Time flies and the second cohort of students are going to graduate from Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) this year. 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 Bin Xin, a student of the Class of 2022 from the Materials Science and Engineering Program.

宾馨 Bin Xin

High School：

Chongqing No.18 Middle School

Awards：

2021 Third Class Chancellor’s Scholarship, Dean’s list

2020 Third Class Chancellor’s Scholarship, Dean’s list

2019 Third Class Chancellor’s Scholarship, Dean’s list

2018 Third Class Chancellor’s Scholarship

Received offers from：

University of California, Berkeley

Cornell University

University of Pennsylvania

Rice University

Technische Universiteit Delft

"I still remember the first time I attended the GTIIT awards ceremony. When I saw the winners of the Vice-Chancellor’s and Dean's list, I made up my mind to use three years to become as good as them." Three years later, this lively and confident girl has fulfilled the promise she made. She is worthy of herself both in study and in life.

Change

Back in 2018, there are thousands of colleges and universities listed in the "Universities Application Guide", but Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology attracted Bin Xin's attention for the first time. "GTIIT is a Sino-foreign cooperative university. Its unique youth and vitality deeply attracted me. I also contacted some students here through the forum, and their love for GTIIT confirmed my choice."

Bin Xin breaks away from the spoon-feeding education in high school and has a colorful university life of her dreams. But the sudden influx of different choices in life also made her lose the rhythm of learning. At the end of the first year, she did not achieve satisfactory results. At the Awards Ceremony, Bin Xin, who was sitting under the stage, looked up at the glittering winners on the stage, and set a goal for the next three years: "My classmates are so good, I should study harder."

For the following years, she was very self-disciplined, maintaining a seven-to-eleven schedule with her roommates. "I rarely stay up late, and I'm used to making long-term plans, so there is no need to review all night or do my homework until last time." In Bin Xin's mind, time needs to be well-arranged. There will have too many uncertain factors if she studies in a hurry, so she usually reviews the subjects one month before the exam. Arranging study time in advance has also become one of the keys to improving her grades. "Besides, I think cooperative learning is very important. Taking the initiative to ask teachers and discussing with classmates can help me better understand professional knowledge."

Time flies, and she gradually got used to the learning atmosphere of GTIIT. "When I was a freshman, I studied basic subjects such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry, which made me feel boring. But when I started to learn professional knowledge in my sophomore year, I felt that my goals were clear and found the field that I am interested in." She believes that compared with many other universities, GTIIT is more dynamic and the relationship between teachers and students is closer. "My friends who studied in other universities can only join the professor's research group at the graduating stage, but in GTIIT, we can join even we are undergraduate students. As long as you are brave enough to contact the professor, he/she will try to provide you with many opportunities."

Research

Bin Xin fully used the scientific research opportunities provided by GTIIT. In her junior year, she joined Prof. Qi Yuanshen's team through a friend's introduction to explore the high-temperature characteristics of nanomaterials in the field of nanometallurgy. This is a very valuable subject, which can solve the problem of easy embrittlement of materials in actual production.

"Prof. Qi is a very conscientious, responsible and approachable teacher. In the group meeting, his humorous language always cheers us up. He is like our friend. Besides teaching , he also provides us with snacks." Prof. Qi's daily scientific research is very busy, but if students have questions, he always makes time to answer them as soon as possible.

The research experience in Prof. Qi's group made Bin Xin gradually discover the charm of materials science and engineering. "Material science and engineering is a very special program. On the one hand, it is very basic and requires a lot of theoretical knowledge. On the other hand, it is very practical. Take the high-temperature characteristics of nanomaterials as an example. It's an academic study in a microscopic field, but if it finally comes to fruition, this technology could help the industry for five or even ten years in the future."

Because of Prof. Aleksandra Baron-Wiechec’s class, Bin Xin became interested in hydrogen embrittlement. With this strong interest, Bin Xin contact the professor during the summer vacation of her junior year and joined the summer project to conduct more detailed research. Prof. Baron-Wiechec has given her a lot of help both in study and in life. During the research process, Prof. Baron-Wiechec always helps her solve doubts; when she is confused about her graduate university selection and research direction, Prof. Baron-Wiechec also shares her unique views and suggestions with her.

Rich scientific research experience has also become a major advantage of Bin Xin's postgraduate application. When applying to American universities, you need to provide an essay that reflects the individual diversity of students, such as a rich scientific research background, enriching campus life, and contributions to the community. "Many universities will consider both GPA and personal diversity rather than just GPA," Bin Xin said.

Friends

During the interview, the word "friend" was repeatedly mentioned by Bin Xin. Because of her friend's recommendation, she contacted the professor to join the research group; because of her friend's introduction, she stood on the stage of an English drama for the first time; because of her friend's insistence, she went on a ski trip. "I like to make friends. I am very grateful to my friends for their help in my study and life during the four years. Getting to know good friends will make us better together!"

Bin Xin (the right one) with her friends

Bin Xin (middle) with her friends on music festival

Bin Xin is also a full "experience person" in life. During her university time, she served as a research assistant in the laboratory, assisted the research work of the professors, and arranged group meeting time for the laboratory; she was also an assistant in RIGS department of GTIIT, assisting the daily affairs of the office, organizing and preparing academic seminars; she participated in the GTIIT peer mentor work, leading the students of the cohort 2021 to help them better adapt to the study and life. In addition, she also participated in the touch rugby club and the taekwondo club. "I think people should do the right things at the right time. If you don't do these in university, you will have no courage and time to experience them when you work."

With these rich experiences and an excellent GPA, Bin Xin received offers from the Cornell University, University of California, University of Pennsylvania and many other well-known universities. Talking about the future, she said that she will explore the way of combining production, education and research, and she always believes that basic disciplines can bring huge development to the industry. Combining her own experience, she also suggested to juniors, "Don't just focus on knowledge from books, but explore and practice more to enrich your resume. Make friends and observe the excellent qualities of others. Anyone can be your mentor."

Text: GTIIT News & Public Affairs

Photos: Bin Xin, GTIIT News & Public Affairs