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PG Student Orientation
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Qiang Yang qyang_at_cse.ust.hk
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BBQ Date 22 Sept 2007

• 5-8pm, Sat. Sept. 22, 2007

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Agenda for Today

• Department Chairs Message
• English Communication Tutors Message
• CS System rules and regulations on using
  computers
• PG student and TA coordinators
• PG faculty coordinator
• QA

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Chairs Message

• Professor Ni http//www.cse.ust.hk/ni/

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Communication tutors

• http//www.cse.ust.hk/ct/
• Help improve your English!
• Shauna Dalton
• Denise Tong
• Noorliza Daveau
• Prof Sunil Arya is the coordinator.
• Attend the English conversation classes

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CS System

• http//cssystem.cse.ust.hk/

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Getting Help

• PG brochure and academic calendar,
  www.cs.ust.hk/pg
• Administration office (pgadmin_at_cs.ust.hk), Ms
  Connie Lau (cswclau_at_cs.ust.hk)
• Qiang Yang (??) (qyang_at_cse.ust.hk), PG
  coordinator
• Prof. Nevin Zhang is in charge of PG course
  waiver
• Submit your material to Connie by Nov 1.
• UG course waivers already completed
• A PG student representative to be elected (An
  Lu),
• TA coordinator Ming Yuan
• Read your CS emails frequently for info.

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PhD

• Course requirements
• Qualifying exams
• Thesis proposal and defense

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PhD Course Requirements

• 9 PG courses
• 29 1 (seminar) 1 (lang501) 39, covering 4
  areas
• Transferable courses from your MSc. degree up to
  4!
• One independent study course allowed.
• (mphil still 5 courses, 171135)

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PhD qualifying exams

• Breadth requirement
• GRE subject test (within 1 year)
• UG courses required in the admission letter
  (often 271, 272, 252 )
• Depth requirement survey oral presentation
• Often in Jan of one year later (that is, Jan. 09
  for most of you)
• Must be done within 1.5 years

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Qualify Exam and The CS subject GRE www.gre.org

• All PhD students must pass (at least 80th
  percentile) the subject GRE in Computer Science
  in the first year.
• All 1st year students should take GRE sub in Nov
  2007.
• Please register by 22nd Sept, 2007!
• You may have only two opportunities (2007/08) to
  pass it.

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Academic Advisor permanent vs interim

• Each student has to have an advisor
• Interim advisor, only for some year-1 students
• You are recruited by the department!
• You can still change advisor!
• Year-1 PHDs (and selected Mphils) are all
  supported by the department
• Subsequent years need to find sponsors
• Permanent advisor is your advisor and gives you
  financial support
• Handle properly student/advisor relationship
• Like a contract to join an academic family, w/
  duty and responsibility
• reporting chain PG coordinator, department head,
  dean, and VPAA
• Supervisors evaluate students once a year

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Finding a supervisormarket driven ?

• It is important to find a supervisor in first
  year
• Facultys research field interests you
• You impress the faculty member
• Its a supply/demand market
• Faculties grab good students and students search
  for good faculties.
• start talking with faculty soon
• A formal form is needed to confirm faculty
  student relationship
• Go to talks
• Sit in classes
• Read papers
• Knock on doors
• If you dont have any good ideas by April/May
  2008, you probably are in trouble

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Teaching Assistant

• TA (Teaching Assistantship) or RA (Research
  Assistantship)?
• Most of year-1students are TA, supported by the
  department
• Most other students are RA, supported by the
  faculty
• Each faculty can only have one TA (pre-tenured
  2)
• The rest of the years depends on the faculty
  members funding for RA
• TA coordinator, Ming Yuan
• Contact me for more questions

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Funding

• You are a staff not a pure student anymore
• as you have de facto a salary/scholarship
• Whos paying you?
• Your advisor,
• the funding of your advisor,
• TA/RA
• Its your advisors decision for TA/RA
• Fall, spring, and summer
• winter and summer breaks are not holidays ?
• Only 12 days vacation by law!
• You have to file the leave request!

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CS Seminar

• The CS seminar (COMP690/691) meets on every
  Monday at 4-5pm in room LTF
• Coordinator Prof Dekai Wu
• Some other times may be possible check emails
• www.cs.ust.hk/pg/seminars
• To pass 690/691, attend 7 (out of 12) seminars in
  the fall and spring semesters, and sign the
  attendance sheet.

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Office Space

• Each PG student is assigned a desk with a PC.
• If you have an interim advisor, you will be in
  one of the general PG offices.
• If you have a permanent advisor, you will be in a
  specific lab space.

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More questions

• What to expect when you first become a
  post-graduate student?
• How to find a research topic?
• How to do successful research?
• When are you ready to graduate?
• We will answer these questions later