenPower in Taiwan. We are currently living in a computer-aided world, I.T. will continue to grow, regardless of the economics. You cannot live without computers and computer technology cannot advance without computer engineers. If you are into creative thinking, the CSE department at CUHK should definitely be one of your top choices!

在修读中大计算机工程博士学位之前，我已经在其他大学拿了电子工程 及应用物理的学位。我修读的是研究型的博士课程，使我的技术更全面。 这对发明创新有很大的帮助。但这不表示每位发明家都应修读相关之 研究学位。平心而论，发明天份很难单靠一个学位或课程修读得来的。 最不幸的是，即使是拥有最着名大学的博士学位，也不能把发明天份 自动转帐。但有一点可以肯定的：那些认真完成中大计算机工程学系 博士课程的人，不管是不是发明人才，也有一定的水平，因为他们都是 打过木人巷才下山的！ 我很喜欢研究、发明等的工作。作为一个独立而没有强大背景支持的 发明家，只有申请专利保护，才能把自己的发明变成产品。否则，伟大 的发明只会沦为立心不良的人之发财捷径。多年心血，附诸流水。一生 努力，朝不保夕！此外，我的梦想是拥有自己的国际级研究发明中心。 对当前人类面对的难题，如能源短缺、温室效应和环境污染等作出更多 的贡献。又同时给予那些正在艰苦经营的独立发明家多一点技术及财政 上的支援。 (more...) 陈家祺 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.

陈碧华 计算机科学与工程学系 博士研究生 我在数年的课程中得到逻辑思考及分析能力的训练，并学会许多电脑知识。 计算机工程学课程教授丰富的理论和提供学生实践的机会，这些训练使我们 成为知识充沛的工程师。而课程不只教授理论，包括电脑制作、运作系统， 还有实习上的训练，如程式设计、机械人创作及专题研习等。当中的过程 虽辛苦，但也教人感到满足。 这课程同时鼓励学生进行研究。我们在最後一年所做的毕业论文，让我们 清楚知道自己想做些什麽，也接触到最新的科技。我们更因此而明白到做 研究的重要性，而我亦选择继续攻读硕士及博士课程。

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 汇丰银行 System Analyst Programmer 我们每天都要解决许多问题，包括程式及论文上的疑难。说实话，我认为 在这学系所学的是所有工程学系中最艰苦的，但也是充满挑战性的。我们 不只学会电脑知识，还有其他各种各样的技能。在团队中参与、撰写研究 式的毕业论文，让我得到全面的个性发展。教授及导师都很友善，他们会 鼓励学生在课室内外多沟通、多分享。此外，学系的系会举办许多活动， 而我最喜欢的是C.S. Cup，因为当中有电子游戏、羽毛球和拔河竞赛。 总括一句，在这学系里，我的学习生涯是充满乐趣的。

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

黄剑翘 Cambridge Wong Managing Director Wealth Bridge Asia Ltd. Cambridge是第一届CS毕业生，但这第一届学位真的得来不易。原来当年预科是有 两年制及一年制之分，Cambridge起初选读两年制，但未能考入 理想中的学位， 遂投身社会，及後再自修一年，取得优异成绩，但仍未能考取中大第一届电子 计算系，因为当年只得12个学位。Cambridge忆述有幸得到一位师兄建议，直接 向学校查询，几番波折，终获取录。 Cambridge毕业後加人了怡和的EDP部门，其後亦曾任职Digital、Town Gas等 电脑部门。及後怡和开发基金服务，需要一位电脑专才，Cambridge获前上司 推荐，出任主管一职，一去便十六年。因经济及机构纷纷转型，凭着多年的经验 及市场的触角，Cambridge向公司建议，私有化他所管辖的部门及服务，一方面 可减轻公司财政负担，他的团队亦有信心作业务发展。得到公司的同意及支持， Cambridge便开始他的个人业务，也成为他事业上的一个转捩点，不足一年的 时间，他已签订了数间国际金融机构，证明了他的眼光及决定。 (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~