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PhD Opportunity: Agentic AI, Reinforcement Learning & Bayesian Statistics at HKU (Shanghai Campus)

PhD position

9/26/2026

Interested in Bayesian statistics, sequential Monte Carlo methods, and reinforcement learning — with a research advisor working at the cutting edge of scalable Bayesian inference? Dr. Michael Zhang is recruiting a PhD student for HKU's new Shanghai campus.

If you've got a first-class quantitative background and hands-on research experience in any of these areas, this is a chance to work closely with an active, well-published advisor while based partly in Hong Kong and partly in Shanghai.

About the Position

  • Role: PhD student, School of Computing and Data Science

  • Host: University of Hong Kong (HKU CDS) — new campus in Zhangjiang, Shanghai

  • Advisor: Michael Zhang, Assistant Professor, School of Computing and Data Science, HKU

  • Research areas: Agentic AI, reinforcement learning, Bayesian statistics, sequential Monte Carlo methods

About the Role

PhD students in this program are fully considered HKU students — you'll receive an HKID and may split your time between Hong Kong and Shanghai, though teaching duties are served on the Shanghai campus. It's a genuinely cross-city setup, giving you access to both HKU's home campus resources and the newer Zhangjiang campus environment.

About the Advisor

Michael Zhang's research centers on statistical machine learning, scalable inference, and Bayesian nonparametrics. He completed his PhD in statistics at the University of Texas at Austin under Sinead Williamson and was a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton under Barbara Engelhardt and Brandon Stewart. His recent and upcoming work spans topics like nonstationary kernel design for multi-output Gaussian processes, Bayesian nonparametric frameworks for private and fair data synthesis, and scalable random feature latent variable models — with papers appearing at venues including NeurIPS, ICLR, AISTATS, and IEEE TPAMI. He currently serves as an area chair for AISTATS, ICML, and NeurIPS, and as an action editor at TMLR.

🔗 View his full publication list and research

What They're Looking For

  • Prior research experience in at least one of: agentic AI, reinforcement learning, Bayesian statistics, sequential Monte Carlo methods

  • The equivalent of a first-class honors undergraduate degree in computer science, applied mathematics, statistics, or another relevant quantitative discipline


How to Apply

This position involves a few coordinated steps — make sure to complete all of them:

  1. Review Dr. Zhang's research at michaelzhang01.github.io to make sure your interests align

  2. Email mzhang18@hku.hk with: your CV, a statement on how you plan to collaborate with him on research, and any relevant published papers

  3. Apply to the HKU PhD program at gradsch.hku.hk, listing Michael Zhang as a potential advisor

  4. Apply for the HKPFS (Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme) — details at cerg1.ugc.edu.hk/hkpfs

For more personalized tips or templates contact our team.

www.applywithmentors.com