germany trip (ias) - city university of hong kong · department of electronic engineering, city...
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19Department of Electronic Engineering, City University of Hong Kong
My IAS Training in Canada
I will never forget the days in Canada. In Canada, I met many people
not only from Canada but also India, Italy, France and Taiwan.
Rupinder - a man with a strong sense of humour from India, drove
me to different places around The Banff so that I could explore the
nature of Canada. In addition, he invited me to have dinner with
his family. I still remember that meal with delicious Indian food.
Davide - a talkative guy from Italy, we shared our views on cultures,
world issues and history of the world. During leisure time, I went
to his office and listened to the music played by him and his friends.
Before I left, he gave me a CD of his music as a present. It was a
very precious gift. By talking with them, I learned a lot about their
cultures and improved my spoken English.
Apart from people, the natural scenery of Canada impressed me
tremendously. When I saw the lake near The Banff, I was stunned
because the water was extremely clear and you could see the sky
so blue. What spectacular scenery! Because of this encounter, I
strongly recommend other students to join the Internship
Programme of Exchange Students 2006 IAS (IPES) programme.
Through the programme, you can learn something that you would
never imagine and you will finally recognize that “The world is so
big.”
Germany Trip (IAS)
First of all, I would like to thank the Faculty of Science and
Engineering for giving me this golden opportunity to going to
Germany for summer internship.
Talking about Germany, people may only remember the country
for their beer and sausages. Behind these well known icons by the
world, many special things are left hidden which has left me with
a deep impression. I will not forget the culture, scenery and the
people in Germany.
I worked in a company called Erlangen Laser Technology. The
company’s business is on laser cutting, hardening and brazing etc.
My project was to design electrical drives for an internal project
“flexible manufacturing cell”. The electrical drive consists of
electrical, electronic and mechanical parts. From the project, I
learned how to divide a big problem into smaller pieces. Once you
start with the wrong direction, you will need to spend double the
time to reach your goal. Apart from my project, I observed that
Germans are eager in their jobs. They would spend 10 to 12 hours
in the office in order to finish their work without over-time pay.
Although the company provides one hour lunch break for
employees, they may spend only 15 to 20 minutes for their lunch
and will go back to work immediately. The employees there told me
that they like their jobs very much.
I was lucky that the football world cup was held in Germany in
June, therefore I had a chance to enjoy the atmosphere of the foot-
ball world cup. In Nuremberg, we could see the flag of Germany
being placed everywhere. Every shop released products which con-
tained the logo of Germany such as T-shirts, cup and poster etc. No
matter how expensive the products cost, Germans bought them
without hesitation. Many fans came from all over the world. Every
fan had one goal – and that was to support his/her own country.
During each match, over ten thousand people congregated in the
streets and plazas where they could watch the match from the big
screen. Under the screen, we could see the emotional changes in
them. Happiness, anxiety and disappointment were totally reflected
from their faces. When the German team won a match, the Ger-
mans would move down-town to celebrate their victory. However
if Germany lost, we could hear some people crying behind us.
Have you ever imagined
you could carry field test in
a place which looks like a
golf course?
Hanging out with my col-league’s family. What abeautiful place!
Joining the TV festival is anew experience for me!
Rex, Lau Ka Fai
BEngECE, Yr-3
20
Fulbright Science and Technology Fellowship
The Fulbright program, sponsored by the United States Depart-
ment of State, is the U.S. government’s flagship program in inter-
national educational exchange. Since its promulgation, more
Fulbright alumni have won Nobel Prizes than any other academic
program. The International Fulbright Science and Technology
Award is set up for outstanding foreign students in the field of
science and technology. As one of the awardees this year and the
only one in China, I would like to share my experience, whether
academic or not, which led me excel in this fierce competition
worldwide. I hope it will to some extent help my fellow students
who will participate in similar activities.
Applying for this prestigious fellowship was driven by my desire
to receive graduate education in top US schools, not because I
long for my future life and career there, but because I wish to learn
the front edges of electronics as well as prepare myself for a glo-
bal community where understanding of different cultures plays a
fundamental role. This is exactly why I went on exchange to
Carnegie Mellon University in US last spring. As far as I am
concerned, to professionally contribute to the thriving global realm
of electronics, one needs technical expertise as well as communi-
cation skills.
The application requires a number of things including GPA, TOEFL
and GRE scores, Personal Statement, Research Objectives and three
Reference Letters among many others and the assessment is based
on the overall performance. As the leading student in the
department, I also outperformed other students at Fudan and
Carnegie Mellon when I studied there. For an undergraduate, GPA
is especially important as it provides a reasonable and reliable
channel to evaluate one’s attitudes and potentials, though it does
not necessarily indicate one’s overall professional competence. On
the other hand, presentation skill is equally valuable. The ability
to express your idea determines whether you can make your own
work and yourself known. In the light of this, I have been paying
substantial attention to the training of my academic presentation
skills.
In reminiscence of my past endeavor, the most painstaking task
was the GRE (Graduate Record Examination). As the entrance test
From the trip, I have learnt some personal skills which are useful to
my future career and self-development.
Independent thinking - I needed to handle the project by myself
without any guideline, which is totally different from the lab ex-
periments in University. Every decision of mine would affect the
progress of the project.
Time management - I set up a timetable to record everything I did
in order to remind me the progress of the project and to improve
my efficiency.
Confidence – I was not brave enough to communicate with for-
eigner but, it was necessary for me to use English during the trip.
So, my English improved a lot and I am now more confident in
speaking English in front of foreigners.
Jacky, Au-Yeung Cheong Shing
BEngECE, Yr-3
Government Building
Sightseeing
University Laboratory
World Cup 2006