Qianchen Sun, Jason

Qianchen Sun, Jason
BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering, 2017

I graduated from BEng in Civil Engineering programme at PolyU with outstanding results and went to pursue the Doctorate degree at the University of Cambridge in 2017. Currently, I work as a research associate at the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction. My work involves the development of underground structural sensing network and anomaly detection system.

Academically, University of Cambridge is an environment in which people study alongside leaders in each field, and are given the opportunity to develop skills that will help pursue our goals. My office is situated at the west Cambridge site, a newly built research center consisting of Department of Engineering, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The university encourages interdisciplinary collaboration among people from different fields. For me as a civil engineer, there are plenty of chances to work together with researchers from photonics group on the application fibre optic sensor technology in infrastructure monitoring, computer science group on data driven engineering subject, or even judge business school on the engineering entrepreneurship project. The past four years has taught me not only how to conduct scientific research in a critical attitude, but also how to promote the industrial application of the research outcome. We have established a long-term cooperative relationship with UK leading construction company through the past four years and attract more than £100K research and development funding up to now. I would say the University of Cambridge is definite a valuable platform for PhD student to learn, to collaborate, to build network with leading researchers and to form connection with industrial experts. The journey to pursuing the doctoral degree may seem arduous, but all these experiences will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Cambridge offers more than just an academic education. Life in and around Cambridge is also vibrant. There are a number of societies, festivals, museums, clubs, restaurants, sports, shopping centers, and many more. One of the most unique features here is the college system. The college provide students with accommodation, support and more. I am a member of Darwin College, a versatile and supportive community. Each week, Darwin College holds formal dinner. The college master gives a speech in Latin before the meal, and college students must wear suit and gown to attend the formal hall. This is definitely a very amazing dining experience and it’s always a good chance to meet new people here. There’s always something happening to keep people entertained in the college. At the end of each academic year, May Ball takes place in the colleges. It is the biggest student party each year. People celebrate all night with stunning fireworks display over the cam river followed by a night of entertainment ranging from comedians to classical and jazz music.

Life in Cambridge are more than what I mentioned above. In this beautiful small city, there are always something new to explore. I enjoy my research in the university and like the people in this city. I will continue working in the University of Cambridge as a postdoc recently and hopefully I will get a chance to go back to Hong Kong and contribute myself to the research in PolyU in a few years’ time.