This June, the first cohort students will graduate from Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. The series of interviews with the graduates from Class 2021 will show their stories with GTIIT in the past four years.

Here is the story about Tang Shaokai, a student of Class 2021 from Materials Science and Engineering Program.

Name: Tang Shaokai

High school: Changge First Senior High School, Henan Province

Program: Materials Science and Engineering

During the four years at GTIIT, Tang Shaokai has received lots of honors- Excellent Award in the 4th National College Students' “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition in Guangdong Province, GTIIT Chancellor's Scholarship, GTIIT Extracurricular Scholarship, Excellent Communist Youth League Member, GTIIT Excellent Student Association Scholarship, GTIIT Outstanding Student Journalist. These honors have become the driving force for him to pursue higher goals. After receiving the offers of material-related programs from Israel Institute of Technology and the University of Birmingham, Tang Shaokai finally decided to pursue his master degree in Science and Engineering of Materials in the University of Birmingham.

Know the world from different perspectives

“Four years ago, I learned that GTIIT was a university provided all science and technology programs. I thought such a university would focus more on scientific research and devote more resources to it. In addition, the programs offered by GTIIT are the prestigious programs at Israel Institute of Technology. These advantages are enough to attract me!” According to Tang Shaokai, there are numerous reasons to choose to study at GTIIT. Firstly, the English teaching environment and Sino-foreign cooperative education model can lay a solid foundation for studying abroad. Secondly, as a new university, GTIIT will provide students with more chances to show themselves. Moreover, there is much to learn about Jewish culture. Most importantly, the scholarship offered by GTIIT is very generous... “Looking back on my choice four years ago, I think I make the correct decision. I have realized my goals at GTIIT.”

Tang Shaokai said that in such an international campus, he could learn a wealth of cutting-edge professional knowledge, learn about the cultures of different countries and regions through teachers from all over the world, and look for possibilities in seminars and lectures on various topics. The positive attitudes towards work and life of teachers also had a great influence on him.

“My teacher Fabian Rios is an expert in polymer materials and he really loves his job as a teacher. He is an excellent teacher in class and he often shares his experiences, interesting life and jokes with us outside class. We see him as an interesting friend. He used to be the coach of the national rugby team of Israel, and now we team up to form a rugby club at GTIIT.”

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“GTIIT is an open and diverse university. We are encouraged to ask questions. Students and teachers share ideas and learn from each other. In class, we can interrupt and question our teachers at any time. After class, teachers take great importance to our feedback and suggestions. We even had arguments when we were doing group projects.” Tang Shaokai recalled Advanced Discussion given by Dr. Constance Van Horne. “In that class, everyone would have a chance to lead the class discussion on a topic of their choice. We discussed big data, personal privacy, cyber security and other technological topics. We also discussed social issues such as workplace, living modes and racial discrimination. The different points of view always give me new ideas.”

Tang Shaokai felt very lucky to have met so many trustworthy friends at GTIIT. During the four years, they studied and lived together, helped each other, exchanged different points of view, and made progress together in cooperation. “The shining points of my classmates have been touching me all the time. I am very happy that we have shared experiences and imagined the future together. I wish we could overcome difficulties and confusion and move forward bravely in the future, and I hope to hear you call my name again when we meet next time.”

Experience more in the wonderful time

“Try everything” was the first key word Tang Shaokai set for himself in his freshman year.

In the second semester of his freshman year, Tang Shaokai was recommended by his teacher to participate in the Hult Prize Greater Bay Area Innovation Challenge, which is known as the “Nobel Prize for Students”. He just wanted to have a try at first, and didn’t expect that he could enter the final competition. It was really an unforgettable experience for Tang Shaokai to compete with the outstanding students from many universities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area on the world leading entrepreneurship and innovation platform for university students.

“Making a speech in English in front of hundreds of people is quite a challenge. But before that, thanks to the English teaching environment at GTIIT, I had already had a lot of experience speaking in English at campus, which gave me a lot of confidence to do better on the improvement of the proposal. In the preliminary competition, we were greatly encouraged by the teachers' recognition.” Although he missed out on the award finally, this experience gave him greater motivation to explore innovation and entrepreneurship. “That was the first time I tried to analyze a problem and come up with a solution from a business perspective. The competition taught me to understand and analyze problems from different perspectives and improve myself from different ways. I also have a deeper understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship. We are encouraged to try something new in entrepreneurship and innovation at GTIIT, and a lot of resources, supports and advice are provided to us.”

Listening to music, playing basketball and travelling are three important ways for Tang Shaokai to relax himself. “Music is a kind of company for me, especially when I'm studying and it can calm me down. I like playing basketball alone on a sunny day. Sunshine and basketball help me forget the pressure. When I feel depressed or confused, I will go to places like Yunnan Province and Northwest China, where I can leave my worries behind, experience different lives and cultures and discover something unexpected.” In Tang Shaokai’s opinion, pressure and loneliness are common on the way of growing up. He hopes that the juniors can take an active part in campus activities, try new things and find their own love in life.

During the four years, Tang Shaokai not only studied hard, but also actively devoted himself to volunteer activities. On the weekend of the second semester of freshman year, Tang Shaokai participated in the volunteer teaching activity in Guanghua Primary School organized by GTIIT Youth Volunteers Association. “It was my first time to take the role as a teacher to give English classes to children from Grade 5 to 6. I found that the understanding abilities and personalities were different from each other, so it was necessary to have tutorials. I needed to be very patient to understand their inner world. I also told them my own way of memorizing words to help them better understand. I seem to see my own childhood from the children, exploring knowledge curiously under the guidance of teachers.” Tang Shaokai hopes to pass on the knowledge he has learned from his teachers to the children through his efforts. “Volunteer activities enables me to take social responsibilities. It is very meaningful.”

For Tang Shaokai, the four years at GTIIT are not only a crucial period for him to accumulate professional knowledge, but also a wonderful time for him to try new things he interested in. Participating in the 4th National College Students' “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition and the Hult Prize Greater Bay Area Innovation Challenge; being the first leader of the PR department of GTIIT Association of Commercial Entrepreneurs; participating in the various volunteer activities, such as volunteer teaching, volunteer of the Asian Science Camp and blood donation activity; being the host of Campus Open Day and charity concert; making countless projects and speeches in class; traveling…… “University life is the happiest life. Just do what you want to do bravely. I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to do what I am interested in for the past four years and have a lot of wonderful memories.” Said Tang Shaokai.

Confirm my love after exploring

Tang Shaokai said that the practical curriculum of Materials Science and Engineering Program helped him learn a lot. “The required course Microstructure and Characterization of Materials enables me to learn the principles of various instruments that must be used to check the microscopic morphology of materials. Having mastered these contents, the difficulty of research projects and the operation of these instruments in lab will be reduced. A lot of time can be saved when knowledge from different courses or small topics can be combined. I found a lot of fun when I tried to relate what I learned in class to the application in industry."

Over the past four years, Tang Shaokai has participated in scientific research projects to gain more practical experience. "I joined Prof. Daniel Tan's research project on ‘Processing and testing of superior dielectric nanocomposites’. This scientific research experience helped me expand professional knowledge and master research skills, including literature review, designing experiments, using instruments, testing and checking materials, processing data and so on. I also learned a lot from my seniors in the lab and gained a lot of experience outside the classroom, and published a journal paper as a co-author."

“‘Answer’ was my key word in 2020. At that time, I was confused and wanted to find the answer for my future development after graduation. I felt under a lot of pressure due to the pandemic situation. At that time, I should have decided what I wanted to do after graduation, but I didn't have a clear plan about that. I knew that was a very important thing, so I feel stressed out when I made the decision. I was very grateful to my parents. They gave me great support and courage to make my own choice.”

Among all kinds of material branches, Tang Shaokai has a preference for ceramic materials. He searched for the development direction of the industry and learned about the applications of various ceramic materials and cutting-edge academic research. Gradually, he narrowed down the scope of the direction for his future study. "I think there are more opportunities in the advanced ceramics field than in traditional ceramic materials. I focused on ultra-high temperature ceramic materials through a series of information search. It is challenging to pursue the limits of materials. Ultra-high temperature ceramics can be used in temperatures over 2500℃ and many extreme conditions. After I had a general direction, I continued the literature review and found that the content of this research and the analytical methods used in it were quite consistent with the knowledge I had learned at GTIIT. Finally, I decided to pursue further study in the field of ultra-high temperature ceramics."

During the four years at GTIIT, Tang Shaokai constantly urged himself to be more decisive and brave, and this courage will help him achieve higher goals. “I think growing up is confusing. Every time I have multiple choices, I would be swayed by the considerations of gain and loss. But if you can become more mature after experiencing the confusion, then these experiences will turn to be your shining points. I hope I can achieve the key words I set for myself every year, transfer what I have learned into industrial application and achieve my dream of innovation and entrepreneurship in the future.”

More stories about GTIIT Class 2021 graduates:

Graduates | 黄欣怡：在广以成为更好的自己

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Graduates | 岑致诺：逐梦广以，上限无限

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI1NjY0NTMyNA==&mid=2247497937&idx=1&sn=f2fc24172a6915f827199f2a0d0103e3&chksm=ea213972dd56b06475b377f18190250ea5e6487cc006e64d29bceb8be0ebedaaec7c9354de0c&scene=21#wechat_redirect

Graduates | 陈嘉杭：结缘广以，爱我所爱

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI1NjY0NTMyNA==&mid=2247497704&idx=1&sn=adf3fd60560991094d7344fd66ff3ed0&chksm=ea21364bdd56bf5db4c41c79a3e7caccd654e49b34ba1811ddb5ba1cc103a4462d9e3ebb09e4&scene=21#wechat_redirect

Text: GTIIT News & Public Affairs

Photos: Tang Shaokai, GTIIT News & Public Affairs