“At IMDEA Networks I received a lot of training on how to do excellent research and how to write good papers”

Why, what, how and where: an alumnus takes stock of his experience as a predoctoral researcher at IMDEA Networks

15 January 2020

We interview one of the members of our Alumni Network, Dr. Qing Wang. He obtained his PhD from IMDEA Networks Institute and Universidad Carlos III of Madrid in May 2016. When he was a PhD student at IMDEA Networks Institute, he worked on visible light communication systems and device-to-device communications. Wang was the co-founder of the OpenVLC project. OpenVLC is an open-source, flexible, and low-cost visible light communication system platform.

Qing Wang will join the Computer Science Department of the Delft University of Technology from the Spring of 2020 as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. His future research will focus on scaling wireless communications for beyond-5G networks. The scaling is not only considered a more realistic and disruptive infrastructure where base stations are densely deployed and high-frequency waves are exploited, but also other dimensions such as security and programming the surrounding environments. Here is the transcription of Qing Wang’s interview:

Why did you decide to pursue a PhD?

There were two reasons. The first reason is that intently I spent several years on research when I was a master student. And during that period I already published some papers, and because of these papers it grew my interest in research. Another reason is essentially I was born in China and as a Chinese at the same time actually is quite difficult for us to see the world. And the world is so big that I wanted to go out to see the world.

What would you highlight about your time as a PhD student at IMDEA Networks?

At the beginning, it was a bit difficult for me because it was my first time going abroad. I needed to learn a lot of things. Especially at that time I couldn’t speak English quite well, so that was really tough for me. But after the first year I learned a lot and also I learned a lot from the people, the colleagues. I really enjoyed my life at IMDEA Networks, especially the research and also the food here.

Do you feel your time at IMDEA Networks prepared you well for your professional career?

Yes, definitely. When I was at IMDEA Networks I received a lot of training on how to do excellent research, how to write good papers and how to give presentations. I also received a lot of opportunities to attend conferences that actually gave me the chance to build my own connections and also to see the world and chat with the world’s famous professors. I really like the training at IMDEA Networks.

Have you moved on to industry, academia or the research sector?

I will stay in academic, because I like research. Also I like education. I think my next goal is to land as Assistant Professor in some universities in Europe or in China.