19Department of Electronic Engineering, City University of Hong Kong

My IAS Training in Canada

I will never forget the days in Canada. In Canada, I met many people

not only from Canada but also India, Italy, France and Taiwan.

Rupinder - a man with a strong sense of humour from India, drove

me to different places around The Banff so that I could explore the

nature of Canada. In addition, he invited me to have dinner with

his family. I still remember that meal with delicious Indian food.

Davide - a talkative guy from Italy, we shared our views on cultures,

world issues and history of the world. During leisure time, I went

to his office and listened to the music played by him and his friends.

Before I left, he gave me a CD of his music as a present. It was a

very precious gift. By talking with them, I learned a lot about their

cultures and improved my spoken English.

Apart from people, the natural scenery of Canada impressed me

tremendously. When I saw the lake near The Banff, I was stunned

because the water was extremely clear and you could see the sky

so blue. What spectacular scenery! Because of this encounter, I

strongly recommend other students to join the Internship

Programme of Exchange Students 2006 IAS (IPES) programme.

Through the programme, you can learn something that you would

never imagine and you will finally recognize that “The world is so

big.”

Germany Trip (IAS)

First of all, I would like to thank the Faculty of Science and

Engineering for giving me this golden opportunity to going to

Germany for summer internship.

Talking about Germany, people may only remember the country

for their beer and sausages. Behind these well known icons by the

world, many special things are left hidden which has left me with

a deep impression. I will not forget the culture, scenery and the

people in Germany.

I worked in a company called Erlangen Laser Technology. The

company’s business is on laser cutting, hardening and brazing etc.

My project was to design electrical drives for an internal project

“flexible manufacturing cell”. The electrical drive consists of

electrical, electronic and mechanical parts. From the project, I

learned how to divide a big problem into smaller pieces. Once you

start with the wrong direction, you will need to spend double the

time to reach your goal. Apart from my project, I observed that

Germans are eager in their jobs. They would spend 10 to 12 hours

in the office in order to finish their work without over-time pay.

Although the company provides one hour lunch break for

employees, they may spend only 15 to 20 minutes for their lunch

and will go back to work immediately. The employees there told me

that they like their jobs very much.

I was lucky that the football world cup was held in Germany in

June, therefore I had a chance to enjoy the atmosphere of the foot-

ball world cup. In Nuremberg, we could see the flag of Germany

being placed everywhere. Every shop released products which con-

tained the logo of Germany such as T-shirts, cup and poster etc. No

matter how expensive the products cost, Germans bought them

without hesitation. Many fans came from all over the world. Every

fan had one goal – and that was to support his/her own country.

During each match, over ten thousand people congregated in the

streets and plazas where they could watch the match from the big

screen. Under the screen, we could see the emotional changes in

them. Happiness, anxiety and disappointment were totally reflected

from their faces. When the German team won a match, the Ger-

mans would move down-town to celebrate their victory. However

if Germany lost, we could hear some people crying behind us.

Have you ever imagined

you could carry field test in

a place which looks like a

golf course?

Hanging out with my col-league’s family. What abeautiful place!

Joining the TV festival is anew experience for me!

Rex, Lau Ka Fai

BEngECE, Yr-3

20

Fulbright Science and Technology Fellowship

The Fulbright program, sponsored by the United States Depart-

ment of State, is the U.S. government’s flagship program in inter-

national educational exchange. Since its promulgation, more

Fulbright alumni have won Nobel Prizes than any other academic

program. The International Fulbright Science and Technology

Award is set up for outstanding foreign students in the field of

science and technology. As one of the awardees this year and the

only one in China, I would like to share my experience, whether

academic or not, which led me excel in this fierce competition

worldwide. I hope it will to some extent help my fellow students

who will participate in similar activities.

Applying for this prestigious fellowship was driven by my desire

to receive graduate education in top US schools, not because I

long for my future life and career there, but because I wish to learn

the front edges of electronics as well as prepare myself for a glo-

bal community where understanding of different cultures plays a

fundamental role. This is exactly why I went on exchange to

Carnegie Mellon University in US last spring. As far as I am

concerned, to professionally contribute to the thriving global realm

of electronics, one needs technical expertise as well as communi-

cation skills.

The application requires a number of things including GPA, TOEFL

and GRE scores, Personal Statement, Research Objectives and three

Reference Letters among many others and the assessment is based

on the overall performance. As the leading student in the

department, I also outperformed other students at Fudan and

Carnegie Mellon when I studied there. For an undergraduate, GPA

is especially important as it provides a reasonable and reliable

channel to evaluate one’s attitudes and potentials, though it does

not necessarily indicate one’s overall professional competence. On

the other hand, presentation skill is equally valuable. The ability

to express your idea determines whether you can make your own

work and yourself known. In the light of this, I have been paying

substantial attention to the training of my academic presentation

skills.

In reminiscence of my past endeavor, the most painstaking task

was the GRE (Graduate Record Examination). As the entrance test

From the trip, I have learnt some personal skills which are useful to

my future career and self-development.

Independent thinking - I needed to handle the project by myself

without any guideline, which is totally different from the lab ex-

periments in University. Every decision of mine would affect the

progress of the project.

Time management - I set up a timetable to record everything I did

in order to remind me the progress of the project and to improve

my efficiency.

Confidence – I was not brave enough to communicate with for-

eigner but, it was necessary for me to use English during the trip.

So, my English improved a lot and I am now more confident in

speaking English in front of foreigners.

Jacky, Au-Yeung Cheong Shing

BEngECE, Yr-3

Government Building

Sightseeing

University Laboratory

World Cup 2006