ENTRY

May 2025 Entry

STUDY MODE
Full-time, Part-time
Application Deadline
PhD & MPhil
31-Jan-2025

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  • Taught Postgraduate
  • Undergraduate
Talk / Seminar Playbacks are now available
About Programme
How to Apply
Introduction

The Department of Computing has established a solid foundation in Algorithm and Theory, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Cyber Security and Privacy, Networking and Mobile Computing, and System Modelling and Software Engineering.

 

Our students’ cutting-edge research is supported by enthusiastic faculty members and support staff who ensure that the Department provides them with a positive and nurturing academic environment.

 

The Department also ensures that all research students have opportunities to enrich their research experience through research exchange visits, attendance at leading international conferences and participation in global competitions and departmental projects.

 

The Department’s global network crosses disciplines and bridges industries, offering our students ample career opportunities, resources and access to research funding.

Research Area

Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Computing

Our researchers of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Computing bring together the efforts from diverse areas to deliver high impact research. Among others, their investigations cover parallel databases as services; data accountability and service outsourcing; data and communicative behaviour in online social networks; effective search engine indexing; transfer-learning methods for multisource data sets; and social media big data analysis. Our group also works on various kinds of machine learning models, such as deep learning and transfer learning models, while applying these in the design of robots. We also work on social robotics, affective computing, and artificial creativity as well.

Please click here to find out more about the research interests of our Department of Computing and contact our staff directly to discuss research opportunities.

Blockchain, Cyber Security and Privacy

Cyber Security and Privacy address a wide range of security and privacy issues that have a profound impact on securing the cyberspace. Researchers in the group have expertise in areas such as the financial technology, blockchain, post-quantum computing security, mobile applications, Internet of Things (IoT), and the underlying Internet infrastructure. They have a close relationship with industries and have successfully transferred our knowledge to solve security and privacy problems in the real world.

Please click here to find out more about the research interests of our Department of Computing and contact our staff directly to discuss research opportunities.

Graphics, Multimedia and Virtual Reality

Multimedia combines content such as sound, images and graphics to make applications dynamic in areas such as education, entertainment, social networking and telemedicine. The key research challenges lie in managing complex multimedia objects and extending them into three dimensions with the capacity for real-time interaction. Our researchers focus on three-dimensional computer graphic modelling and rendering, distributed three-dimensional graphics, image and video quality enhancement, content-based image retrieval, and multi-sensor data and motion analysis.

Please click here to find out more about the research interests of our Department of Computing and contact our staff directly to discuss research opportunities.

Networking and Mobile Computing

Networking and Mobile Computing is concerned with designing efficient communications protocols and architectures for exchanging data among computers and mobile devices, enabling a wide range of networked applications with enhanced real-world experience of network and mobile users. Research areas investigated by the group faculty include but are not limited to edge computing, smart sensing and networking, pervasive and mobile computing, Internet of Things, and network measurement.

Please click here to find out more about the research interests of our Department of Computing and contact our staff directly to discuss research opportunities.

Pattern Recognition and Natural Language Processing

Pattern recognition, or the classification of measurements and observations, is significantly enhanced through the application of computational intelligence techniques. With surging demand for efficient and high-performance automated pattern recognition, breakthroughs are being made in emerging areas such as video and image processing, medical imaging, biometric security, Web intelligence, social media mining, and human-machine interaction with language, among others,  with applications to smart city development and health care.

Please click here to find out more about the research interests of our Department of Computing and contact our staff directly to discuss research opportunities.

Systems Modelling and Software Engineering

Systems and software engineering involves the development of methodologies, processes and tools for building robust, high performance computer-based systems. In this area, our researchers have applied their expertise on key challenges in agile development, context-aware middleware, cost estimation, cyber-physical systems, real-time embedded systems, software metrics, software processes and quality, storage in embedded systems and risk management. They are also working on solutions to the problems arising from the use of business-critical applications.

Please click here to find out more about the research interests of our Department of Computing and contact our staff directly to discuss research opportunities.

Research Facilities

Departmental Research Centre and Laboratories

Currently, the Department has the University Research Facility in Big Data Analytics (UBDA), Biometrics Research and Innovation Centre, Data Science and AI Lab (DaSAIL), FinTech and Cyber Security Lab (FCSL), Internet and Mobile Computing Lab (IMCL), PolyU-Yonyou Joint Laboratory on Smart Cloud Computing and Research Centre on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RC-DSAI).

 

Private Cloud and GPU clusters

A private cloud has been built to provide a fully integrated, self-service, scalable virtualised platform. The platform is widely and intensely used by our staff and students, greatly facilitating their research progress. With the strong need for deep learning related research, the Department is establishing GPU clusters.

 

EEG System

An electroencephalogram (EEG) system was purchased to support research on cognitive computing and related areas for applications on smart healthcare, smart living and smart education. The system promotes high-impact interdisciplinary research on fundamental scientific problems, such as investigating the neural systems and internal activities of the brain, the analysis and prediction of human behaviour and emotion and the diagnosis and rehabilitation of mental disease.

 

Virtual and Augmented Reality System

The Department has purchased equipment for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AU) research, including (1) a projection VR system that delivers high-end visuals with a mixed reality (VR + AR) environment, in which multiple users can share their data, design and visual experiences; (2) a walking VR system that visualises, navigates and interacts within 25´25 sq. metres; the user can freely move, touch and interact in a large tracking space; (3) a standing VR system that can be used with home-use VR systems; and (4) a mobile VR system that can be used on a smartphone.

Supporting Documents
Academic Referee's Report

Compulsory - Two Academic Referee's Reports are required for the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS) and PolyU Presidential PhD Fellowship Scheme (PPPFS). 

Optional - For PolyU Research Postgraduate programmes

Curriculum Vitae

Compulsory

Research Proposal

Compulsory - A standard form must be used for the submission of research proposal.  Please click here to download the form.

Transcript / Certificate

Compulsory

  • Graduation certificate(s) - Applicants with academic qualifications from the Chinese Mainlandmust hold both the Degree Certificate (學位證書) and Graduation Certificate (畢業證書); and
  • Transcript(s) - Show all the courses and grades taken during the whole study period and contain all pages including the explanatory notes and the grading system.