Head of electronics department designs teachings to prepare students for future work

Innovation has been at the heart of SUSTech's ethos since the university's inception 10 years ago, and one new faculty member has come on board to inspire the students and help transform creative ideas into commercial applications.

Professor Meng Qinghu, the new head of SUSTech's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, is an internationally renowned scholar who has pioneered research into applications in engineering and robotics. Among his many global accolades are several world firsts, such as developing the world's first multi-joint robot with stabilized adaptive control, and the world's first artificial eyeball implant that can respond to a patient's ocular waves and synchronize rotation.

Meng buzzes with energy in his brand-new office in a new building, with state-of-the-art facilities on SUSTech's campus in Nanshan district, Shenzhen.

He emphasizes that SUSTech focuses on ensuring that all students and researchers have access to all the resources they need to succeed, so that "not having enough" of anything never stands in the way of academic research and creative thinking.

"Build a gadget, code an app" is the first project that Meng will introduce his new students to when the new semester gets underway, and he is very excited about it. He has even had T-shirts printed.

"Many things have impressed me a lot, including the mentality," Meng said. "Especially the students, those that enroll in this university are quite unique compared to other students."

Unlike other universities in China, students wishing to enroll in SUSTech are required not only to perform well in China's national university entry exam, but must sit a further exam and take part in an interview before being accepted.

"This means students accepted into this university have shown the determination to go the extra step," Meng said. "As a professor this makes me very happy to see, students who are very motivated, students who are independent and they know what they want."

With every student required to build a gadget and code an app during their time at the university, Meng said it brings out the creative spirit and also an atmosphere of competition.

"We've put in these innovative, hands-on projects, so when they leave here at the very least they can demonstrate one working gadget and one working app," Meng said, adding that such projects are designed to inspire students to understand the entire chain of research, development and application.

"They must build something that works and code something that also works before they can graduate. So this will give them the understanding that if they want to realize something bigger or with more commercialization potential, first, they've got to make something that works."

Professor Meng Qinghu [Photo provided to China Daily]