Education is a lifelong endeavor for Gary Yau, a senior quality assurance engineer in the operations organization at NVIDIA.
Since joining the company’s Hong Kong office in 2018, Yau has dedicated himself to mastering the complexities of our return merchandise authorization process — helping customers with technical issues, product replacements and more.
Yau said, “the challenge of ensuring precision, reliability and performance in highly complex, intelligent technology” sparks his curiosity in his daily engineering work and motivates him to further develop his skills.
Yau’s academic background in mechatronics engineering lent him a solid technical foundation — but he didn’t stop there. Using NVIDIA’s tuition reimbursement program, and encouraged by his manager, Yau returned to school and, in 2021, received an MBA from the University of Hong Kong.
The degree offered him fresh insights that he could directly apply to his work — and, after completing his degree, he was promoted to senior engineer.
“The MBA degree helped me improve the process, manage resources and better work with different teams,” said Yau.
His education efforts continue: Yau’s now working on an engineering doctorate from Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research project, titled “Super-Resolution Image,” explores generative AI methods to upgrade low-resolution images to high resolution. He’s aiming to complete his thesis next year.
Yau’s interest in mechatronics engineering began with a fascination for the Transformers films and his favorite superhero, Iron Man.
“Iron Man’s suit showcased cutting-edge technology, combining mechanics, electronics and AI, which are the essence of mechatronic engineering,” he said. “Tony Stark constantly innovated and improved his designs, which reflects the iterative nature of real-world engineering.”
Yau sees some similarities in his work at NVIDIA.
“Being at NVIDIA exposes me to rapidly evolving technologies, including AI,” he said. “The constant innovation and advancements in these areas serve as motivation for me to stay up to date with the latest trends and developments.”
Yau is a passionate advocate for education, encouraging his colleagues to pursue continuous learning and emphasizing the importance of career development. He also points to the critical role of team members and managers in supporting his personal growth and educational endeavors.
“My manager is supportive and helps me a lot,” Yau said. “He doesn’t just care about the work, but checks in on me personally and asks how I’m doing.”
NVIDIA offers a variety of learning and development resources to employees globally. The company’s tuition reimbursement program covers educational expenses — up to $7,000 a year — from colleges and universities globally. New employees are eligible to participate in the program as soon as they join the company.
The company also partners with Stanford University’s Center for Global and Online Education to enable employees to take select courses — which can be applied toward a master’s degree — with no out-of-pocket cost.
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