Christmas Eve saw Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and the School of System Design and Intelligent Manufacturing hold an interactive activity in Zhicheng College. “Smart Manufacturing – New Year’s Talk” was an opportunity for Dean Wu Jingshen of the School of System Design and Intelligent Manufacturing and experts from outside SUSTech to speak to more than 80 students, as well as answer their questions.

Wu Jingshen reflected on the unique teaching model, saying that it had broken away from traditional styles to provide students with greater freedom to choose their courses that gelled better with their interests. This targeted freedom provides a platform for responsible SUSTech students that already have expectations about their futures. He anticipated that students that would want to come to the School would first think about their own lives, and ask questions like “Who am I? What do I want? What am I responsible for?”

Wei Jidong, one of the founders of the DJI RoboMaster Robot Competition and the founder of the Songling Robot Competition, spoke about the entrepreneurial process. He opened up about the three major robot competitions in Asia and suggested that students try and make mistakes while at university. They should also participate in competitions to try and find their own interests, study hard and use their own interests to enhance their own practical skills.

The School of System Design and Intelligent Manufacturing was established in October 2018. It currently adopts a 1+3 educational model, different from SUSTech’s 2+2 model. This is inspired by Olin College of Engineering in Massachusetts, an elite engineering university with highly selective admissions criteria and a unique curriculum.

In the first year, it lays a solid foundation of English, mathematics, physics, and programming. In the second year, students enter the School, select projects and form teams based on common interests. During a students’ third year, they will take part in practical industrial projects, working with enterprises such as DJI, Google, and Microsoft. In their final undergraduate year, teams go out into society to plan realistic projects that solve practical problems that people face in their daily life. The team seeks to use the skills they have developed in high-end science and technology to solve these problems.

At the same time, the School seeks to enroll postgraduates and will use the same model to guide their training.