Welcome to the Synteraction Lab! We are dedicated to solving real-world, human-centered challenges and are looking for outstanding individuals with interdisciplinary capabilities, solid technical skills, and critical thinking. Our current openings include: Ph.D., Master of Philosophy (MPhil) / Master of Fine Arts in Creative Media (MFACM), Research Assistants (RAs), Visiting Students/Interns, and Undergraduate/FYP Students.

💡 Understanding the Investment & Assessing Potential

At the Synteraction Lab, we view every student's joining as a significant mutual investment. Cultivating an excellent researcher requires us to pour years of effort into daily supervision, provide substantial scholarship support, and treat every member as part of our lab family.

At the same time, we understand that assessing true research potential is challenging. Traditional resumes, transcripts, or brief interviews often fail to fully demonstrate the resilience, time management skills, and teamwork spirit essential in a real research environment. To be responsible to both parties and ensure that everyone who joins can thrive here, we have adopted a selection process that focuses more on actual research experience.

🚀 Recommended Path: Summer HCI Research Workshop

To better showcase your comprehensive potential and allow you to experience our research atmosphere firsthand, we strongly encourage prospective students to participate in our annual Summer HCI Research Workshop.

• Schedule: The workshop is held annually in early July and lasts for 10 days. It begins with five days of seminars focused on the fundamentals of HCI research, followed by a five-day intensive "paperthon" where you will start developing a research project.
• Location: TBA. We will announce the specific location and registration details in advance on our lab's official website and WeChat official account. Stay tuned!

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📬 General Application Guide

To ensure your application is processed efficiently, please follow the basic application process and the specific position requirements below.

【Basic Application Process】

1. Learn about us: Browse our lab homepage to understand our core research directions and past research work.
2. Contact us: Indicate your interest in joining our lab by email. Please ensure you follow the material and formatting requirements for the specific position below.
3. Interview & Mutual Assessment: If we find you a potential fit, we will contact you to arrange an initial interview. Based on our first meeting, we might have a small task for you (e.g., literature review, research proposal writing, or rapid prototyping) as a basic test to understand your capabilities and our collaboration dynamics.

【Specific Position Requirements】

1. Ph.D. and MPhil Applicants

Before submitting your official online application, please send an inquiry email to shezhao@cityu.edu.hk.

• Email Subject: [Position (Ph.D. Applicant / MPhil Applicant)] + [Your Name]
• Required Attachments:
  • CV (with a clear list of skillsets) and Transcripts;
  • (If applicable) Portfolio, Personal Page, Research Proposal, and English Test scores.
• Email Body (Please briefly address the following):
  1. What do you think HCI is?
  2. What is your understanding of our lab's research directions?
  3. What are your specific research interests in HCI?
  4. How do your past research experiences align with the work we do?

References:

• School of Creative Media PhD Admission
• Department of Computer Science MPhil/PhD Admission
• Find information about how to apply for the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship or another PhD scholarship here.

2.Master of Fine Arts in Creative Media (MFACM)

If you are interested in a master's program, please refer directly to the specific admission requirements for the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Media (MFACM) - Human-Computer Interaction Stream:

👉 MFACM Official Admission Page

3. Visiting Students and Interns

We warmly welcome current graduate or senior undergraduate students from other universities to visit our team for short-term collaborative research.

• Requirements: Make sure your home university and/or your academic supervisor allows you to visit for the period you apply for. You should be self-funded or home-school funded. For specific conditions, please refer to the CityU Visiting Research Students Guide.
• How to Apply: The application process is the same as for Ph.D./MPhil. Please provide the same materials and briefly state your research interests. Use the email subject: [Visiting Student Applicant / Intern Applicant] + [Your Name].

4. CityU Undergrads / FYP Students

We are happy to supervise CityU undergrads on research projects (We prioritize students whose proposed projects highly align with our lab's current research directions).

• Email Subject: FYP - [Your Name] - [Your Request] (request is what support you need, e.g., FYP, RMS, placement, etc.).
• Required Materials: Your CV (with skillsets) and transcripts. If you are requesting final year project (FYP) supervision, please attach your proposal.

5. Research Assistants (RAs)

We currently have no opening position for Research Assistants. If there are any updates for full-time or part-time RA positions, we will update the information on this website.