PostTime：5/22/2022
Time flies and the second cohort of students are going to graduate from Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) this year. From this article, we will present a series of interviews with the graduates from the Class of 2022, to show their stories at GTIIT in the past four years.
Here is the story of Wang Yuxin, a student in the Chemical Engineering Program.
Wang Yuxin
High School: Shenzhen Foreign Languages School
Received Offers from: Imperial College London, University College London, Johns Hopkins University, National University of Singapore, Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University, TU Delft
Awards：the champion of Hult Prize Grand Challenge, GTIIT Chancellor's Scholarship, GTIIT Extra-curricular Scholarship
Wang Yuxin, member of the champion team of the Hult Prize Greater Bay Area Innovation Challenge 2019, has devoted to the micro-plastic research for nearly all her university life. In people's eyes, she's the best assistant to the professor, the favorite peer mentor among the juniors, and the warm-hearted friends. "I just want to live everyday fully and happily," she said.
Best Interpretation of “Chutzpah”: Ready to take risk, Ready to sustain failure
From Nobody to Champion: the Story of the GTIIT Team
Chutzpah, often mentioned in the Jewish education, is also one of the academic traditions introduced by GTIIT. Peretz Lavie, President of Technion, explained Chutzpah as the character of expressing yourself in public, the character of sustaining failure, the character of daring to do something which does not conform to the routine. The story of Wang's champion team is a perfect expression of that.
Wang with her teammates
Hult Prize, known as the "Nobel Prize for Students", chosen as one of the "Top 5 Ideas Changing the World" by Time Magazine, is a start-up accelerator for budding young social entrepreneurs emerging from universities around the world.
At the end of May, 2019, Wang, with several classmates, set off for the Hult Prize competition in Shenzhen. She didn't want to waste her summer holiday and decided to go for fun, but never knew she would have met a bitter fight.
They lost the very first battle in the team-up stage. Hundreds of outstanding students from 25 universities in the Greater Bay Area attended this event, among them were some of the most experienced. Wang and the other GTIIT students were counted out for they were just green hands in the fierce competition, and from a university that even doesn't own business majors. "No one wanted to team up with us. We had no choice but to form our own team."
Lack of experience didn't hold back their action. "The close of the venue didn't stop our discussion. We talked about the plan until midnight." Wang still remembers the night before the deadline for submission.
Wang with her teammates
For the young team, they knew the commercial project should not be limited to plan book, but requires market survey and real data. This is similar to science research-- a doer than a talker. Wang's team immediately started their commercial research—calling and visiting to the target users; discussing the feasibility with the as many experts from enterprises and governments as possible.
Finally, the team won the recognition from all the judges with their reliable research result. Wang and her members, four freshmen students attending the Hult Prize for the first time, beat over 200 competitors from well-known universities including Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong, Sun Yat-sen University and South China University of Technology.
Wang's team won the champion
You Never Know the Result Before Action
Enjoy GTIIT's Resources and Try Early
Hult Prize is not an end and Wang lived a more wonderful life in GTIIT. She worked as the student assistant, peer mentor and other positions provided for students, to gain more job experience. She also participated in multiple club activities including the film club and dance club. In her story, "Action" is the key.
Luck favors the prepared ones. Wang shares her way: "Seize every chance to perform well in school!" Opportunity for Wang came in a class presentation. With a fluent and organized English presentation, she got the chance to deeply communicate with the professor and became one of the outstanding students who joined the research group in the freshman year. From that time, Wang started her research in micro-plastics, which laid a solid scientific foundation for her future.
From year one, Wang spent time in lab until midnight. She and her teammate went to neighbor cities to take samples from water bodies, daily foods and even human placentas. Research in the same topic for three years enables Wang to own more research experience than her peers, and even graduate students.
Wang Worked as Peer Mentor
Wang Worked as English Tutor
Outside research work, the generous and warm-hearted girl also undertook the job as laboratory assistant, guiding the experiment operation for the junior students. Eager to share her experience with more people, Wang also signed up as a peer mentor to help more freshmen students. She also served as a student assistant to the administrative department, accumulating practical abilities for future work.
Wang thinks GTIIT offered many meaningful courses. "Courses including Advanced Discussion and Academic Writing taught by Connie are very helpful for CV writing, paper writing and interview preparation."
She also wants to encourage the juniors, "Ask for professors' permission to enter their research team. Do this as early as possible, as you still have time change the research direction. You can also prepare yourself with interdisciplinary or cross-background research experience, which will enrich your application background. On the other hand, if you decide not to carry on academic way, you can turn to the other one in time."
Wang in Film Club
Wang in Dancing Club
"There are not too many disciplines or rules in GTIIT, where we share a rather casual environment. We are provided with a lot opportunities. It is more like a free play.”Wang Yuxin explored the infinite possibilities of university life in GTIIT. In the "university exam" of her life, this is the perfect answer.
