On June 5, 2026, the College of Engineering and Jingyi College held a themed sharing session titled "Career Forward (Session 10): Outstanding Alumni Career Planning" in Multimedia Conference Room 114, Building 1, Phase 2. The event invited Hong Ziyang, a 2011-level alumnus majoring in Electronic Information Engineering from the College of Engineering, Shantou University, to share his experiences.
About the Speaker
Hong Ziyang, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Doctoral Supervisor in the Department of Automation, School of Intelligent Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen). He previously served as an Assistant Professor (Research) in the School of Data Science at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen). He obtained his Ph.D. in Robotics from Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom in 2023. His research encompasses underwater robotics, perception and localization of autonomous robots in extreme weather conditions, and robot learning. These research areas have significant demand and application in autonomous driving, service robotics, and ocean exploration. His research findings have been published in high-level journals such as IJRR and RAL, as well as at prestigious conferences including ICRA, RSS, and IROS.
Hong Ziyang shared his personal academic journey. He pursued his master's degree in a joint program involving three European countries, focusing on Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technology, which has been applied to underwater inspection of offshore platforms. The program provided dedicated scholarships supporting studies at multiple universities across different countries. He cited the example of a classmate who first gained work experience before pursuing further studies and eventually received a Ph.D. offer from the University of Zurich, providing a reference for students considering alternative career paths.
Regarding opportunities for securing research positions, Hong Ziyang suggested leveraging AI tools and social media platforms to screen projects and connect with supervisors, advising students to delve deeply into 1 to 2 projects to refine their highlights. For doctoral applications, he encouraged students to take the initiative and not fear failure, pointing out that domestic AI open-source platforms value research capability over academic credentials, and that pursuing research within China also offers promising prospects.
During the interactive session,特邀 alumnus Wu Zhiliang was invited to share his career development insights. Wu Zhiliang has worked at leading companies including Lenovo, OPPO, and NIO, and currently serves as a technical expert at an AI startup. Drawing on his cross-sector experience, he deconstructed career directions, job requirements, and advancement paths in the technology industry, helping students plan their career directions based on their individual circumstances.
This sharing session was practical in content and broad in coverage, addressing three major pathways: overseas further studies, domestic research, and industry employment. It effectively bridged the information gap between research and career paths, helping students identify their development directions, strengthen their professional competencies, and steadily plan their future career trajectories.
