![\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20250526093937.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.gtiit.edu.cn\/upload\/image\/20250527\/6388393578289498409782408.jpg\" "\\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20250526093937.jpg\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nName\uff1a<\/strong>Zhang Liyun<\/p>\n\n\n\n High School\uff1a<\/strong>Bengbu No. 2 Middle School, Anhui Province<\/p>\n\n\n\n Program\uff1a<\/strong>Mechanical Engineering and Robotics (MER)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Award\uff1a<\/strong>Program Head\u2019s List \uff082021-2022\uff09<\/p>\n\n\n\n Offers\uff1a<\/strong>Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison, Boston University<\/p>\n\n\n\n A visit during high school sparked Liyun\u2019s dream. After Gaokao, she chose GTIIT\u2019s Mechanical Engineering and Robotics (MER) program and became one if its first cohort students. In four years, late\u2013night dorm and labs saw her effort. Now, her dream paid off with an offer in medical robotics of the Mechanical Engineering program from Johns Hopkins University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve been into mechanics since childhood. I got a chance to visit a medical device company in high school, where I saw surgical robots that highly attacked me.\u201d This experience planted a seed of interest in Liyun\u2019s heart. After Gaokao, she firmly chose GTIIT\u2019s MER program. \u201cI prefer exploring new things and experiencing different cultures. So, a Sino-foreign cooperative university suits me well. Moreover, GTIIT\u2019s small-class teaching model is good for our personalized development.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like most freshmen, language is the first problem Liyun had to overcome at GTIIT. \u201cAt first, I struggled a lot. Fortunately, the preparatory semester was all about high school knowledge, giving me enough timee to adapt.\u201d During that semester, she realized the importance of previewing lessons, which became her secret to quickly break the language barrier. \u201cI\u2019d go through the PPT in advance and look up new words. Once you master them, you will find English lectures aren’t scary at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEveryone works hard in our program. In such an environment, you naturally want to learn,\u201d said Liyun. Regarding her four\u2013year plan, she admitted she knew how hard it was before choosing this major. \u201cThe first two years are about building a foundation with math and science. Though hard and boring, you must fully understand it and solve the problems in the textbook. That\u2019s how you prepare for exploring your interests later on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI initially thought MER would involve more hands\u2013on work. However, I soon realized that this major at GTIIT is far more in\u2013depth than I thought.\u201d The curriculum requires students to study a large amount of math and science, code\u2013editing and the fundamentals of mechanics. \u201cThis major breaks down a complex robot into many small parts. We learn the principles of each part before mastering the whole. Only with a solid theoretical foundation can we truly understand and solve real-world engineering challenges, laying the groundwork for future innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt GTIIT, students feel they may lag behind if they don\u2019t join research groups,\u201d said Liyun. After getting through the basic courses, she began to look for her interests. \u201cI\u2019ve joined three professors\u2019 research groups by active applications. I want to explore all the fields that catch my interest to have a clearer goal for my future academic pursuit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the second semester of her sophomore year, Liyun joined the research group of Associate Professor Wang Zhujiang. Over the following year, she started from the basics, designing an artificial knee joint for the disabled, creating auxetic structures, and simulating their real deformation in the human body. This experience clarified her research direction. In her junior year, to delve deeper into Ansys software for fluid simulation, she joined the research group of Associate Professor Kumaran Kannaiyan. In the first semester of her senior year, while others were busy with graduation and applications, she kept learning magnetic forces on beads under varying voltages in the research group of Associate Professor Andrea Cioncolini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid of rejection, being proactive creates opportunities. At GTIIT, teachers are always eager to help if you ask.\u201d Liyun has learned the importance of taking initiative. \u201cI once took a course with an Italian teacher. At first, I had trouble with it. After I gave him the feedback, he offered an extra hour of free classes weekly to help us adapt quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the four years at GTIIT, Liyun has grown from being shy to confident. \u201cBefore entering this university, I was an introvert. But GTIIT\u2019s question\u2013encouraging mode changed me.\u201d Although several years past, Liyun still remembered the time when she went to her preparatory semester English teacher for chats in her roommate\u2019s encouragement. \u201cDuring that time, my oral English improved rapidly, and I became much more outgoing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite her busy schedule, Liyun actively expanded her interests during free time. She joined GTIIT swimming team and trained once or twice a week. She also worked as a peer mentor and peer tutor, helping younger students out of puzzles. Additionally, she became a student ambassador, assisting with GTIIT recruitment activities, and helped teachers collect information on universities applications at the Career Learning Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInitially, I joined admission activities to attract outstanding students to GTIIT with my own experience. In the end, I learned more. Once, a parent with in-depth understanding of Israel’s education system offered me advice that I found highly beneficial for my future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clear goals, top grades, solid research experience, and a colorful campus life gave Liyun an edge in graduate applications. Reflecting on the past four years, she smiled, ” You will never know how far you can go until you push yourself.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This summer, the Class of 2025 will graduate from Guangdong Technion \u2013 Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT), carrying with them the wisdom and courage forged in university to embrace infinite possibilities. At GTIIT, they have persevered through challenges brought by the pandemic, conquered academic puzzles, broadened international horizons, celebrated cultural richness, and discovered their true …<\/p>\n![\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20250526093912.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.gtiit.edu.cn\/upload\/image\/20250527\/6388393580381726232424219.jpg\" "\\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20250526093912.jpg\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20250526093906.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.gtiit.edu.cn\/upload\/image\/20250527\/6388393585435500772715426.jpg\" "\\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20250526093906.jpg\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20250526093931.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.gtiit.edu.cn\/upload\/image\/20250527\/6388393589761685061768974.jpg\" "\\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20250526093931.jpg\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20250526093926.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.gtiit.edu.cn\/upload\/image\/20250527\/6388393592608336531105401.jpg\" "\\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20250526093926.jpg\\"")
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