Doctor Who? The future Doctor Wang, that’s Who

Computer Science Life at UoM 19th December 2023

There are many reasons to choose to study in Manchester. For Jie Wang – who’s just landed a prestigious trip to the Global Young Scientists Summit in Singapore – the fact that it’s in the country that a certain timelord likes to call home was a deciding factor!

Jie Wang, a PhD student in the Department of Computer Engineering, has recently been successful in securing a place at the prestigious Global Young Scientist Summit (GYSS), to be held in Singapore in January 2024. We caught up with her to talk about that, as well as her life in general and her educational journey. And, of course, Doctor Who…

Jie was born in North Korea but grew up in China from the age of six. She had a desire to continue her higher education abroad and was torn between studying in the USA or the UK. It may not have been the main factor, but one of the reasons she chose the UK was, indeed, Doctor Who. She was a huge fan of the programme growing up and said that although she hasn’t met her Doctor yet, there’s still time!

Jie originally studied at the University of Warwick, completing a foundation year before moving to Manchester. She was struck by the reputation of both the city and the University, and after attending an open day, there was nowhere else she wanted to be. After completing a BSc in Electronic Engineering, she was hoping to move directly to PhD study. However, she had some very sad news from home and her plans were thrown into disarray as she needed to return to China. She was extremely grateful for the support she got from the Department, and after graduating three months late, she was advised to study an MPhil in order to prepare herself for the PhD funding round. And that’s how she ended up where she is now – studying a fully-funded Phd in Cardiovascular Simulation using Computational Fluid Dynamics. She hopes to submit her thesis in summer 2024, and so hopefully graduate in roughly a year’s time.

And how did the invitation to the GYSS come about? In Jie’s words, “a couple of emails had been circulated about the Summit and I didn’t pay much attention. But one day I was in a podcast, which encouraged you to try any opportunities that come to you. So I took an hour to just open the email and fill in the application. I didn’t expect I would be selected because they only pick two people out of the entire University, and the board of the Summit also need to make a secondary decision about if you are coming or not. So it was quite a rough journey, but luckily I got in!”

In terms of funding, the University helps by proving a grant for travelling expenses, and food and accommodation are paid for by the Summit. Amongst a group of world-renowned scientists, there will also be nine Nobel prize winners in attendance – including Sir Konstantin Novoselov – and a packed programme of lectures, panel discussions and workshop. Jie has been lucky enough to be selected to present at a poster session.

Jie is also a PGR ambassador and works hard to ensure that PhD students’ lives are made more enjoyable, organising social events, parties and meals out, with the help of partial funding from the University “I feel myself I belong to the University of Manchester, so I feel there’s a part responsibility on me to show the welcome to other new people over here. I’m also going to host a house party in two weeks to just celebrate the pre-Christmas before everybody flies away back to home.”

Away from her study, Jie enjoys baking, which she considers almost a spiritual process: “during the weekend I just get up and go to the kitchen and do whatever I can think of – just to bake the cake or biscuits, something like that, to give myself peace, like it’s kind of a meditation process for me.” And for contrast, she relieves the stress of her study by less meditative pursuits: “one of things is as a PhD you got lots of stress all the time; it’s like a stress marathon! So what I like to do, is doing something punchy – boxing, for example; I picture my research over the punching bag and just do some punching and kicking, to help me out!”

And in conclusion, what are Jie’s thoughts about Manchester? Let’s leave her with the final word: “You won’t regret it if you come to Manchester. This is the place that will give you the opportunity to fulfil  yourself. If you work hard, there’s tons of help you can find in this place, and this can be the platform to deliver you to somewhere even bigger in the future. So, I want to encourage people, just do what you can do, try your best, and don’t be afraid”.

Find out more about PhDs in Science and Engineering, including details of funding scholarships for 2024/2025, with our dedicated Hello Tomorrow pages, and read how a Manchester PhD could change your tomorrow.

If you’d like to listen to the full conversation with Jie you can do so here. There is also a full transcript available.

Chemical EngineeringChemical Engineering and Analytical ScienceComputer ScienceManchesterManchester Engineering Campus Developmentpostgraduatescience