u/Emergency_Cheek_9311

I’m completely new to academic conferences and have just started my PhD, so I’m a little confused about how conference presentations actually work.

When people say they are presenting at a conference, what exactly are they presenting? Is it usually a completed research study, or can it also be a research idea, proposed study, literature review, theoretical framework, or work in progress?

I’m also confused about the difference between an oral conference presentation and a poster. Do both generally present the same kind of research, just in different formats?

My biggest confusion is about PhD students who present at conferences only a few months after starting their PhD. For example, if someone starts their PhD in September and presents at a conference a few months later, what would they realistically have to present by then? It obviously wouldn’t be their entire PhD research, so would they present their research proposal, an initial research question/framework, preliminary work, or something else?

Does this depend entirely on the specific conference and what they accept in their call for papers?

I’d really appreciate hearing from current/former PhD students about what you presented at your first conference, especially if it was early in your PhD.

If I am already so Nostalgic at 24 what will I do when I am 70.. sometimes I feel I am already nostalgic while I am living the moment like yes I am gonna miss it but wthhh I am living in the moment and missing it simultaneously 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hi everyone! I’m moving to Hong Kong for Fall 2026 and was hoping to connect with others who are also moving there, as well as people who are already living, studying, or working in Hong Kong.

I’d love to meet new people, make some friends before I arrive, and get advice about settling in, accommodation, transport, student life, and anything else you think would be helpful.

If you’re interested, feel free to comment or send me a DM. Looking forward to connecting!

my_qualifications: Incoming international PhD student for Fall 2026, moving to 🇭🇰

Hi everyone,

I'm an incoming PhD student in Hong Kong and would love to hear from people who are currently doing their PhD there.

What does your typical day look like? How do you divide your time between research, coursework, lab meetings, reading, writing, and experiments (if applicable)? Do you also have teaching assistant responsibilities? If so, how much time do they take?

How many research projects do you usually work on at the same time? How often do you meet with your supervisor, and what are the expectations in the lab?

I'm just trying to get a realistic picture of what day-to-day PhD life in Hong Kong is actually like. I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences!

Hi everyone,

I have a question about contacting current PhD students or lab members before joining a lab.

Is it generally viewed positively if an incoming PhD student reaches out to current lab members to learn about the lab culture, expectations, and day-to-day research? Do supervisors usually appreciate this kind of initiative, or is it better to wait until you've officially joined?

I'd love to hear from both students and supervisors about how this is generally perceived. Thanks!

Hey everyone! Just got my PhD admission offer from a Hong Kong university (September 2026 intake) and completely new to this whole visa process. Could really use some help understanding how it works.

My offer letter says:

"We will later liaise with you concerning application for a student visa/entry permit to Hong Kong."

and

"The School of Graduate Studies will send you a separate email to arrange for your application for the student visa/entry permit."

My questions:

1. What does this actually mean in practice? Does the university handle and submit everything, or do I have to go somewhere and apply myself?

2. I've read about two forms - ID995A (filled by the applicant) and ID995B (filled by the university as sponsor). How does this work exactly? Does the university send me the ID995A or do I download it myself? And where does it get submitted?

3. Do academic documents need to be apostilled for the student visa or is direct verification from the university enough? As they have asked for my documents via post.

4. How long did the process realistically take from the point the university contacted you to actually receiving the visa?

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through this recently!

Hey everyone! Just got my PhD admission offer from a Hong Kong university (September 2026 intake) and completely new to this whole visa process. Could really use some help understanding how it works.

My offer letter says:

"We will later liaise with you concerning application for a student visa/entry permit to Hong Kong."

and

"The School of Graduate Studies will send you a separate email to arrange for your application for the student visa/entry permit."

My questions:

1. What does this actually mean in practice? Does the university handle and submit everything, or do I have to go somewhere and apply myself?

2. I've read about two forms - ID995A (filled by the applicant) and ID995B (filled by the university as sponsor). How does this work exactly? Does the university send me the ID995A or do I download it myself? And where does it get submitted?

3. Do academic documents need to be apostilled for the student visa or is direct verification from the university enough? As they have asked me to courier my documents to them by post.

4. How long did the process realistically take from the point the university contacted you to actually receiving the visa?

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through this recently!

Hey everyone! Just got admitted to a PhD programme at Lingnan University, Hong Kong with a full Postgraduate Studentship.

The monthly stipend is HK$19,280. After tuition and hostel fees are deducted, I'll have somewhere around HK$14000 left per month.

For those of you living in Tuen Mun or anywhere in the New Territories, is this amount comfortable for day to day life? Talking food, transport, phone, personal expenses, maybe some travel within HK. Not a lavish lifestyle, just realistic day to day living.

Also any tips on how much people actually spend monthly in Tuen Mun specifically would be really helpful. Is it significantly cheaper than central HK in terms of food and daily life?

Would love to hear from anyone who has been through this ; especially international students at Lingnan or other HK universities! 🙏

I just wanted to share this because it still feels unreal.

Back in December, I applied to a PhD program. Then a months later, a professor from the university emailed me saying that a position had opened up in his lab because a student had left. He had gone back through the applications, checked my profile, and thought I would be a good fit.

The problem? The email went straight to my spam folder.

And like many people, I never check my spam folder.

When I didn't respond, he actually reached out to me on WhatsApp. I am incredibly grateful he did, because otherwise I would have completely missed this opportunity. We had a short call for about 10–15 minutes just to talk and see if we were a good fit, and then another meeting the following week. Things went really well.

There were still a lot of things to figure out as an international student, and I was definitely nervous, but we stayed in touch. He also mentioned that another professor I had originally applied to was interested in my profile as well, so they were discussing who would be my main supervisor & co-supervisor.

Yesterday he messaged me saying he had checked with the graduate school and that I should receive my admission letter soon.

Today, I received it.🧿🪬

I'm honestly so excited. There are still challenges ahead. I have to cover some initial expenses myself, and my scholarship/stipend amount is also good, but is renewed yearly based on performance, this is such a huge opportunity and I'm incredibly grateful.

What makes this even crazier is that on the same day of my interview, I received a rejection from another university. Today, as well I received another rejection and woolaaaa I also received an admission letter that could completely change my future. And

I guess the reason I'm posting this is to say two things:

1. Please check your spam folder regularly.

2. Don't assume one rejection means the end of the road.

Sometimes opportunities come from places you least expect, and sometimes they almost get lost in a spam folder.

I'm very thankful that everything somehow fell into place.

I will be joining a research lab in China soon as a new PhD student, and I'm curious about the day-to-day social and professional culture in labs there.

How do students typically interact with their supervisors, postdocs, and senior lab members? Is communication usually very formal, or does it become more casual over time?

I tend to be quite formal and sometimes worry that I come across as overly polite or distant. I'm wondering how people usually address professors, ask questions, request meetings, or discuss research problems in Chinese/Asian academic environments, or any country in general.

I'd especially love to hear from people who have studied or worked in research labs in China. What surprised you when you first joined? Are there any social norms or unwritten rules that new international students should know? Or any suggestions will be great.

Thanks!

Anyone who applied to Shenzhen University, how was your interview? Specially for phd but any program info might help, pls let me know what to expect and how long does it last and how many people are there in the panel. And what is the acceptance rate?

I am getting the code on my email address while I’m downloading jw form but after entering the code, it is showing to enter the correct name, passport number and other names which is consistent with my form which I am doing it, but still it is giving me that warning, but I am getting the code on my email. Anyone having the same problem? Like when I tried it few weeks ago my email was not even getting the code, but I am getting it now

I finally finished The Office and I genuinely did not expect to love it this much.

At first, I kept avoiding it because 9 seasons felt like such a huge commitment, but now I honestly feel like it was one of the best things I’ve watched in a long time. What made the show so special wasn’t just the comedy, but the character development and how realistically everyone changed over time.

The show did such a good job showing that life is never “perfect.” Relationships struggle, people fail, people leave, things change unexpectedly… but somehow everyone keeps moving forward and finding their own version of happiness again. That felt very real to me.

And Kevin… I absolutely loved Kevin. He was SO innocent and sweet. One of my favorite moments was when Michael told everyone he was moving after proposing to Holly, and Kevin genuinely smiled and asked, “So we’re all moving?” 😭 That moment was so pure and perfectly captured his character.

I also loved how different everyone was. Different personalities, different dreams, different flaws, yet somehow they all worked together and became this weird little family. After Michael left, everything felt different, and honestly I cried when he left. I genuinely thought, “What’s the point now?” because Michael was the heart of the office.

But what surprised me was that the show still stayed good after he left. It changed, but in a way that made sense. Everyone started figuring out what they truly wanted in life, and the show became more about growth, change, and moving on.

I thought why did pam didn’t take the new job at Philly she even liked the new manager in Philly. He reminded her so much of Michael that it felt comforting and nostalgic at first. But then I realized the whole point was that you can’t recreate the exact same thing forever. People move on, life changes, and that’s okay.

Some parts were up and down, sure, but overall this show was genuinely beautiful. Funny, comforting, emotional, chaotic, and somehow very human all at once, and they did Andy bad after he left for 3 months boat trip like whyyy.. anyways

I’m really glad I finally watched it.