In the morning of 22 July, Professor Bo Li, Party Committee Secretary FoSE, delivered the opening speech. Professor Li said, "You come here with youthful vigour and thirst for knowledge. This will be a stage for you to explore the unknown and reap growth." Academic Courses
Digital Heritage: A Tour of Ningbo's Ancient City and Historic Buildings
After a comprehensive introduction by Prof. Jing Xie to the unique features of Ningbo's historic architecture and the principles of VR technology, students used virtual reality to immerse themselves in the city's ancient structures, experiencing the dynamic collision between technology and traditional culture.
Marshmallow and Spaghetti Tower Competition
As a signature activity of UNNC, the spaghetti tower building competition tested students' teamwork and engineering mindset. Under the guidance of Prof Bo Li, students use marshmallows and pasta to build a more stable structure and understand the principles of mechanics and design logic in practice.
Egg Race
The "Egg Race" activity was divided into three stages: design, construction, and testing. Associate Professor Adam Rushworth and students brainstormed ideas around the theme of "how to protect an egg from falling from a height", transforming creativity into concrete solutions, and deepening their understanding of the design process through repeated adjustments.
Flight Simulation
Dr. Donglei Sun allowed students to experience driving operation on professional equipment from theoretical learning to practical operation. Students touched the charm of aerospace technology at a close distance in practical operation again and again, and also had a more intuitive understanding of core concepts such as "human-machine collaboration" and "system control".
Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing
Guided by Dr. Zheng Lu, students explored two popular areas of Artificial Intelligence techniques, namely computer vision and natural language processing. and learned about their practical applications and broadening their understanding of artificial intelligence through a blend of theory and hands-on engagement.
Students' feedback
1. Which three words would you choose to describe your four days of study at UNNC? Why?
Special, professional, friendly.
Because during our studies at UNNC, we had the opportunity to participate in many unique practical projects, such as the egg race. The professors enthusiastically explained professional physics knowledge and principles to us, requiring us to conduct experiments and tests on our own.
If we had any questions or needed assistance, the teachers and staffs here were always willing to provide solutions and help.
-----SRUTHI KOTAMRAJU
2. Has your experience at UNNC had any significance for your future plans?
The flight simulation course at UNNC was like a key that unlocked my interest in physics and aerospace. When operating the simulator, the physical principles of lift and drag were no longer just formulas in textbooks but tangible forces we could feel firsthand. This hands-on experience also gave me my first clear vision of the possibilities of exploring the universe in the future, which undoubtedly added a clear direction to my future plans.
-----Muran Jiang
3. What cultural differences did you encounter when collaborating with people from different countries, and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge in cross-cultural collaboration was the difference in teamwork approaches: Chinese students prefer collective discussion and role division, while foreign teammates were more used to working independently. At first, this mismatch in pace affected our efficiency — for example, when building the spaghetti tower, we wanted to start with a group sketch, while they preferred to propose individual plans first.
However, this also became an opportunity for mutual learning: we learned to give each other space for independent thinking, while they gradually came to appreciate the spark of collective brainstorming. Ultimately, we developed a model of ‘first brainstorming individually, then consolidating and optimising, which preserved individual creativity while harnessing team strength. This made me realise that differences aren't barriers but nutrients for mutual growth.
-----Muran Jiang