Before moving to Macquarie, Professor Michael Sheng spent 10 years at the School of Computer Science, University of Adelaide.

Michael holds a PhD degree in Computer Science from the University of New South Wales and did his post-doc as a research scientist at CSIRO ICT Centre.

Earlier this year, Michael was recognised by AMiner as a Most Influential Scholar for his outstanding and vibrant contributions to the field of Internet of Things (IOT). He was ranked a very impressive 24 out of the top 100 researchers in IOT during 2007-2017.

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1) In a nutshell, my job is to…
Motivate and support my colleagues to be better. My department has an ambitious agenda and I believe we can do it.

2) The question I hear most often in my work is…
“Why can’t I do…” Not surprising to hear such questions given my position. But also lots of “How can I achieve/improve….”, which is really encouraging and pleasing to hear.

3) The thing I find most rewarding in my role is…
Celebrating the amazing achievements of my colleagues and the department.

4) This year I want to…
Secure sufficient resources to deliver high quality education to our quickly-growing computing students. The University has made more than 550 international admission offers to Master of Data Science and Master of IT programs so far in 2019 – almost triple the offers made in 2018.

5) The bravest thing I’ve done is…
Resigned from my senior software engineer position and flew to Sydney with $400 in 1999.

6) A place that’s special to me is…
Hong Kong. Five years ago, I managed to find some time and took my mum for a holiday there and she absolutely loved it. On our first day in Hong Kong, my mum left her handbag in a taxi but only realised this quite late. We reported it to a nearby police station and went back to the hotel with little hope. Amazingly, only two hours later, my mum got her bag back!

7) My mother always told me…
My mum would always ask me to have a bit of rest. I miss her voice so much!

8) I’m scared of…
If I have to mention one, it would be snakes and the like.

9) My hidden talent is…
Running. When I did my undergraduate in Beijing, I represented my university to compete with professionals.

10) A moment I’ll always remember is…
The time with my mum in Hong Kong. Lots of precious memories!