PostTime：8/3/2022
Following the footsteps of the first cohort, the exciting news is coming from cohort 2018. Students are receiving offers from overseas prestigious universities. Up to now, 101 GTIIT students have received 286 offers of admissions to master/doctoral programs from 83 prestigious universities around the world.
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 Zhang Yuhang, a student of the Class of 2022 from the Chemical Engineering Program.
High School: Mian Yang High School
Received Offers from：National University of Singapore, Lund University, Eindhoven University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research,
University of Amsterdam, University of New Hampshire(PhD), Free University of Brussels, University of Houston(PhD)
Awards: Dean's list, Academic Excellence Scholarship (3nd Prize)
"I've been loving chemistry since I was a kid!" Talking about his favorite subject, Zhang's eyes lit up. The frank boy once created a "legendary" record in GTIIT – he finished the Chemistry exam in just 20 minutes and got full marks. Four years in GTIIT was a precious memory for Zhang, for he was allowed to chase his dream freely here, and was admitted to prestigious universities including the University of Houston, where he will start his direct doctoral program this autumn.
Childhood Dream Achieved in GTIIT
Zhang first met science in a series of children's books Horrible Science, which was designed to get children interested in science by concentrating on the trivial and unusual. Zhang, still a primary school student at that time, was fascinated by the description by the authors and the "seed" of chemistry was soiled in his brain.
The "seed" grew in the following years. Out of his desire for more Chemistry knowledge, Zhang started his "pre-study" – he learned the high school textbooks in middle school, and managed to finish some college courses by himself in the second year in high school, during which Chemistry also became his best subject, but he was not satisfied with just high grades. Zhang had a bigger plan for the future: he hoped to enter the real scientific world, to learn and work with the top talents. Thus, he chose GTIIT to start his science journey.
"Organic Chemistry requires imagination and creativity. Inspiration for the best reaction path may come up when you are reflecting on it. That's why I am fascinated by this process." Zhang soon settled down for his research interest and managed to join the research group focusing on Organic Chemistry, taking the first step to his dream.
However, the real world is neither an ivory tower nor a utopia, while scientific breakthroughs can never rely on imagination. The harsh reality taught the once proud boy a lesson. Another research group published the article on a similar topic before Zhang's group. "For scientific discoveries, you lose if you are not the first one," Zhang said. There are often many research groups working on the same important or popular topics at the same time. Organic chemistry is a basic discipline with uncertainties, so it requires the researchers to find the optimal experimental conditions and publish the article with real experiment data as soon as possible, rather than just posting an idea.
The potential of every student can be seen here in GTIIT, said Zhang. The ratio of students to teachers is about 10:1, enabling each student to exchange ideas with the professors; providing time for professors to guide students through the more complicated questions in the research.
In middle school,Zhang screwed up on the test several times, for his carelessness, which was criticizedby his mentor in GTIIT. Looking back on the time with his supervisor, Zhang wasstressed but with more gratitude. "He is a committed teacher, who will guide meto read the recently-published articles. He is strict to me, and will point outsome small mistakes in my ideas," Zhang recalls. It was the guidance of thementor that made Zhang successfully get out of the habit of carelessness andbecome more professional.
At the same time, Zhang found he unconsciously improved his oral English. When first came to GTIIT, same as other freshmen, Zhang lacked the experience of speaking English and was also afraid to do that. In GTIIT's English-medium environment, students are urged to open their mouths, to communicate, present and study in English. Zhang pointed out that studying in GTIIT helps Chinese students like him improve both their language and skills of communication.
Zhang(middle)with Friends
Four years passed, and Zhang broadened his vision, determined his direction, and became more mature. Chemistry is not just an interest, but a lifelong career goal for him. "For students who are interested in Chemistry, good at math and science, with imagination and creativity, welcome to GTIIT!" Zhang wanted to tell the freshmen.
Zhang (Second from the Left) with Chancellor Gong
In 2018, Zhang was enrolled by the Chemical Engineering Program, one of the three programs provided by GTIIT at that time. This year, GTIIT opened the Chemistry Program, waiting for more students with passion for Chemistry and the aim of scientific research.
Text/Photos: GTIIT News & Public Affairs, Zhang Yuhang
