FoSE Year 2 Environmental Sciences student participated in 2024 Ice Summit
01 June 2024
In April, Jin Zhu, majoring in the Environmental Sciences programme at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, participated in the 2024 Ice Summit Conference and Youth Scientific Exploration in Chengdu and Hailuogou, Sichuan.
The conference gathered top researchers and scholars in the glacier fields, sharing their latest research outputs. Only 15 young students selected from universities in China attended the conference and the five-day scientific exploration trip to Hailuogou Glacier Park. Jin was so excited that she could be part of the team.
Compared to her teammates, Jin is the youngest one. She is currently a Year 2 student, while other students in the team are mainly postgraduate students. Jin’s research capabilities, including conducting a literature review and data analysis, have impressed the senior students.
Jin Zhu explained that she gained an interest in glacier research and significantly improved her research capabilities from a module called “Research Skills” this academic year. In this module, students are asked to select a research topic provided by the academic staff in the department, identify a research question, plan the study, and implement the research project to address the question.
Jin completed a research paper entitled “Monitoring Multidecadal Changes in Glacier Surface Velocity Field in the Gongga Mountain Area of the Tibetan Plateau Using Sentinel-1 Data”. Through this experience, she learned how to operate remote sensing software, analyse research data, and generate a research paper. She also found a love for glacier research. With her previous research experience, Jin did a very good job in field research and the compilation of a report on China's glaciers and public awareness during the trip.
For Jin, participation in this gathering and learning from prominent glaciology experts was invaluable. Her love of biology and geology, as well as her dedication to studying glaciers and climate change, were strengthened by this encounter.
Environmental science is an applied and multidisciplinary field; the research topic can cover science, social sciences, and even humanities, and the research method can be qualitative or quantitative.
“Facing the subjects that cover such a great spectrum, it is more important to establish an analytical mind in students rather than supply them with the ever-growing knowledge and understanding of the natural environment, anthropogenic environment, or human-nature relations,” said Dr Yu-Ting Tang, the module convenor.
The Faculty of Science and Engineering has always put an emphasis on improving students’ transferable skills, helping students build an analytical mind and equipping them to be future-oriented leaders. In this event, Jin Zhu demonstrated the vitality and determination of youth in addressing climate change and other global challenges.