Richard Branson is a British billionaire entrepreneur probably best known for starting Virgin Records and the airline Virgin Atlantic, which grew to the Virgin Group. Branson once tweeted “Dream big & you will be presented with the opportunity to lead the world on an incredible adventure.”
Richard Branson left school at 16, he never completed university, and when he wanted to launch Virgin Records at the age of 20, everyone told him the venture would not work; Richard didn’t listen. He had no guarantees that the company would be successful, however Richard believed in his dream, did not give up, and did not let anyone discourage him. When asked about his success later in life, Richard stated “Our dreams are what make us who we are. If you never have the courage to see them through, you’ll never know what you’re capable of.”
Branson was never afraid to say yes to new ideas and pursuits, and attributes this as one of the main reasons the Virgin Group is now an empire of over 200 very diverse companies – he never limited himself, he always listens to new ideas and continues to be opened to trying new things.
As many of you are starting your academic journey, or preparing to graduate, and searching for jobs, I encourage you to push yourself outside your comfort zone because that is the only way you will challenge yourself, learn how far you can go, and achieve your dreams.
“I am Chunhui Xu, a current Master’s student at CityU. Also, I am a Teaching Assistant (TA) and Research Assistant (RA).
I received an offer of a Ph.D. in Computer Science for Fall 2022 from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). I am interested in artificial intelligence algorithms and would love to learn more about them. Therefore, I applied for a Ph.D. program. Because of my undergraduate physics major, my research topic may be the application of deep learning in applied physics, such as predicting stellar states, solving particular equations, etc. Moreover, I would love to work in a research direction. If possible, I will be a researcher after my Ph.D.
When I first entered CityU, my initial intention was to work in video games. However, during my learning process at CityU, I was exposed to AI algorithms, and deep learning fascinated me. Therefore, I started to focus on deep learning. To better improve myself, I tried to become a TA. Fortunately, I made it and joined Prof. Radana Dvorak’s group. In addition, I became a RA and joined the HCAI research group she oversaw. With the help of Prof. Radana, my learning skills and research skills have improved a lot. Moreover, my AI knowledge reserve has also reached a certain level. I am grateful for her help, and she is also a recommender for my Ph.D.
This TA job has also familiarized me with working with professors, including Prof. Brain Maeng. I used to handle some course shells with his help. We also had some discussions on AI algorithms. Therefore, I have improved my skills very well. Furthermore, he is one of my Ph.D. recommenders. I am very grateful to him. Dr. Jin Chang, the instructor in my Python course and algorithm course, is my last recommender. I wish to thank him.”
STC Tech Club meets every Thursday from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM (PDT) via Teams to provide tech-related learning opportunities, skill development, and networking. Students or faculty who would like to share your expertise or project, please contact Yang Ren. Click here to join. Everyone is invited!
Upcoming schedule:
– Week 10: STC Applied Research Symposium
Capstone project presentations
The STC Tech Club is proud to announce we are providing vouchers for 50% discounts on the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification exam. Please contact Yang Ren if interested.
Meeting Schedule: Every Monday 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM PST – Join here
For more information, click here
NRC Health has multiple open positions available right now. For more information and to apply, click here.