Prospective Students

About PI

Qijia Shao is currently recruiting Ph.D. students (Spring/Fall 2025), research assistants, and visiting students. His research focuses on mobile computing, ubiquitous computing, and human-computer interaction. His work has been published in top conferences and journals in his field (e.g., MobiSys, IMWUT/UbiComp, MobiCom, NSDI, CHI) and has been recognized by MobiSys Best Paper Award (2024), MobiSys Best Demo Award (2024), MobiCom Best Demo Award (2023), UbiComp Best Teaser Award (2023), Hotmobile Best Demo Award (2020), and NSF Awesome Discoveries (2019). He was also named among ACM MobiSys Rising Stars, NSF Rising Stars in Cyber-Physical Systems. He has previously worked at Philips Research, Snap Research, and Samsung Research, where several of his proposed algorithms are being deployed in real-world products.

Research Area

We are passionate about solving real-world challenges with societal impacts. Our recent research focuses on building practically deployable systems, particularly on the collection and analysis of human data, including physical signals (e.g., movement, force, velocity) and physiological signals (e.g., electrocardiogram/ECG, electromyogram/EMG, brainwaves/EEG, body impedance.) These signals are crucial for understanding human states, as human states are primarily influenced by physiological signals and manifested through physical signals. By efficiently acquiring and interpreting these two types of signals, we can comprehensively understand human states and use this data to solve practical problems in various fields (including but not limited to healthcare, education, interaction, entertainment ), thereby improving the quality of life. Our research requires integrating various technologies (such as machine learning, signal processing, wireless communications, integrated circuits, edge computing, operating systems, 3D printing, etc.) to address address issues in two main areas simultaneously:

• Hardware System Design: Building systems to capture the desired data while minimizing user awareness of the system’s presence (imperceptibility), thus ensuring a natural and comfortable user experience.
• Software Algorithm Implementation: Leveraging the collected data to design algorithms nd machine learning models that are generalizable to new user polulation and enrionments while maintaining low computation overhead.

For more details, please visit his personal webpage: Qijia Shao’s Homepage

What We Expect From You

1. Enjoy conducting research that has practical applications and validating your proposed theories in the real world.
2. Have a strong self-drive, be eager, and be able to quickly learn new knowledge in various fields.
3. Relevant research experience and demonstrable research capabilities (e.g., papers, projects, design competitions).
4. A degree in computer science, artificial intelligence, electrical engineering, electronic information/communications engineering, automation, industrial design, mathematics, physics, or a related field.
5. Have seriously considered and understood the process of pursuing a Ph.D. (Here is a good reference article by Prof. H. T. Kung) and still be interested in trying it.
6. Be reliable, responsible, and have good communication skills, willing to communicate and share.

My Support

I am very willing to support my students in all aspects of their development. I will offer:

• Resources: Ph.D. students will receive a full scholarship (18,000+ HKD/month, with exceptionally outstanding candidates recommended for Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme/HKPFS, 27,000+ HKD/month) and ample research facilities and computational resources.
• Individual Attention and Guidance: We will meet at least once a week. I am very willing to spend time discussing with you, as this is a major reason I chose academia. You will have considerable freedom to formulate your own research ideas and implement them. I will help you every step of the way, ensuring you never lack guidance, especially in the early stages of joining our lab.
• Clear Expectations: Pursuing a Ph.D. and conducting research can be a confusing and lonely journey. Based on my personal experience and communications with other Ph.D. students, I believe clear expectations from a mentor are very helpful. I will strive to clarify my expectations to help you understand your situation better. I also support appropriate recreational activities and vacations, as it is sometimes necessary to take a breather and refresh yourself.
• Internships and Visiting Scholars: During my own Ph.D., I benefited greatly from research internships. I fully support you in undertaking internships related to your research direction and am willing to internally recommend various internship opportunities (in China, the USA, Japan, Korea) as needed. I have connections with many universities overseas (mainly in the USA). Depending on your willingness and opportunities, I will support you in visiting and exchanging.
• Travel: I encourage students to attend conferences. I will support you to present our works at conferences. This was one of my favorite parts of my own Ph.D., the “free travel.”
• Guidance in Writing, Speaking, and Other Skills: Pursuing a Ph.D. is not just about technical expertise. I will help you improve your writing, speaking, and other skills to help you become a researcher with excellent communication skills.
• Entrepreneurial Support: The unique entrepreneurial atmosphere and strong industrial chain resources at HKUST will also provide you with significant entrepreneurial support. Our research directions ultimately require creating prototypes and testing them in the real world, which is often the first step for many startups. Therefore, when good opportunities and appropriate conditions arise, I will also support you in leveraging our research for entrepreneurship.

Some of them were inspired by Prof. Vijay Chidambaram’s Interested in working with me

About HKUST

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), is a top-tier research university in Hong Kong located in the Sai Kung area. According to the 2025 QS World University Rankings, HKUST is ranked 47th globally. In subject rankings, Computer Science is ranked 31st worldwide and Engineering is ranked 33rd, both leading in Hong Kong for eight consecutive years. HKUST maintains a global leadership position in interdisciplinary studies, consistently ranking in the top 10 globally in csranking for interdisciplinary subjects. It has also established the Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies, dedicated to fostering the development of interdisciplinary talents. Additionally, HKUST has been committed to promoting innovation and entrepreneurship through various initiatives to strengthen the science and technology ecosystem and cultivate a new generation of entrepreneurs and pioneers. In 2022, HKUST ranked second in the Greater China region in the “New Wealth” deep tech unicorn incubation capability, famously incubating “DJI drones.”

Contact Information

If you are interested in further discussion with me, please send me an email AND fill out this form. Thank you!

Email Subject: School-Name-Intended Position (Ph.D./Research Assistant/Visiting Student)
Materials include: CV (education background, list of papers/projects, internship experiences, list of references, etc.), Research Statement (1 page, mainly why you are interested), transcripts, English certificate.