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Openings for PhD, Postdoc, MPhil, and RA @ PolyU DSAI

Supported by the Presidential Young Scholar Scheme

About Me

I am Xingyi Yang. I will be joining The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DSAI) in Fall 2025, supported by the Presidential Young Scholar Scheme. I recently obtained my Ph.D. from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

I am establishing a new research group dedicated to cutting-edge AI, with a focus on Generative AI, Multimodal Learning, Efficient AI, and Agentic AI. I am looking for passionate Ph.D. students for Spring/Fall 2026 admission, as well as visiting students, RAs, and Postdocs.

Educational Background

I completed my Ph.D. at NUS, advised by Prof. Xinchao Wang. During my PhD, I was a visiting researcher at the University of Oxford, collaborating with Prof. Philip Torr (Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering). I received my B.Eng. from Southeast University and my M.S. from UC San Diego.

Research & Honors

My research focuses on Generative AI, Multimodal Learning, and Efficient AI, particularly their application to 3D/4D vision and physical world modeling. My work has been published in top-tier venues, including NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ICCV, and ECCV, and has received several honors, such as the NeurIPS 2022 Best Paper Honorable Mention and the 2023 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad.

💡 Research Interests

Our research aims to tackle fundamental challenges in AI by building smarter and more efficient systems that can understand and interact with the physical world. Key directions include:

  • Generative AI: Investigating structured generative models (e.g., Diffusion Models, LLMs) for content creation, scene modeling, and understanding.
  • Multimodal Learning: Fusing text, image, video, and 3D data to build intelligent systems that can perceive and interact with the physical world.
  • Efficient AI: Focusing on the computational efficiency, optimization, and adaptation of large pre-trained models.
  • Agentic AI: Exploring agents that can perceive, plan, and collaborate to autonomously solve complex tasks.

These areas are interrelated: 🤖 generative models provide general capabilities, 🌐 multimodal learning enhances understanding of the real world, ⚡ efficient AI ensures practical deployment, and 🧠 agentic systems enable autonomous behavior and feedback.

I am always open to discussing new and exciting research ideas.

✨ What We Offer

  • Close and Consistent Mentorship: I am committed to working closely with each student, providing guidance and support to help them become independent and innovative researchers.
  • Full Financial and Resource Support: We provide stable research funding, access to computational resources (including a GPU cluster), and support for attending international conferences.
  • Collaboration and Networking Opportunities: I actively connect students with collaboration and internship opportunities at top institutions (e.g., NUS, Oxford, UCSD) and leading companies (e.g., Huawei, Meta, ByteDance).

📝 Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for highly motivated candidates who are passionate about research and have strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Ideal candidates will have:

  • A strong interest in one or more of our research areas and a desire to tackle challenging problems.
  • A solid background in CS, AI, EE, Mathematics, Statistics, or related fields.
  • Strong programming skills and proficiency in English.
  • For Postdoc Applicants: A Ph.D. degree (or will be receiving one soon) with a strong publication record.
  • For PhD Applicants: Prior research experience and publications are a plus.

I value diverse skill sets and intellectual curiosity beyond a narrow specialty. Feel free to highlight any other strengths in your application.

🗓️ Timelines & How to Apply

I plan to recruit 2–3 Ph.D. students for Spring/Fall 2026 admission. The deadline for Spring admission is September 30th. Outstanding candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS), for which I will provide full support.

I am also looking for 1–2 Postdocs and RAs. These positions are open year-round with competitive salaries and flexible start dates.

Research internship opportunities are available for undergraduate and master's students, primarily for Spring/Summer 2026.

To apply, please send your CV and any relevant materials (e.g., publications, portfolio) to x3yang@outlook.com. Use the subject line: "[Position] Application - [Your Name]" (e.g., "PhD Application - Jane Doe"). Please include a brief statement of interest in your email.

✍️ A Final Word

Thank you for your interest. Choosing a supervisor is a significant decision, and for me, building this team is a new and exciting journey. My goal is to foster an open, collaborative, and supportive environment where we can explore new ideas and grow together.

As I am in the early stages of forming the group, I may not be able to reply to every email immediately. However, I assure you that I will review every application carefully.

I look forward to hearing from you and hope we can turn exciting ideas into reality together.