Hi, I am Qilin (Alan), currently a 4th-year PhD candidate in the Department of Computer Science at City University of Hong Kong, supervised by Wing-Kwong Chan.

My research interests lie at the intersection of Software Engineering (SE) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a specific focus on Formal Quality Assurance for AI. In the context of AI security, my work mainly centers on Certified Machine Learning. Beyond purely technical research, I also explore applications of LLMs in Education.

Publications

You can also find my publications on my Google Scholar profile.

Conference Papers

• Impacts of Histories and Models on LLM Grading: A Study in Advanced Software Engineering Courses [PDF]
  Qilin Zhou, Zhuo Wang, Yue Li, W. K. Chan.
  2026 12th International Symposium on Educational Technology (ISET 2026)
• Scalable and Precise Patch Robustness Certification for Deep Learning Models with Top-k Predictions [PDF] [DOI]
  Qilin Zhou, Haipeng Wang, Zhengyuan Wei, W. K. Chan.
  2025 25th International Conference on Software Quality, Reliability and Security (QRS 2025) (CCF C)
• CrossCert: A Cross-Checking Detection Approach to Patch Robustness Certification for Deep Learning Models [PDF] [DOI]
  Qilin Zhou, Zhengyuan Wei, Haipeng Wang, Bo Jiang, W. K. Chan.
  2024 32nd ACM International Conference on the Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE 2024) (CCF A, Top Conference)
• Delving into parameter-efficient fine-tuning in code change learning: An empirical study [PDF][DOI]
  Shuo Liu, Jacky Keung, Zhen Yang, Fang Liu, Qilin Zhou, Yihan Liao.
  2024 IEEE International Conference on Software Analysis, Evolution and Reengineering (SANER 2024) (CCF B)
• A Majority Invariant Approach to Patch Robustness Certification for Deep Learning Models [PDF] [DOI]
  Qilin Zhou, Zhengyuan Wei, Haipeng Wang, W. K. Chan.
  2023 38th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering (ASE 2023, short paper) (CCF A, Top Conference)
• Aster: Encoding Data Augmentation Relations into Seed Test Suites for Robustness Assessment and Fuzzing of Data-Augmented Deep Learning Models [PDF][DOI]
  Haipeng Wang, Zhengyuan Wei, Qilin Zhou, Bo Jiang, W. K. Chan.
  2023 25th International Conference on Software Quality, Reliability and Security (QRS 2023) (CCF C)

Journal Papers

• HiCert: Toward Patch Robustness Certification and Detection for Deep Learning Systems Beyond Consistent Samples [PDF][DOI]
  Qilin Zhou, Zhengyuan Wei, Haipeng Wang, Zhuo Wang, W. K. Chan.
  IEEE Transactions on Reliability (TRel 2025) (JCR Q1, IF: 5.7)
• Context-Aware Fuzzing for Robustness Enhancement of Deep Learning Models [PDF][DOI]
  Haipeng Wang, Zhengyuan Wei, Qilin Zhou, W. K. Chan.
  ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology (TOSEM 2024) (JCR Q1, IF: 6.2)

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science 2022 - Present
City University of Hong Kong

• Honors: Research Tuition Scholarship (RTS) and Postgraduate Studentship (PGS)

B.Eng. in Software Engineering (Outstanding Engineer Program) 2018 - 2022
South China University of Technology

• Minor: Finance

Experiences

Alibaba | Software Design Engineer in Test | Intern Jul 2021 - Sep 2021

Tencent | Software Design Engineer in Test | Intern Dec 2020 - Apr 2021

Teaching

Course

• CityU CS5351 Software Engineering
• CityU CS2311 Computer Programming
• CityU CS5348 Software Quality Engineering
• CityU CS3346 Software Testing and Maintenance

Supervision

• CityU Master’s Guided Study *Co-supervisor

Language

I am a native speaker of both Cantonese and Mandarin.