Hailong
2022
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Why did you choose to do a PhD?
Before starting the PhD, I actually had a 3-year master’s degree (by research) in a related field. During that period, I got to know what is academic research, and became interested in Operations Research. To start an academia career in this profession, I choose to do PhD.
Why did you choose to do graduate education at NUS? If you received offers from other universities, why did you pick NUS?
Because of my advisor, Professor Chung-Piaw Teo. I knew him when I was a master’s student. He gave a series of lectures in my school, and I was deeply impressed. In fact, I received a few offers from the US schools besides the offer of NUS, but I know that choosing a good advisor is the most important step to do a PhD.
How does graduate school compare to your undergraduate experience?
Graduate school is quite different from undergraduate study. In undergraduate study, all questions are given to you, and these questions have correct answers. You just need to try your best to finish them. However, as a graduate student, in particular, a PhD student, you need to find research problems on your own (probably under the guide of your advisor). These problems might not have correct answers, and probably nobody knows how to solve them.
Briefly share about your research or thesis (i.e. dissertation topic for Masters by Coursework students).
My research is mainly about how to integrate data, optimization modeling and algorithms to inform better decisions in business context. One of my recent research projects is about how to design data-driven pricing schemes for SIA to enhance their revenue performance.
Share something fun from your graduate journey at NUS.
In 2019 summer, IORA organized an international conference, and I was one of the volunteers to help scholars from the globe in registration. We got the chance to live in the fantastic Marina Bay Sands Hotel. We enjoy the infinity edge swimming pool, and see the beautiful night of the whole Singapore on the SkyPark. That was really exciting.
Briefly share a highlight from your graduate school journey.
Under the help of my advisors, I published a paper in one of the top journals in our field, which helped me a lot in my job hunting.
Share a challenge you faced in graduate school and how you overcame it.
Back to the lockdown period in 2020, it was really a hard time. No social activities, no dinner and offline chat with friends. Almost everything is online. My way to overcame the difficulty is workout. I tried different types of HIITs, and feel much better each time after exercise. More importantly, I keep this habit even after lockdown. Beginning from last year, I started to go to the gym to try strength-training. If you want me to recommend one thing to keep on doing during PhD, I choose exercising.
Do you have any interesting personal stories to share? For example, about your journey to get into graduate school, personal hobbies/interests.
My personal path to a PhD program is not typical. My undergraduate major is Environmental Engineering, which has very little to do with Operations Research. I worked as a design engineer in the construction industry for three years after college study. My job is engineering drawing for the construction of chemical factories or thermal power plants. At that time, I was not really interested in my job, and I sought to change my career. I noticed that my daily work has some connections with Industrial Engineering, then I decided to do a master in this direction and quitted my job.