Hongtao Ma

Hongtao Ma

Chasing a path to the future Phd

Welcome to this page. Here you can find a detailed introduction of my academic background.


Click the links to view the corresponding supporting documents.

My educational background mainly consists of two institutions:

Expected graduation time: July, 2025

In 2020, I began my in the Bachelor’s program of International Economics and Trade at the School of Economics, BISU. Concurrently, in 2022, I enrolled in the Economics Minor Program at PKU as full time student. At BISU, I focused on fundamental economics courses, while at PKU, I deived into further economics courses such as Applied Microeconometrics and Special Topics on Chinese Economy. I also engaged in Undergraduate Research Training and worked as a research assistant at PKU. Thus, the core of my economics education was jointly provided by BISU and PKU.

Besides my studies in economics, I also take a Multi-Major studies in International Affairs and International Relations at BISU, which was driven by my passion for International Politics.

And to further enhance my skills in quantitative research, I started a path of studies in data science by many ways, such as the data science summer course in the University of Hong Kong, participating mathematical modeling competitions, and edx courses, which significantly enriched my knowledge in data science/quantitative studies.

The description of my studies in data science is in Other Statement,click here to see this

In summary, I have acquired a solid foundation in both politics and economics economics. I plan to apply for master’s programs related to politics and economics to further integrate these two fields of study, or for programs in statistics to lay a quantitative foundation for future PhD studies.

Academic Background

Beijing International Studies University

Peking University

  • Minor in Economics (2022 - 2025) -
    • Relevant courses: Economometrics, Applied Microeconometrics, Urban Economics,Economic Philosophy, China Economic Topics.
    • Undergraduate Research Training: Topics include economic decentralization, hidden debt in China, and fiscal policy reform.

The University of Hong Kong

  • Summer Program in Data Science (2023) -
    • Program: “Data Science for Beginners: Theory, Algorithms and Applications”
    • Relevant topics: Neural Networks, Nonlinear Programming, Genetic Algorithms.

Research Experience

For details, click RA-Experience

  • Advanced Research Seminar (Honor course in PKU)
    Project A · April 2024
    Tools: Python, R, MATLAB
  • Peking University, National School of Development
    Research Assistant (2024 - Present)
    • Project 1: “Alternative Data Generation in Data-Scarce Regions: Applications in Africa”
      Tasks: Data cleaning and analysis.
    • Project 2: “Carbon Reduction Pathways Based on Forest Resources”
      Tasks: Studying heterogeneity in forest coverage and highway construction.
  • Peking University, Undergraduate Research Training Program
    Group leader (May, 2023 - Nov, 2024)
    • Funded by Peking University President Fund.
    • Research Topic: Effects of financial decentralization on implicit debt accumulation in China.
  • Tsinghua University, Globalization Research Center
    Research Assistant (2022 - 2023)
    • Published a research paper titled: “The Monetary Credit System and RMB Internationalization.”

Skills and Certifications

  • Programming: Stata, Python, MATLAB , R
  • Languages: English (proficiency), Chinese(Native)
  • Others: QGIS

Publications

  • Journal Papers

  1. [J.1] Yi, W., Cai, X., Ma, H., Fu, Z., & Zhan, Y. (2025).
    A Library-Oriented Large Language Model Approach to Cross-Lingual and Cross-Modal Document Retrieval.
    Electronics, 14(15), 3145.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14153145

  2. [J.2] Li, R., Yu, B., Zhang, B., Ma, H., Qin, Y., Lv, X., & Yan, S. (2025).
    Lightweight CNN–Transformer Hybrid Network with Contrastive Learning for Few-Shot Noxious Weed Recognition.
    Horticulturae, 11(10), 1236.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11101236

  3. [J.3] Zhu, Y., Zhu, Y., Ma, H., Li, B., Xiao, L., Wu, X., & Li, M. (2025).
    Enhancing Boundary Precision and Long-Range Dependency Modeling in Medical Imaging via Unified Attention Framework.
    Electronics, 14(21), 4335.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14214335

  4. [J.4] Ma, H., Gao, Y., & Zhou, Z. (2025).
    Three-Dimensional UAV Path Planning in Urban Environments Based on an Improved Parrot Optimization Algorithm.
    Information Technology and Control, 54(3), 821–843.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.itc.54.3.41351

  • Conference Papers

  1. [C.1] NFT Popularity – Digital Artwork and Baudrillard’s Theory of Consumption Alienation.
    6th International Conference on Economic Management and Green Development (ICEMGD 2022).
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.54254/2754-1169/3/2022764 :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

  2. [C.2] Is Democracy Equal to the Right to Vote? – An Analysis of Substantive and Procedural Democracy in the United States.
    The 2022 International Conference on Public Service, Economic Management and Sustainable Development (PESD 2022).
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202315401020 :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

  3. [C.3] A Historical Overview of the Development of China’s Fiscal Theory and Debt Governance.
    6th International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2024).
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-642-0_64 :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}