24 IN FOCUS Students Pathways to a HKUST PhD Born Lahore, Pakistan Dream A lab of his own to make “cool things” that impact the wider community a er being inspired as a child by the TV cartoon series Dexter’s Laboratory Education MS in Sustainable Environment, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar ( ) BEng in Chemical Engineering (Distinction), McGill University, Canada ( ) Scholarship Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme My doctoral journey at HKUST has been a fascinating one. I have had the opportunity to interact with some great minds while, as one of the best institutions globally, HKUST combines the perfect tools and environment to extend your skills and achieve your goals. In addition to research, for example, PhD students at HKUST must take a professional development course, with content ranging from presentation and writing skills to research ethics. In one of these sessions, I met Mr. Graham YOUNG, then a presentation skills training instructor, who really encouraged me to try out for the Three Minute Thesis ( MT®) Competition. This contest challenges PhD students to explain their research to a non-specialist audience in seconds. My thesis relates to electrochemical ammonia synthesis, and I had not attempted anything like this before, so I was a bit daunted at first. But a few sessions with Graham gave me the necessary confidence to enter. And would you believe it! I was named first runner-up in my first year in in the internal HKUST MT® Competition and again in my third year in . Even more exciting, the second time I was able to represent HKUST at the Asia-Pacific MT® , where I eventually made it to the final round and won the People’s Choice Award. Reaching the top eight among 54 participants from around the globe was itself an honor for me. But being the first student from a Hong Kong university to win an award is an experience that words cannot do justice to – and will be the highlight of my tenure at HKUST. I am grateful that I could participate in such a competition because it helped me develop essential skills for a successful academic career. I learned how to condense the why, what, and how of my thesis and its goal to achieve a brighter and cleaner future by sustainably producing ammonia – the second most-produced inorganic chemical in the world and a key ingredient for % of all fertilizers. This puts in perspective the wider purpose of your work and also enables you to share your work with literally everyone, from an eight-year-old to someone at ! Such an achievement would not have been possible without the support of the School’s instructors, faculty members, and sta . Indeed, the entire PhD experience at HKUST has been enlightening. As a researcher, the quality of work carried out for your PhD plays a critical role in defining your long-term career. An intellectual group of peers and a competitive environment push you to explore boundaries that may feel intimidating at times. However, through collaborative e ort, you can overcome all challenges and make breakthroughs that genuinely revolutionize the field. This is something I truly cherish at HKUST. View Usman’s award-winning MT® presentation Usman Bin SHAHID Year , PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering People’s Choice Award, Asia-Paci c Three Minute Thesis ( MT®) Competition Talking point: the single slide allowed in Usman’s three-minute thesis presentation for the 3MT® contest.
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