Three ways to work with us.
How to work with IPNL — engagement structures, time horizons, and how to start a conversation.
For industry
Framework partnerships · funded research projects · consultancy and technical advisory.
Three engagement layers →For academic collaborators
Joint publications · dataset sharing · co-supervised students · joint proposals · working groups.
Collaboration tracks →For students & postdocs
PhD positions · postdoctoral fellowships · visiting researchers · research assistants.
How to apply →For industry
The lab structures industry engagements in three layers, by depth of commitment.
Multi-year framework
24–36 month research agreements with named deliverables, joint personnel, and milestone reviews. This is how the Huawei, OPPO, AIROHA, and MediaTek engagements are run.
Scoped research project
12–24 month single-scope projects with a defined research question and contracted hours. Examples: Google Research Award (US$40k, 2024); ITF-ITSP (HK$801k, 2024).
Time-bounded advisory
A few weeks to a few months: integrity-monitoring frameworks, architecture review, technical due diligence, expert opinion. SAIC Motor runs in this mode.
Time horizons
- Evaluate your algorithm on UrbanNav
- Technical Q&A call (30–60 min)
- Review a paper draft or proposal
- Invited talk on existing topics
- Joint data collection campaign
- Co-supervised PhD student
- Multi-year framework partnership
- Custom dataset for your city
How to start
Send a message → with:
- Who you are and your affiliation
- The nature of the collaboration and which layer above it fits
- Constraints — timing, location/timezone, budget if relevant
- Links to relevant material (technical brief, RFP, prior work)
See also: R&D Projects for a partner-by-partner view of how existing collaborations are structured.
For academic collaborators
Joint publications and co-authored papers; dataset sharing and benchmark development; co-advised students (PhD, MPhil, visiting); joint grant proposals; workshop and conference co-organization. The lab co-chairs the ION/IAG Working Group on Positioning at Asian Urban Canyons and welcomes collaborators on the working-group track.
Particular openings in 2026 include cross-institutional projects with Taiwan partners, integrity-monitoring methodology exchanges, and joint dataset campaigns for new cities.
To propose academic collaboration, send a message → with a brief description of the proposed work and any timing constraints.
For students, postdocs, and research assistants
Strong quantitative background in GNSS, signal processing, robotics, or machine learning. Self-directed, comfortable with field experiments, eager to publish in top venues.
Track record of high-quality publications in positioning, navigation, or related areas. Interest in mentoring students and leading independent research threads.
PhD students or early-career researchers from partner institutions interested in 3- to 12-month research visits.
Engineering graduates interested in hands-on dataset collection, system integration, and algorithm development.
Current interests (2026)
- Urban GNSS benchmarking — new cities, new sensors, new challenges
- Integrity monitoring — safety-critical applications and certification pathways
- Factor graph optimization — alternative fusion architectures to EKF
- Embodied AI localization — drones, robots, delivery vehicles
- Taiwan partnerships — joint projects and student exchanges
How to apply
Send a message → with:
- Who you are (name, affiliation, role)
- What you want to do (1–2 sentences)
- Why you think IPNL is a good fit
- Your CV and relevant publications
- Timeline and constraints
For PhD applications, please also mention your funding situation (self-funded, seeking fellowship, etc.) and your preferred start date.
Send us a message
Tell us briefly who you are and what you’d like to do.
Email:
Office: Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Profiles: PolyU Staff Profile · PolyU Scholars Hub · Google Scholar · ORCID · LinkedIn · GitHub (personal) · GitHub (IPNL).