During my time in the Department of Geography, HKBU, I was blessed with many great experiences in learning, research as well as everyday activities. The whole process of PhD study can be very stressful and while it was indeed quite a challenge, I was also very fortunate to have the help and support from my supervisors, my peers, and the Department. Every professor, researcher, and staff was so generous and supportive and I am in great debt to them for my PhD life. There were always great opportunities in developing research and other skills and connecting with other researchers and practitioners at HKBU. You could feel the vibrant energy in the campus and the eagerness to learn, to understand, and to create. Now looking back at this unforgettable period of my life, I believe the valuable experiences at HKBU have paved the path for my pursuit in the academic world and I wish all the best to the Geography Department, HKBU, and all who will start a wonderful and life changing journey there.

Professional Profile: http://ise.sysu.edu.cn/teacher/zljs/1386252.htm

I studied at HKBU since 2011 and received a doctorate in 2015 for my thesis, 'Home Relocation and Changes in Satisfaction with Residence, Travel and Life' (supervised by Prof. Donggen Wang and Prof. Si-Ming Li). I subsequently worked in East China Normal University, where I was tenured as associate professor in 2019. I started to work in South China Normal University since 2020 and I am now a professor in school of geography and the vice director of the Center of Administrative Division and Spatial Governance. I also serves on the editorial board of a Chinese journal World Regional Studies.

My research focuses on theories of political geography (including politics of scale, administrative division and governmentality) and geography of subjective well-being. I am also interested in residential mobility, travel behavior, housing differentiation, regional coordination and knowledge transfer. I have published more than 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and 6 books.

As a HKBU graduate and a young researcher, would suggest my schoolmates (esp. PhD students) to: 1) find a promising field and keep tracking the progress; 2) grasp a theoretical perspective and some analytical tools; 3) be good at logical deduction, academic writing and time management; 4) be innovative, curious and passionate in scientific research; 5) find good collaborators; 6) be active and open-mind in academic discussions. As a geographer, I would recommend the students at the Department of Geography to have a scalar view in geographical thinking and never ignore the impacts of geographical context.

Professional Profile: http://staff.scnu.edu.cn/wangfl

I received my PhD degree from HKBU in 2014 for the dissertation entitled “The spatio-temporal pattern of snow cover and its relation to climatic change in western arid zone of China”. I then spent three years at Institute of Advanced Computing and Digital Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences as a post-doctoral research fellow. Currently I work as a research assistant at Institute of Advanced Integration Technology and serve as a technology partner for iUnispace Co., Ltd.

My research focuses on remote sensing disaster monitoring, geospatial big data analysis and smart city. Recently, my work is focused on large-scale agricultural drought monitoring and urban residential environment assessment based on remote sensing, which serve for national production and life and make support for the construction of smart society.

The doctoral study experience at HKBU has given me an international vision of global change research, from which I have gained a lot of excellent research collaborators and commercial partners. Most of all, the concept of Whole-Person Education has made a great impact on my life and career development. It was an incredible and truly memorable time for me.

I studied at HKBU since 2005 and received a doctorate in 2012 for my thesis entitled ‘Analyzing and Modelling the Spatio-temporal Pattern of Urban expansion in China’s Arid Zone’ (supervised by Prof. Qiming Zhou). I subsequently worked as a postdoctoral research fellow and currently a senior engineer in Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

My research focuses on intelligent information extraction and change detection from remote sensing. I am also interested in ecological environment monitoring and disaster monitoring, early warning and evaluation by using GIS and remote sensing.

Doing a PhD should be a painful and fun experience. After completing my thesis, I felt that it was worth not giving up. As a HKBU graduate I would suggest my schoolmate (esp. PhD student) to: 1) get involved in research you need to develop skills in independent and effective thinking, critical analysis, problem solving, and time management. 2) Invest time in literature reviews and discuss with your supervisor. 3) the most important, to insist on and never give up.