To improve the writing and publishing skills of postgraduate students, the Faculty of Finance of City University of Macau held the second guided lecture on academic writing workshop series on April 19, 2023, at the Cultural Centre of Taipa Campus. The lecture was delivered by Professor Adrian Cheung, Dean of Faculty of Finance. The theme is "Reflections on My Research Journey" and the lecture attracted master’s and PhD’s students from the Faculty of Finance to attend.

Professor Cheung first stated that research is about both quality and quantity, indicating that indicators including the application for research funds, the journal of the article published and work experiences are very important in the research resume. Professor Cheung was ranked in the 2022 World’s Top 2% Scientists List published by the Stanford University research team based on citation indicators. Prof John P.A. Ioannidis from Stanford University and his research team prepared the annual list based on the world’s largest citation database, Scopus. The World’s Top 2% Scientists List encompassed two scales to rank top scientists from 22 fields and 176 sub-fields based on their career-long citation impact (1960-2021) and single-year citation impact in 2021. Professor Cheung’s research focuses on evidence-based finance. He has co-authored over 30 papers which was cited 180 times in 2021.

Taking an equation as an example, Professor Cheung explained that doing academic research is a process in which individual factors such as diligence, disciplined, strong research interest and willingness to learn are assumed as parameters and variables, and different factors can have different effects on research results. By sharing his own experience, Professor Cheung stated that for PhD students, there is no right or wrong in choosing a research university or a non-research university, a well-known or young thesis supervisor, and thesis topics, and all decisions can bring different help to their future research. He encouraged students to challenge themselves, always pay attention to the time limit, know and well use their math skills, and look for good research topics.

Professor Cheung also reminded young scholars of the importance of planning their future goals, developing strategies for research and publication, diversifying their research, expanding opportunities for collaboration with different academics and understanding job requirements. He also suggested that they seek a mentor who can guide them in their research. Lastly, as a scholar with mature experience, Professor Cheung expressed his gratitude to the professors and scholars he encountered and the opportunities he gained in the past, and hoped that he could pass on the knowledge he has acquired to young scholars and students, and provide opportunities and guidance to help them become good researchers and scholars.

At the end of the lecture, students eagerly posed questions, and Professor Cheung answered in detail. This lecture provides students of the Faculty of Finance with a shared experience of academic research, which will help them to think about and plan their future academic research path. Professor Yonghong Zhou, Associate Professor Shiyan Lou, Assistant Professor Lu Liu and Lecturer Simon Sou of Faculty of Finance also attended the lecture.