This year marks the establishment of NYU Shanghai’s first annual series of N.E.T. Awards for Academic Excellence. The N.E.T. Award for academic excellence aims to stimulate students’ progress in academic research and recognize students who have made outstanding achievements in their work. From a competitive pool of talented applicants, 5 recipients were selected across disciplines.
Recently, the N.E.T. Program Award Committee is honored to announce ECNU PhD candidate Guangju Wen as this year’s recipient of the new N.E.T. Award for Academic Excellence. According to Wen, the N.E.T. Award “is a great psychological boost” and is an encouragement to continue on in his research.
Guangju Wen
NYU Shanghai - ECNU Joint Graduate Training Program (N.E.T.)
PhD Candidate in Applied Psychology
Q: What is the current focus of your research? Is there a particular lab you are affiliated with? Who has most influenced you in your work?
My supervisor is Professor Pekka Santtila, and my current research focuses on the causes of sexual dysfunction from the perspective of psychology. My supervisor, Professor Santtila, has influenced me the most in my work. He is the first international scholar with whom I have in-depth communications and contacts during my study, and he is very helpful and influential to me. Professor Santtila is a pure scholar, and often says "I work for fun". I think he completely integrates research into his life instead of viewing research as a burden. With Professor Santtila’s positive influence, I have returned to the original intention of doing research, following my research interests, identifying research direction and topics, enjoying the process of exploration, and doing research that interests me.
Q: Can you describe the support and mentorship that you have received from your faculty advisors?
In terms of research and direction, Professor Santtila has given me many inspirations. He and I find common interests through rounds of communications, bring up projects and then explore together.
Professor Santtila has also supported me a lot in terms of funding. If there are fresh ideas raised during our discussion, Professor Santtila will encourage and fund me to conduct pilot study.
And the most important is psychological support. Professor Santtila has helped me a lot with my "confidence building". Every time we have online meeting, we always have talks like friends before we discuss research. Once he finds that I am encountering difficulties in study or in life, or having some negative emotions, he would help me release and resolve these emotions in time.
Professor Pekka Santtila (first from the left) and Guangju Wen (first from the right)
Q: What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a researcher and how did you meet it?
It was difficult to have academic exchanges with international scholars for me at the beginning and I was not very confident at that time. It became a big challenge for me to adapt to the international research team. After many communications with Professor Santtila, I find he sees students as equal researchers. During discussion, we are like two researchers having in-depth exchanges, rather than a professor is teaching a student. I feel like Professor Santtila is my teacher as well as my friend and there is no sense of distance, and thus gradually and completely adapt myself to this international research team.
Q: What do you find unique about the N.E.T Program? How has being a member of the N.E.T. community affected you and your research?
I learned during promotion that N.E.T. program could provide resources from the two universities, while my experience proves to be far beyond that expectation. We have a joint lab as a strong support. My supervisor, Professor Santtila, Professor Gu Li and Professor Thomas Nyman form a joint lab, and host joint lab meetings weekly for students to present their research progress and for different research groups to have in-depth communications, which is very helpful.
Q: How will this award help you on your research path?
I am very excited to receive this award and am very grateful for professors’ affirmation. I would also like to thank my supervisor for his long-term help and support to me. I plan to participate in some high-end summer seminars related to my research to further improve my data analysis and data processing skills. I also hope to try more new research methods to improve my research capabilities and for further development.
About N.E.T.
N.E.T. (NYU Shanghai - ECNU Joint Graduate Training Program) is a program by which students obtain an enriched graduate education through mentorship by NYU Shanghai faculty advisors while studying for a master’s or Ph.D. degree at ECNU. N.E.T. gives students the opportunity to access the education and research resources of both NYU Shanghai and East China Normal University.