Joining the opening ceremony was Professor Nick Miles OBE, Provost of UNNC and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham; Professor Alain Chong, UNNC Dean of Graduate School; Dr Dunant Halim, FoSE Faculty Director of Teaching and Learning; Dr Ali Cheshmehzangi, Head of Department of Architecture & Built Environment; Professor Xiaogang Yang, Head of Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering; Dr Faith Chan, Deputy Head of School of Environmental Sciences; Dr Chunyang Gu, Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering; Mr Robin Hong, Faculty Office Manager; Mr Julian Zhu, Technical Service Manager and Ms Demi Qiu, Deputy Director of ACDO.

Dr Dunant Halim delivered the welcoming speech on behalf of Professor Tao Wu, Dean of Faculty of Science and Engineering. The Director of SMS programme, Dr C.F. Kwong although was unable to attend the opening as he is currently at overseas, recorded a video to welcome all students and expressed his sincere gratitude to the hard-working staff. Dr Kwong mentioned that the programme would not be a success without the full support from both academic and administrative staff from the Faculty and other departments including DCL FoSE Team and ACDO career team.

In his speech the UNNC Provost, Professor Miles mentioned that University is determined not to allow the COVID-19 situation to affect the student’s general learning experience in the UNNC. He wished students could enhance their capabilities and knowledge from the SMS programme.

SMS programme consists of four sections: Student-Centred Projects – FoSE Innovation lab, FoSE Summer Research Placement Programme, Essential Skills Training Programme and Voluntary and Cultural Appreciation Work. SMS aims to allow students to experience, explore and refine their skills outside the regular classroom setup.

After the speech, all distinguished guests were invited to the stage and officially launched the Summer Mini Semester programme with Robomaster team moving in with their mobile robot carrying flags with University of Nottingham logo. More than 800 FoSE students also embarked on their journey in the FoSE.