"When I was in class before, I didn't have any "real sense" of the bunch of formulas in the book. Now, we understand better what this knowledge is used for, and we also understand better where our foundations may be weak, so our learning is more targeted."
Talking about scientific research training experience, Wen Zhimian, the first freshman of Ningbo Eastern University of Science and Technology, said in a recent interview. In this school, freshmen like Wen Zhimian are not alone in engaging in real projects in their first year of school.
Since this summer, Ningbo Oriental University of Science and Technology has sent its first batch of undergraduate students to companies and on-campus and off-campus laboratories, allowing students to go into the front line of technology applications to debug robots, run models, and "step into pits" in practical operations.
"What we organize is not "internship" but "practical training."" Tan Zhongchao, vice president of Ningbo Eastern University of Science and Technology and academician of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, emphasized that as a new research-oriented university, the school is committed to cultivating scientists with entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurs with scientific qualities, and practical training for all employees is an important fulcrum to achieve this goal.
In June this year, Ningbo Oriental University of Science and Technology signed contracts with 33 industry leading companies, including Geely Automobile, Bull Group, Jiangfeng Electronics, Top Group, and Ruijing Semiconductor, and hired them as "educational partners"; more than 10 students went to Peking University, Ningbo Oriental University of Science and Technology and other university research groups to carry out scientific research practice, forming a diverse practice scenario for industrial practice and scientific research exploration. Relying on the three-semester system, the school offers practical courses in the summer semester and implements a paid practice and practice credit system for all employees, covering the four full academic years of undergraduate studies.
Take the "Embedded Intelligence Development" project led by Zeng Wenjun, vice president of Ningbo Eastern University of Science and Technology and foreign academician of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, as an example. Wang Zehua, a teacher at the school, and Zhu Wentao, an assistant professor at the School of Computer Science, serve as instructors. They mainly cultivate students' intelligence application development capabilities and support the incubation of student innovation projects.
Before starting the practical training, students first laid a solid theoretical foundation and learned to use AI tools to carry out development work. Starting from writing product requirements documents, to technical task decomposition, device selection, to using AI to assist in writing programs, and using CAD software to design mechanical structures and shells...
After a summer vacation, the results are concrete. For example, a sample of an AI Wukong figure created by teachers and students has been developed and is undergoing market verification. It is shaped like a "Wukong" and has AI functions integrated into the base. It can display on the screen and conduct voice conversations, making it equivalent to a smart companion on the desktop.
"Students walked through the entire product development process in a real corporate environment." Wang Zehua said that it was the first time for many students to know that a product is developed step by step from idea to actual product, and they experienced product thinking and collaboration awareness. "You have to consider who will use it, how much it will cost, whether the experience is good, and you must also cooperate with teammates and instructors."
In fact, companies participating in the practice also had concerns about allowing freshmen to enter the front line of research and development.
The person in charge of Bionxin Technology, one of the education partners and an electronic design automation (EDA) company, said frankly that students usually don’t learn about the research and development content involved in the company until their junior year. When students really participate in practice, these contents must be mastered quickly. "The standards I set for students are not low, they are at least equivalent to the junior level. In practice, everyone's performance exceeded my expectations."
Zhao Wanqi, a first-year student working in an enterprise, said that from the beginning, she could only figure out the system data and do some data proofreading, but later she could write automated conversion scripts, which was a great feeling of gain. When she returned to campus this fall semester, she said that she was "more logical, organized, and confident" when expressing her thoughts and suggestions than before.
"I just understood what a salary consists of, the difference between performance pay and basic salary, how to deduct absence wages, and how difficult it is to make money," said Wu Wanjia, an undergraduate student at the school who participated in the training.
In fact, freshmen who enter corporate practice basically have a certain salary. For the company, this "extra" investment is a long-term account. "This is a social responsibility, and we must always give young people a chance." The relevant person in charge of Bionxin Technology said that the company invests not only wages, but also a lot of teaching time for employees; and the significance of this experience is to let students know in advance how to interview and how to express themselves.
For schools, the main purpose of sending undergraduates to enter companies is to let business practitioners tell students how to carry out work in a real workplace environment, how to communicate with superiors, subordinates and colleagues, and how to deal with problems when encountered. Tan Zhongchao introduced that in the future, as the scale of the school gradually expands and the diverse needs of students increase, the school will also build diverse practice platforms for students, including exchanges with international organizations, science and technology competitions, social volunteer services, etc., to meet the individual needs of students, and continue to cultivate top innovative talents for regional industrial upgrading and national science and technology self-reliance.
"We want students to experience in real scenarios and grow up in real problems." At the end of October this year, at the 2026 Practical Teaching Summary Conference of Ningbo Eastern University of Science and Technology, Zhang Dongxiao, executive vice president and provost of the school, said that the school will build a three-tutor education model of "college tutors, academic tutors, and corporate tutors" to allow undergraduates to step out of the classroom, into laboratories and industry front lines, and transform book knowledge into the ability to solve real problems. (over)
