The first cohort students will graduate from Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology this year. The series of interviews with the graduates from Class of 2021 will show their stories with GTIIT in the past four years. Here is the story about Li Yilin, a student of Class of 2021 from Biotechnology and Food Engineering Program.

Name: Li Yilin

High school: Jinshan High School, Shantou

Program: Biotechnology and Food Engineering

Received offers from: Wageningen University, the University of Leeds

Li Yilin is an energetic girl who seems to have mastered the secret to make study happy. Driving by her curiosity and initiative, what she has seen and learned at GTIIT in the four years is the solid foundation for her to explore the unknown fields.

Be firm in your love

Li Yilin shows great interests in biology. "From the micro and molecular biology point of view, many designs in nature are very elegant and delicate, as if something mysterious has carefully designed all these mechanisms. I was fascinated and wanted to explore the mystery behind it."

After four years' study, Li Yilin feels that Biotechnology and Food Engineering Program are closely related to people's lives. "Vaccines, technology for rapid detection of epidemic and antibiotic production are all related to biotechnology. The possibilities in the food field are even greater than I imagined. The development of various new foods makes me feel that the food can be defined by us in the future."

Despite her interest in biology, Li Yilin has been wavering in her choice. "In my freshman year, the courses were focused on laying a solid foundation, mostly on the theoretical knowledge of physics and chemistry, which made me feel as if I had gone back to my senior year of high school. At that time, I even wondered if biology was not as interesting as I imagined."

As a program representative, Li Yilin needed to collected her classmates' suggestions on teaching. She found that many classmates had the same confusion, so she raised the problem to the Dean in the monthly meeting. "The Dean told us that we might not be able to feel the real charm of this program for the time being when we were laying the foundation. In our sophomore year, the courses would be much more interesting. And so it turned out. The charm of this program began to show when we were having 'General Microbiology Lab', 'Food Microbiology' and other courses gradually.”

Li Yilin recalls these interesting courses. "We were able to taste cheese and bread made by our teacher in class, learn wine-making techniques while tasting red wine, and make sauerkraut and wine in the lab. It was an impressive and relaxing experience. One of the courses required us to design a food or biological production line. It was so fulfilling! At that time, I realized that the foundation laid in the early stage was to make it easier for us to learn more professional knowledge and master it with ease."

The four years' study at GTIIT has strengthened Li Yilin's love for the biology and food field. After receiving offers of food and biology-related programs from Wageningen University and the University of Leeds, she still decided to take a gap year and stay at GTIIT as a research assistant to explore new scientific research fields and improve her professional ability before going abroad for further study.

Take the initiative to seek opportunities 

"Take the initiative to seek opportunities and have the courage to explore new things" is the most important lesson Li Yilin has learned at GTIIT.

Li Yilin still remembers that when she was a freshman at GTIIT, Prof. Aaron Chehanover, the Special Envoy of the Technion President to GTIIT and the Laureate of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared his story about his choice from medicine field to biological science field. She also learned that Dr. Silvia Behar Harpaz turned from research to teaching, sold her fortune and came to GTIIT to start her teaching experience, and the story of Dr. Fabian Rios from a rugby coach to a teacher of Materials Science and Engineering Program... "The stories of the teachers taught me that one's possibilities are infinite and their experiences inspire me to explore what I want to try." Said Li Yilin.

Li Yilin said that she was not only deeply influenced by the inspirational experiences of the teachers, but also influenced by the excellent Israeli students. "Our Dean told me that Israeli students are very good at fighting for opportunities and rights. They will immediately take the initiative to ask questions when in doubt. They also take actions actively when they see any good opportunity for themselves.”

Encouraged by this kind of culture, Li Yilin gradually learns how to explore the things she is interested in. In this process, she also receives many supports from GTIIT. "I feel that I can see new possibilities to me in each class. If I find a field I am interested in, I will look it up or have a face-to-face talk with professors to see what it is and whether it suits me in my further study."

Li Yilin is currently working with Prof. Yigal Achmon in the Food Sustainability Microbiology Laboratory on the application of fish waste with the bio-solarization technology. "At an academic conference in the first semester of my junior year, I learned that bio-solarization technology is a green and harmless way for nature to kill pests and weeds by itself. At that time, I thought this field was very interesting. After learning, I also found out that Prof. Yigal was going to set up a laboratory to study this kind of topic. So I sent him an email to express my interest to study in his group. Finally, I became one of the first students in his research group." 

This project has enabled Li Yilin and her teammates to win 15,000 yuan from the Guangdong Provincial Scientific Research Project "Climbing Program", and they are now preparing to publish a paper together. "Joining in Prof. Yigal's group not only enriches my scientific research experience, which is of great help to my application for postgraduate study, but also allows me to feel the real scientific research work in advance. It also makes me apply what I have learned to do something beneficial to the environment, which brings me a great sense of achievement."

Li Yilin is glad that she has developed a good thinking habit at GTIIT. Moreover, she is grateful to the teachers who have given her inspiration and help in the past four years. "Prof. Yigal always telling me that his mission is to help students find their own path, so he is willing to support me in anything that I think will benefit me. When I told him that I wanted to pursue my postgraduate study, become a research assistant, and study food technology in another country, he not only helped me find an advisor, wrote recommendation letters, but also shared a lot of valuable experience and advice with me."

Comprehensive ability is important

Li Yilin admits that her test scores are not top, but the standards and methods of assessing students' performance at GTIIT inspires her greatly. "At GTIIT, grades are not everything. Comprehensive ability is more convincing. We need to be able to articulate a new concept to others, be able to design and execute an experiment, and be able to collaborate with others on a project."

Li Yilin is a student with strong learning ability. She has outstanding performance in experiment, presentation and English communication skills. She has been praised by many professors and teaching assistants. "I remember that one of my teaching assistant once told me firmly that from my performance in doing experiments and having presentations, he was sure that I would go to an excellent university."

Li Yilin not only stands out academically, but also shows great organizational and leadership skills in extra-curricular activities. "I like movies very much, and I also like to meet different people and listen to other people's opinions, so I set up GTIIT's '8mm Movie Club' with my friends at the beginning of freshman year." Speaking of this experience, Li Yilin is very grateful to the university for giving her sufficient opportunity to show her abilities. "We are supported by the teachers and first-class facilities at GTIIT. We regularly organize film viewing activities and encourage people to share their feelings. We also held the first dubbing competition with GTIIT’s English Club, which is now a traditional activity at campus. We are very proud of it."

Li Yilin hopes the junior students can cherish the free and inclusive environment at GTIIT and take the initiative to fight for opportunities for themselves. "I also hope that I can maintain the enthusiasm to make continuous progress in my future study and work."

Text: GTIIT News & Public Affairs

Photos: Li Yilin, GTIIT News & Public Affairs