The secrets behind winning national awards, landing jobs at top companies, and pursuing further studies at elite universities

“Did you know? At City University of Macau, there are undergrads who received internship offers from Tencent in their senior year, students who went on to top 100 universities worldwide, and liberal arts students who teamed up with science students to build interactive systems... Here, we place greater value on what each student actually gains.”

 

How did they manage it?

 

The answer starts with a “Class”.

 

This August, applications for the new cohort of the Honors Class closed. In the subsequent selection interviews, every student was asked a question: “Which supervisor do you want to choose?” The students’ answers were remarkably consistent. The answers were remarkably consistent — all pointing to Prof. Cui Sanshuai from the Faculty of Data Science.

 

Why him?

 

Perhaps the answer lies in what he calls “chatting”.

Prof. Cui Sanshuai

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Data Science
Core Member and Supervisor of the Honors Class
Research Areas: Multimedia Information Security, Machine Learning Applications, etc.

 

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Someone Who “Takes An Extra Step”

 

Going back, Prof. Cui was introverted and silent after transferring schools in middle school. Fortunately, several teachers did not overlook him because of his silence. Instead, they discovered his strengths and guided him step by step to come out of his shell. That experience left a deep impression that when he himself stood at the podium, he told himself: I want to do what those teachers did for me before. “If my teachers met the students I have now, they would probably do the same thing.” This sense of inheritance later found its place.

 

In the institutional design of the Honors Class, there is a special arrangement: supervisors must engage in one to two hours of one-on-one communication with students each week. For Prof. Cui, this is not just a thing on a task list, but the most important period of his week. But what do they chat about? Not just papers, competitions, and research progress. What students have recently become interested in, what difficulties they have encountered, which things have not gone smoothly, and even confusions they cannot quite articulate themselves—all of these can become topics of “chatting”.

 

Prof. Cui takes students on a field trip.

 

In Prof. Cui’s view, every student is a unique individual. They have different personalities, backgrounds, interests, and strengths. Only by truly understanding a student can he know what kind of guidance suits them, and only then can the student be willing to actively imagine, think, and explore. Sometimes, students cannot even put their “problems” into words. This is precisely when Prof. Cui pays the most attention. He encourages students not to rush to judge whether something is a “problem”. Anything, big or small, can be shared, and then they analyze it together step by step: What exactly is it that needs to be addressed?

 

Beyond identifying and solving problems, Prof. Cui also places great importance on something that seems simple—encouragement. But that is not just a simple “well done”. He thinks carefully and affirms exactly what the student did well. This was noticed by Prof. Sun Pei, executive associate dean of the Faculty of Health and Wellness and head of the Honors Class. He believed Prof. Cui is proactive, good at communication, and able to discover students’ characteristics. Thus, Prof. Sun invited him to join the core working group of the Honors Class. Prof. Cui describes his own philosophy and that of the Honors Class as “a perfect match”.

 

Honors Class visits X-Institute, Shenzhen for academic exchange.

 

Honors Class visits Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School

 

The Results

 

Prof. Cui groups students from different backgrounds for chemical reactions. Students from the Faculty of Innovation and Design handle the front end, while students from the Faculty of Data Science handle the back end, publishing papers as first and third authors. He has students from different disciplines form cross-faculty teams, turning what they learn in the classroom into experiential cultural projects, allowing interdisciplinary collaboration to truly take root. Sometimes “taking an extra step” even means paying out of his own pocket. Before funding was approved, he paid out of his own pocket to take students to the American Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) and the China Southern Airlines AI+ Innovation Challenge. The students did not let him down: international first and second prizes in the Mathematical Contest in Modeling, and a second prize in the China Southern Airlines competition. He says: “At the student stage, you should have the opportunity to make mistakes.” Doing your best is a form of learning, and choosing to give up is also a form of learning too. Knowing what you are good at and what you are not good at is a form of growth.

 

Prof. Cui guides students to first and second prizes in Mathematical Contest in Modeling

 

Prof. Cui leads students to compete in the China Southern Airlines AI+ Innovation Challenge.

 

When a teacher takes an extra step, students gain an extra possibility. These ideas ultimately became the parts of the students’ stories.

 

Jiang Siyu failed to be selected for the first cohort of the Honors Class, but he did not stop. He continued to learn from Prof. Cui to participate in competitions and write papers, took on the role of team leader more proactively in competitions, and even developed a mini-program called “Meow Memory Project”, which includes essential cat-raising features such as cat health management. Finally, he joined the Honors Class with the second cohort, as he had hoped. This year, he secured an internship opportunity in the cutting-edge multi-agent field at Tencent.

 

An introduction to the "Meow Memory Project" mini-program developed by Student Jiang Siyu

 

The ingenuity of education is hidden in the small details of everyday classes. Prof. Cui once noticed a student in class who was introverted but very skilled at sound effect synthesis, and thought of another student who was skilled in VR technology. What would happen if the two worked together? The two later formed a team, scanned the University’s landmark, the Nine-Dragon Wall, and created a mini-program, which was not only displayed on campus but also featured at the smart teaching and technology education achievement exhibition of the Macao SAR Government Education and Youth Development Bureau, showcasing it to people from all sectors of society. Those students who once “had many ideas but could not implement them” won national awards, landed jobs at top companies, and pursued further studies at elite universities after joining the Honors Class.

 

Prof. Cui guides students in a VR project.

 

Prof. Cui and students attend the smart teaching and technology education achievement exhibition.

 

Prof. Cui presents achievements at the smart teaching and technology education achievement exhibition.

 

Lifelong Learning

 

At the end of the interview, we asked Professor Cui: If students only remember one thing years after graduation, what would you want it to be? Prof. Cui’s answer was: “Lifelong learning.” He explained that lifelong learning ability is not an empty phrase, but a transferable skill. It is not tied to a particular course, project, or stage, but rather a foundational capability that students can carry with them whether they go on to do research, enter the workplace, or face a completely unfamiliar field in the future. The education in the Honors Class is more like “companionship” along the way. One day, students will leave the classroom and leave their supervisor, but this learning ability will stay with them. Perhaps this is also the key behind “winning national awards, landing jobs at top companies, and pursuing further studies at elite universities”.