Name: Zhongling Huang
Hometown: Hefei, China
Extracurricular interests: Singing, cooking, working out
Postgraduate degree: PhD in Engineering
Life before Catz
“As an undergraduate student in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, I spent the first two years at XJTLU (Suzhou, China) and the last two at University of Liverpool. When I was in Liverpool, I decided to pursue a postgraduate degree to gain deeper and research-focused knowledge. Thanks to Professor Stephen Hall’s recommendation and advice, I managed to secure a place to study a Master’s course in Connected Electronic and Photonic Systems at the University of Cambridge right after my graduation.”
Postgraduate life at Catz
“I’ve been a member of Catz since I was a Master’s student. At the beginning, I was completely unfamiliar with the special collegiate system at Cambridge, and Catz helped me get used to it through detailed guides and various freshers’ activities, offering me a sense of belonging. Catz, despite its small size, is fully equipped. It has a dining hall, a gym, a coffee house (or bar in the evenings), two libraries, etc., which meets all aspects of my needs. Also, Catz is located in the heart of Cambridge: I only need to walk a few steps to get to my department, the River Cam and interesting shops. It’s super convenient for me to study and entertain here. Therefore, I chose to stay at Catz for my PhD and I was glad Catz chose me back.”
Postgraduate studies
“My PhD focuses on holographic 3D displays and human-machine interactions. More specifically, it aims to use a quadcopter drone and lidar system to map a 3D environment and display the 3D scene in real time to a human operator to enable piloting decisions. The display system will be equipped with eye tracking and gesture recognition technology to achieve hands-free control of the drone. My research group also expects to apply augmented reality (AR), which can display additional information about the 3D scene without limiting the operator’s natural vision.”
The Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholars Programme
“After I got my PhD offer, I was still torn between continuing my studies or not because I knew it would put an unimaginable burden on my parents, especially as an overseas student. The Harding Programme has relieved my concerns and given me the recognition and confidence to pursue my ambitions. It has generously offered me comprehensive financial support so that I can devote myself to my research. Furthermore, the programme has organised frequent social events, where I can meet outstanding peers with distinct backgrounds and research subjects. I think this has really broadened my horizons.”
Advice for undergraduates thinking of applying for postgraduate studies
“My suggestion is to plan early. This will give you sufficient time to search for projects that interest you, talk to corresponding supervisors and make a serious decision. You should go through all these whether you ultimately choose to purse postgraduate studies or not. In this case, you will be able to apply early, if you decide to continue your studies, so that you won’t miss out on the opportunity to apply for funding. For your information, the deadline for many Cambridge funding opportunities is at the beginning of December each year.”
