For the first two weeks of July 2019, The Australian National University (ANU) College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) hosted an International Winter Study Tour for 23 international undergraduate students from two of our partner universities in China.
The theme of the study tour was ‘Intelligent Systems for Smart Cities’, which encouraged the students to explore innovative technology-based solutions to meet the urban challenges faced by growing cities, with a view to improve liveability, productivity and sustainability. Over 14 days, the students heard from guest speakers and academics from CECS that delivered expert talks on the benefits, challenges and outcomes of using the Intelligent Systems to develop smart cities. Mentors were also invited to help participating teams with the preparation of their final project presentation, ‘Bettering Canberra through Intelligent Systems’.
The final presentations were pitched to a judging panel and a winner was chosen from the groups that the students were assigned to. The winning team presented their idea of ‘Smart Garbage Management System’, which aimed to provide an intelligent system controlled rubbish management, to help protect the environment in Canberra. The idea involved the use of technology and the specific computer science techniques to achieve designing and running the system.
Throughout the program, students were engaged in academic activities, facility tours, lab tours and industrial visits to the Big Dish at ANU. The students also participated in a seminar hosted by a Canberra-based software development company, Intelledox, where they received insights about the latest trends in business process digitalisation and tips on how to upskill themselves to meet the ever-changing needs of the global workforce.
Apart from academic related activities, the students also had a chance to participate in a number of social activities, such as visits to Telstra Tower, Questacon, National Zoo and Aquarium, Parliament House, to experience Australian culture and leisure time in Canberra. CECS student ambassadors also organised sport sessions to provide an opportunity for the students to get access to popular sports in Australia such as basketball, rugby, etc.
Overall, the Winter Study Tour students were able to have a diverse and thought-provoking experience, with a bit of fun along the way. “We really enjoyed the guidance and touring from our mentors and the group project that we worked on as a team.” said the winning team, as well as many of other students. Dr Qing Wang and Ms Audrey Teo presented the students with their awards and thanked all the students for their participation in the program and for their outstanding efforts and achievements.
Participating Universities
- Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT)
- Chongqing University (CQU)
Winter Study Tour Project Winners
- Junhao Wang - BIT
- Tianyao Pan - BIT
- Hanwen Dong - CQU
- Nuo Chen - CQU
For more information on this recent Winter Study Tour or future similar events, please get in touch with the CECS International Marketing & Partnerships team at: international.cecs@anu.edu.au
2019 CECS International Winter Study Tour Co-organisers
- Research School of Computer Science: Dr Qing Wang
- Research School of Electrical, Energy and Materials Engineering: Dr Nan Yang
- CECS International Student Recruitment and Partnerships: Ms Audrey Teo, Mr Akeel Feroz, Ms Winnie Liu & Ms Reetika Vadgaonkar