Tommy Yang Guomin, a Computer Science PhD student at City University of Hong Kong (CityU), has been offered an international scholarship by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)². He is one of eight awardees worldwide and the only one from Hong Kong to receive the award this year.

The scholarship, which he received in July, is a recognition for his cryptography research into digital signature schemes. His work, which demonstrates the high quality of CityU students, helps to improve security for online transactions in e-commerce.

Tommy said he was delighted to receive the scholarship, worth US$12,500 (approximately HK$97,500), which will support his tuition fees and the purchase of equipment for conducting experiments, adding that this level of recognition will motivate him to do even better.

“This scholarship enables me to improve my previous theoretical concepts and encourages me to continue my research into developing reliable and practical cryptographic systems,” he said.

An exchange student from Fudan University in 2000, Tommy did his undergraduate studies and his Master of Philosophy at CityU’s Department of Computer Science and is now pursuing his PhD studies.

He thanked Professor Deng Xiaotie and Dr Duncan Wong Shek, Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science, for their guidance and support. “I am grateful that they inspired my interest in cryptography and helped me make up my mind to pursue my career in this field upon my graduation,” he said.

(ISC)² is a non-profit organization dedicated to certifying information security professionals around the world. It offers scholarships annually to postgraduate students conducting pioneering information security research projects.