Gary Qiurui

Had I known one year ago that I would become so much better, I would not have hesitated at all to choose HKUST. I am observing, practicing, reflecting, improving and most importantly, trying to give it back. I cherish every moment in Engineering, in HKUST, and in Hong Kong.

I was born and raised in Qingdao which vastly differs from Hong Kong in terms of education. Switching from a more academically focused environment to a rather career and life-oriented one was a cultural shock to me. I spent my entire first semester in the library studying, just like I had done in high school. The first semester was not a failure at all – it was a transition period. I transformed gradually from a computer enthusiast to a smarter computer enthusiast, and I started to appreciate the beauty of project-based and real-life based engineering.

The second semester really changed me; molded me into a different person. Due to the countless opportunities, the challenge for a person is rather not about seizing one, but choosing which one to seize. Time is the most precious asset. My friends speak different languages, excel in different areas with diverse ideas and mentalities. Everyone has a story to tell and to learn from. By learning Cantonese and English, there was a new world waiting for me to discover.

I’m glad that I chose to study engineering in university. Theoretically speaking, science discovers theories, engineering transforms the theory into products, and business commercializes it. For me, engineering is more concrete. When I saw my first electronic car and my first computer game or my first Android app, there was a sense of pride that I had never experienced before. With machine learning and artificial intelligence, there’s just so much creativity to be unleashed and infinite possibilities to be realized.

HKUST is a wonderful place, and engineering is marvelous. Welcome to HKUST!