2022 Online Summer School: Undergraduates of ZJU Participated in the Online Summer School of SPbPU

From July 4 to August 12, 2022, the online summer course program of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University was successfully held and concluded. 64 students from 10 different departments of Zhejiang University participated in the 7 courses of the online exchange, which were rich in content and covered a wide range of fields, and the students gained a lot of rewards and a different cultural and learning experience.

Part 1  Data Exploration

The Big Data: Theory and Application course is divided into two class modes: lecture and practical class. Starting from the most basic Python programming language, the two instructors introduced the basic methods of data processing, introduced the specific methods of big data processing including data importing, processing, analyzing and thus drawing conclusions, allowing students to operate freely in the practical class and giving timely answers to their questions through online contact. The later course also introduces the general big data computing framework, including models such as Storm streaming computing engine, and also involves part of the machine deep learning related knowledge, which shows that this discipline has a strong expansion of crossover. The students benefited from the well-made PPTs and the fluent lectures, and the assignments on Python and database in the order of the lectures were also a good exercise for the students to deepen their understanding of the basic database operations. The final project was very challenging but was successfully completed by the group with the concerted efforts of the students and was briefly presented in the last class. Through these two weeks of study, students not only improved their ability to solve data problems, but also gained the valuable experience of actively cooperating with several students.

In the machine learning course, we had a preliminary understanding of the relevant work of machine learning. We understood and preliminarily mastered various machine learning algorithms, and had a certain understanding of frontier algorithms such as neural networks. The machine learning course could be divided into lectures and seminars. In the lecture part, the teacher led us to review the development of machine learning from the concept of machine learning, and let us have a deeper understanding of machine learning algorithms. In the seminar part, we learned a lot of Python-related knowledge, supervised learning support vector machine algorithm, k-nearest algorithm, decision tree algorithm, unsupervised learning clustering k-means algorithm, hierarchical algorithm, dimension reduction principal component analysis (PCA) algorithm, etc. The combination of the two parts led us to understand the content of machine learning, stimulated our interest in machine learning, and enabled us to have a deeper understanding of computers. We increased our theoretical knowledge, improved our practical ability, and made great progress in their ability through group learning.

Part 2  Technology Discovery

The Sustainable Energy Technology course, taught by a number of professors in turn, introduced digital technologies in energy engineering, the energy structure and energy transition of countries and regions around the world, and the measures taken and implemented by countries to combat climate change. Through the course, we also learned the basics of large power system operation with more RES (grid expansion, storage expansion, sector coupling) future power system design, specific technical solutions and challenges to reduce CO₂ emissions, knowledge of the economic benefits of hydrogen energy and its opportunities in financial markets, technology for the production of hydrogen using mixed energy sources, safety of combined heat and power hydrogen production plants, etc. This course also invited several guests from energy companies to introduce us to the examples of the transformation of science to technology, so that we had a deeper understanding of the application of the theoretical knowledge learned in real life, and also understood the contributions made by these enterprises in the global energy development and transformation.

Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion course had substantial content, including the basic theory of plasma physics, as well as the introduction of advanced large-scale experimental devices - stellarator and tokamak device. In the course, the lecturer first gave a brief overview of the history of plasma physics, introduced plasma phenomena in the earth and the universe, and demonstrated phenomena such as rare gas glow discharge tubes and electrostatic ion spheres through laboratory recording videos, so that we can understand various interesting properties of plasma. In the following lessons, the relevant principles of plasma physics in the field of controlled nuclear fusion were further introduced, including Lawson criterion and Ignition criterion, plasma diagnostics principles, electromagnetic wave plasma heating principles and neutral beam injection. Thus, the course led us to cutting-edge research and equipment construction for controlling nuclear fusion.

The course Space Technologies, which focused on explorations of space, provided a door to the world of science and romance. It covered a lot of ground, including theoretical physics and applied physics. The course provided the students a valuable opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the mysteries of space and applications of space technologies. Via the course, students obtained a wide range of knowledge, which was comprised of in-space plasma propulsion, global navigation satellite systems, numerical simulations in astrophysics and so on. With the study of the structure of the satellite during the course, the students gradually approached the final project—nanosatellite design. The final project was regarded as not only a task, but also an entertaining activity which added some interest to the study. Students could cooperate on the design of their own satellite with the help of physical theories acquired in the course. Thus, the project not only helped students to reinforce what they had learned during the course, but also strengthened their capability of teamwork.

Part 3  Cross-cultural Exchange

During the Immersion into the Russian Literature, History and Art course, students saw the beautiful SPbPU University through an online campus tour.  In the course Immersion into the Russian Literature, History and Art, students admired the beautiful SPbPU University, regretted that this trip could not be implemented due to the pandemic and expected a possible trip to Russia in the future. Lera, the course instructor, held two exchange sessions. She can speak Chinese and she is a very kind and lovely teacher. She provided many useful suggestions in response to the difficulties students encountered in this course. They also added each other on Wechat in order to keep in touch. The course consisted of three parts, Russian culture and tradition, Russian literature and Russian art. In the part of Russian culture and tradition, the students learned the daily communication in Russian, Russian geography and culture, Russian traditional national art, Russian food culture, Russian handicraft culture and so on. After they obtained a certain understanding of the Russian literature, a student realized that Dostoevsky's exploration of human nature was so deep that it seemed to be able to solve many of his puzzles in life. Liya Sidorchuk, the professor of the Russian art, is a very interesting person. He talked about Russian art with great interest and laughed when he referred to some anecdotes. During the course, the students felt not only the deep sense of Russian art, but also its sharp analysis of reality.

The course Cross-cultural School on Entrepreneurship and Marketing led students to learn the essentials and basic steps of business startup and marketing. First of all, students learned the 6D Hofstede model, and took China and Russia as examples to compare and analyze the similarities and differences between the two cultures. Then, with the project of Chinese foodtech to the Russian market as the main line, students learned and practiced different business models (PESTEL model, business model Canvas, 4P model, 4D branding model, etc.). In the final presentation, teachers made comments and suggestions on students' achievements. During the 10 days of intensive learning, students with different native languages communicated and learned in class to improve their English, experienced the social culture, local customs and social life style of Russia in different model analysis, and established a preliminary understanding of the establishment of enterprises and product marketing. The lecturers discussed incisively and shared rich entrepreneurial knowledge and wonderful entrepreneurial stories, enabling students to have a new understanding of how to achieve innovation and entrepreneurship under the new situation and the new normal.

In this online exchange program, students overcame difficulties and participated actively. Students from different majors benefited greatly from the rich curriculum. We not only learnt the corresponding knowledge, but also broadened our horizons. Everyone could experience the intersection of diverse cultures and the collision of different ideas. We progressed together in the process of communicating and learning with peers around the world. We believe that this learning experience will become a precious spiritual wealth on the way for us to study, and I hope that this exchange activity can inspire students to continue to forge ahead, create brilliance, and show the world the style of Zhejiang University students.