WKU Computer Science Graduate Huang Yawen Heads to the University of Hong Kong
Huang Yawen, a 2025 Computer Science and Technology graduate from Wenzhou-Kean University, will continue her studies in Computer Science at the University of Hong Kong. During her undergraduate years, she maintained a GPA above 3.8, ranked seventh in her class, and received the Zhejiang Provincial Government Scholarship and Dean’s Scholarship for three consecutive years.
Huang chose Computer Science because she saw how technology could transform different industries. At WKU, she developed a structured way of learning: focusing on core concepts in class, using technical documentation to expand her knowledge, and organizing key ideas before exams.
She also looked for opportunities to apply what she learned. During a 2023 summer workshop at the National University of Singapore, Huang learned a game-development framework from scratch and completed the core code for a 2D adventure game in two weeks. The experience showed her how theoretical knowledge becomes useful through projects.
Research became another important part of her undergraduate experience. Under Professor Baha Ihnaini, Huang worked on optimizing a Chinese medical consultation chatbot, focusing on data preprocessing and model training. Despite limitations in computing resources and data quality, she continued refining the model and later published the work as first author at the 2024 International Conference on Internet of Things, Automation and Artificial Intelligence.
WKU’s combination of classroom learning, faculty-guided research, and project-based opportunities gave Huang space to turn technical knowledge into practical problem-solving skills.
Huang also developed leadership skills through team projects. As captain of WKU’s second Hackathon, she led a team in developing a smart campus service app. By assigning tasks according to each member’s strengths, the team received awards for Best Collaboration and Most Interesting Team.
Outside technical projects, she served as a planning director in the university’s sports association, where she helped organize activities such as the freshman run and campus sports festival. “Technology taught me to solve problems systematically,” Huang said, “while student activities taught me the art of teamwork.”
Her campus experience also included service. Huang spent two years as a student assistant in the university’s information technology department, helping troubleshoot equipment and systems, and completed 91 hours of volunteer service through educational and community activities.
As she prepares for HKU, Huang hopes to continue strengthening her technical skills while gaining more experience through internships and projects. Her long-term goal is to become a software engineer with strong technical skills and a creative approach to problem-solving.
Looking back, Huang’s four years at WKU brought together academics, research, teamwork, and service. For her, learning Computer Science was not only about writing code, but also about using technology to solve problems, work with others, and keep expanding what she could do.
