Postgraduate Student Life @ CUHK

For Nawapon Sangsiri, the path to a PhD in Computer Science at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) began in a final-year undergraduate classroom. Already studying at CUHK, Nawapon took a course with Professor Yufei Tao and found his direction.

“I took a course with him during my final year of undergraduate studies, and I found the subject matter incredibly engaging,” he recalls. “I knew he was a leader in the field, even compared to researchers in the US or Europe, and I knew that working under his guidance would be a rewarding experience.” 

That conviction carried him from undergraduate student to research assistant to, now, a PhD student in the Division of Computer Science and Engineering.

The HKPFS Advantage: Freedom to Focus

As a recipient of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship (HKPFS), Nawapon has a clear-eyed view of what the award actually means in practice. “The true value of the HKPFS is that it helps you get rid of all the typical distractions, allowing you to focus entirely on your research,” he explains.

The fellowship's benefits extend beyond the stipend itself. Guaranteed on-campus housing in the first year removes one of the most stressful logistical challenges facing any incoming doctoral student.

“CUHK provides a hostel for first-year students, which makes the commute seamless. Having that proximity to campus and the financial support to attend international conferences (such as the one I am attending this August) allows me to operate at the front line of my field without unnecessary burdens."

The prestige of the fellowship carries weight beyond Hong Kong too, ensuring that HKPFS recipients are taken seriously by the global academic community from the moment they arrive. For prospective students researching postgraduate funding in Hong Kong, Nawapon's experience illustrates just how comprehensively the fellowship supports a researcher's full professional life - not just their tuition fees.

Supervision That Puts Students First

Nawapon is currently in the pre-candidacy phase of his PhD, but he is already operating within a research culture that balances intellectual rigour with genuine accessibility. “Despite his busy schedule, my professor, is always easy to approach and makes time for me,” he says. “He prioritises his students above all else, which provides the guidance I need whenever I encounter a challenge."

That ethos extends throughout the wider research group. Far from the solitary image that computational research sometimes projects, Nawapon describes a collaborative environment where knowledge flows freely between peers.

“My groupmates and I often collaborate on projects; if I am stuck on a specific topic, I can ask them for guidance, and vice versa. It is a very collaborative environment.” For international students in Hong Kong concerned about navigating a new academic culture, that kind of peer support can be as valuable as any formal programme structure.

Hong Kong's Unique Tech Ecosystem

Studying in Hong Kong brings specific advantages for researchers in the computational sciences that go beyond any single institution. Nawapon points in particular to the city's inter-university course-sharing arrangement.

“A great thing about Hong Kong is the course-sharing arrangement between universities,” he notes. “It allows you to take classes from experts in your field across different institutions. I have been able to learn directly from leading professors at other top-tier universities in the city, which is a fantastic opportunity.” For students considering a Computer Science PhD in Hong Kong, that breadth of access to world-class faculty is a genuine differentiator.

The CUHK campus itself offers a distinct and quieter advantage. “The campus is peaceful and removed from the city's intensity, yet you can reach the city center easily by MTR. It provides the perfect balance for a researcher whose mind is constantly working on complex problems.” In a city as energetic as Hong Kong, that sanctuary matters.

Advice for Southeast Asian Researchers

For prospective doctoral students from Thailand and across Southeast Asia, Nawapon makes a case that is both academic and deeply practical. Geography is part of it: Hong Kong's proximity to the region means that staying connected to family is genuinely feasible, not just theoretically possible. “The fact that Hong Kong is so close to Southeast Asia is a major factor,” he explains. “It is important for students to be able to visit their families often, and Hong Kong makes that very convenient.”

But the academic argument is equally strong. “I would tell undergraduate students that if they are looking for a place to push their research boundaries, CUHK is one of the best places in Asia for computer science. You are getting the same quality of training and funding as you would in the West, but in an environment that is supportive and culturally accessible.”

For students from the region weighing Hong Kong postgraduate studies against programmes in the US or Europe, that combination of quality, proximity, and cultural familiarity is a compelling proposition.

The Moment Things Click

Nawapon's research centres on developing what he calls “small-and-sweet” algorithms - solutions that are straightforward to deploy in practice while maintaining rigorous theoretical guarantees for large-scale datasets. It is work that sits at the intersection of mathematical elegance and real-world impact, aimed at making data processing faster and more efficient at scale.

The moments that remind him why he chose this path are not the administrative milestones, but the intellectual breakthroughs. “I remember the moment I had a new idea for my research and I went to my professor to discuss it,” he recalls. “It was a breakthrough moment where things suddenly clicked, and we were able to solve a complex mathematical problem. Those instances remind me why I chose to pursue this path.”

For a researcher building towards an independent career at the frontier of computational science, those moments of clarity - in a peaceful campus office, with a supervisor who always makes time - are the foundation everything else is built on.