GTIIT student harvests another offer from ETH

Graduate Ceremony

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 Liu Xuqi, a student in the Materials Science and Engineering Program.

Liu Xuqi has maintained excellent grades since enrolment, winning the academic excellence scholarship each year. And in March 2022, he harvests offers from globally renowned institutions like ETH Zurich and Carnegie Mellon University.

GTIIT has been labelled with “English-medium education”, “heavy school work” and “high pressure”. Then how can Liu Xuqi keep outstanding in his four years?

Here is the story of Liu Xuqi.

Cohort 2018

Liu Xuqi

Materials Science and Engineering

High school: Chaozhou Jinshan High School

Awards:

2021 First-Class Academic Excellence Scholarship, Vice Chancellor’s list

2020 First-Class Academic Excellence Scholarship, Vice Chancellor’s list

2019  Second-Class Academic Excellence Scholarship, Dean’s list

Third Class Chancellor’s Scholarship (Enrolment Scholarship)

Received offers from:

ETH, Materials Science

Carnegie Mellon University Materials Science

The Technical University of Denmark, Sustainable energy

Duke University, Materials Science and Engineering

University of California, Berkeley, Materials Science and Engineering

EPFL, Materials Science and Engineering

Take solid and steady steps

“I chose GTIIT because it provides Sino-foreign cooperative education,” Liu said. The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a leading science and technology research university. As its China campus, GTIIT has huge potential.

Liu Xuqi

“There is no tricky way towards good grades,” Liu said frankly. He just follows the curriculum and completes assignments. After class, he reviews what he has learned from the textbook, in which he could also expand his knowledge base.

Unlike other universities, MSE in GTIIT does not have subdivisions. Thus, students can learn more dimensions to find their own interests. After the four-year study, Liu is eager to dig deep into the fields of energy materials and electric materials.

Liu thinks that the preparation period bridges high school studies and English-medium teaching. As a freshman, he should take preparation classes including English, physics, and math before formal lessons. At first, he couldn’t even organize an English sentence. With the warm help and courage of Dr. Constance Van Horne, he gradually improved. Physics and math courses reviewed relevant knowledge in English, laying a solid foundation for him. After this session, he adapted quickly to GTIIT’s teaching mode.

Have a breadth of practice

Liu Xuqi polishes up his expertise via practice. He joined Dr. Cha Limei’s research team in 2019, investigating the γ – TiAl Alloy, and was one of the first group of students to apply for the 2020 Guangdong “Climbing Project”, in which he received a special fund of 30 thousand RMB. The research has been published in Metals, a journal covering related scientific research and developments. In 2021, he worked full-time in Advanced Optoelectronic Material & Devices Lab for one month as a visiting student at Westlake University, trying to improve solar cell performance by different device structures.

To serve the local community and expand his horizons, Liu has seized opportunities to improve himself through social practice. He worked as a teacher in two local junior high schools, designing and teaching four classes of students with interesting extra-curricular knowledge like plastic pollution and physics experiments in English. “I could see the passion of students and they asked many questions. I think both of us had learned a lot.”

In 2019, the 13th Asian Summer Camp was held in GTIIT. Liu was responsible for arranging the performance groups and rehearsals of the opening and closing ceremony. “Campers from 26 countries performed unique shows during the culture night at the end of the summer camp. I really enjoyed it.” Outside work, he also participated in the academic sharing of the top experts. “Prof. Aaron Ciechanover, the 2004 Nobel Laureate, introduced the revolution of personalized medicine. It’s inspiring.”

In addition, Liu joined the Association of Commercial Entrepreneurs. He coordinated teams for the first Innovation Challenge Competition, which provided a stage for young business projects. He believes that what he learns from practice will subtly affect his life. For example, his teaching experience in high school helps him to be more confident when presenting on stage.

With solid and steady steps, Liu Xuqi will continue to pursue his dream.

  Text/Photos: GTIIT News & Public Affairs, Liu Xuqi

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