Prof Ni: very good faculty staff

Computer science is the discipline that studies the structure and function of computers, as well as the application of computers to solving many important problems in scientific, engineering and commercial fields.

"Every discipline needs computers or networking technology. There will always be a need for specialists in this area," says Professor Lionel Ni, head of the Department of Computer Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), adding that his own son and daughter are both majoring in computer science.

In the past, Hong Kong students could pursue this subject locally at undergraduate level, but for advanced studies they had to go to the USA or the UK.

"All this changed in the last five to ten years," says the professor. The Hong Kong government boosted the quality of the territory's tertiary sector and created new universities. It wants to make Hong Kong a hub for information technology (IT). "The University of Hong Kong (HKU), the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and HKUST have hired very good faculty staff from all over the world in this discipline. The 40-strong faculty at HKUST, for example, is better than at many US universities."

Prof Ni, who arrived in Hong Kong to become head of the department on 1 July 2002, is someone who should know. A native of Taiwan, he graduated from National Taiwan University and continued his advanced studies in the USA, where he taught for 20 years at Michigan State University.

Currently, there are a lot of computer specialists in the market and the economy has not yet fully recovered. Prof Ni admits that it is not so easy for graduates to find jobs these days. He says: "They would have received five or six offers a few years ago. Now it is tougher." Nevertheless, he is confident that, once the industry bounces back, there will be no problem in finding jobs, adding: "We faced a similar situation in the early nineties."

With the assistance of one full-time staff member, the department makes special arrangements to help students get internships with leading companies, such as IBM and Hewlett Packard, and this often proves to be the first step to a full-time job.

All recent graduates have got some kind of job offer. The majority go on to work as computer programmers. Many find jobs in systems management, dealing with computer and network maintenance. Some join firms in the financial industry.

About 20 percent go on to graduate school. While many of the top students do still go to the USA, others stay at HKUST for full-time or part-time postgraduate work.

The phenomenon of postgraduate students using Hong Kong as a stepping stone to go elsewhere after one year is a familiar one, "but in our department most students stay," says Prof Ni. Apart from those studying for the MSc degree, currently there are 50 MPhil students and as many as 90 PhD students in the department.

Those who get a PhD are well placed for job opportunities. HKUST PhDs have so far found teaching posts at HKU, CUHK, City University and Baptist University. Three of them have posts in Singapore and a couple in the USA.

"Apart from academic posts, a PhD will also help find better jobs in research-oriented industry," says Prof Ni.

He says the programme at HKUST aims at educating students, advancing research in computer and information technology and assisting in the development of the information industry in Hong Kong and the region. "It is very important that we produce students who can help the Hong Kong economy."

But Hong Kong's information industry cannot develop in isolation. It needs to work with that of China and several graduates have recently gone to work in Shenzhen or Shanghai, where career opportunities are good.

Most postgraduate students in the department are, in fact, from the mainland, says Prof Ni. "For undergraduates in computer science, the top schools in mainland China are not inferior to those anywhere in the world. But for the graduate programme Hong Kong is better," he explains, "because salaries are higher and that draws some of the best academics in the world. The programme is good and graduates are well placed for their careers."

Course information

Requirements and opportunities Traditionally, computer science covers hardware, the physical make-up of computer systems, and software, the logical instructions used in a computer for solving problems. The programmes at HKUST are quite unique in the sense that they cover both, but put strong emphasis on software. The department offers two degree programmes for undergraduates, providing solid training in fundamentals and many emerging areas of IT and computing. The first option, known as COMP, leads to the Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) degree in Computer Science and provides a broad education in all areas of computer science. The second, known as CSIE, leads to the BEng in Computer Science (Information Technology) and concentrates on the areas of multimedia computing and computer networking. While information engineering programmes elsewhere in Hong Kong are closer to electrical and electronic engineering, the CSIE programme is unique in its emphasis on software. At the postgraduate level, there are five major areas where HKUST's Computer Science Department is strong: networking and multimedia computing, databases and web technologies, artificial intelligence, computer vision and graphics and theoretical computer science. Apart from the regular study programmes, computer science students at HKUST have the chance to benefit from a number of other opportunities, such as full-time study overseas for up to one year by paying HKUST tuition fees only. There is also a work-study programme with one year of full-time work outside HKUST after two years of study. HKUST also offers industrial training, with five different training modules during winter and summer breaks to train specific practical skills. Second and third year students can also act as tutors for students in first-year courses and become junior research assistants through participation in faculty projects, usually as part of a team including research staff, postgraduate students and undergraduate students. Entry requirements are quite high. In addition to having to satisfy the general university-entry requirements, Advanced Level (AL) exams in Pure Maths and Physics (or Engineering Science) as well as the Advanced Supplementary Level (ASL) in Use of English are required. However, one can get a small number of "bonus points" for good results in AL Computer Studies or the Certificate of Education (CE) in the same subject.

Taken from Career Times 2003/08/08