26-year-old one of Huawei's 'top minds'

Ning Boyu, a Ph.D. student at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), has been selected into the TOPMINDS program of Shenzhen-based Huawei’s wireless and optical product line, according to news released by the university recently.

Ning Boyu

The 26-year-old has been offered a generous annual salary of over a million yuan (US$145,365), Chinese media reported.

Ning is a Ph.D. student of the National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Communications at UESTC and worked as an intern at the wireless communication laboratory of Huawei’s research institute in Chengdu in 2012.

According to media reports, Ning has published a total of 21 papers in top journals and conferences in the communication field over the past four years while pursuing his doctorate. As a student, he has also participated in national key research and development programs and key projects of the National Natural Science Foundation.

During Huawei’s 2022 fall campus recruitment, Ning received invitations from the company’s two product lines and successfully passed the interviews and an additional test.

Regarding the details of the interviews, Ning recalled, “Huawei’s experts asked me very in-depth questions, and I couldn’t answer them all. Therefore, I would elaborate on the parts that I knew very well and skip the parts that I didn’t understand.”

Ning was also modest about the fact that he sailed through dozens of interviews. “I am just an ordinary student, and I am lucky to be selected this time,” he was quoted as saying.

He added that his research focus is highly related to Huawei’s future projects, and during the interview, he had very pleasant exchanges with Huawei’s experts. “We both learned new knowledge from each other and reached a consensus for future cooperation.”

Speaking about his future, Ning said, “As a newcomer to the workplace, I still have many shortcomings and much to learn. But I will always shoulder the responsibility and mission of serving the country’s major needs and try to make breakthroughs in key and core technologies.”

Ning is also a vlogger at Chinese video sharing platform Bilibili with over 20,000 fans. His videos, varying from digital product evaluation to traveling, have garnered over 6 million views on the platform.

Ning enjoys hip-hop dancing, high jump and swimming, and has won many awards in these fields. When he was in high school, he broke the 24-year high jump record of Chengdu Shishi High School.