Final Presentation
This week marks the end of our theme projects here at ZJU. Pretty bittersweet but it has been a memorable experience! On Friday, we had the final showcase in which all nine teams presented their ideas and prototypes to the entire DATE group and the professors-in-charge. The presentations were all great and personally it was rewarding to see how much all of us have grown from this program. Almost every group had a functional and legitimately looking prototype and there were some that were really impressive!
Massive thank you to my intelligent lamp team for making this journey such an incredible one to being really on task, to having so much fun whenever we go out together, and to being an extremely chill bunch of friends to watch a web series together! HAHA Not forgetting the teaching assistants – Mr Mao, Meng Yao, Hanbo, chuanchuan and our beloved Professor Huang for providing us valuable guidance throughout the past three months and bringing us around to eat and experience the beauty of Hangzhou such as the Liangzhu Musuem and grape harvesting! It has been an amazing experience! 😊
Theme 5 signing out!
Post Reflections
The end of theme projects also concludes the end of DATE as many of us proceed to travel in this recess week. Before embarking on another trip which is also the last before we finally return home, here’s a short round up of my experiences and my thoughts about the past three months living in China and being under the DATE program.
Firstly, learnt a lot of new skills here through the courses that I took here – Design Thinking and Expression: Origami Robots and Design Fiction. Had the opportunity to play around with Arduino, and Adobe Software such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Premier Pro, which was really helpful. Not forgetting that I was able to utilize the CAD software for my theme project which was also a great experience in that I could see what could work and what could not, which closed the gap between 3D modelling and the final 3D print of prototypes for me. Furthermore, I learnt how I could better improve on the aesthetics of presentations slides and posters which was much improved as compared to those I have previously done. This has been a full three months of learning and I am really thankful for this opportunity!
Secondly, there’s so much that I have received through working with people involved in this DATE program. Throughout this entire programme, I have had the opportunity to work with many talented individuals and it still delights me how people with different working styles can come together, synergize and eventually complete a project together!
Lastly, China. You are one true beauty. There is so much overflowing in this vast land. Not only is she the world’s most populous country, with so much land, mountains, national parks, but she is also filled with the abundance of the history and culture of the people. Surely this is not the first time that I am mentioning this but there’s something so precious within the natives here that truly attracts me to this place – their friendliness. The people are so kind and friendly that they will not hesitate to help you should you require any assistance. Striking a conversation with them is also really easy and sometimes it just feels as though you are conversing with an old friend. This has been sufficiently been proven through interactions with my teaching assistants, professors here at ZJU, fellow Chinese students, DiDi drivers, stall owners, Haidilao workers and even through my trip to Mount Huangshan which left a huge impression on me. This short three months in this abundant land is positively overwhelming and I have to say that I will certainly return to uncover more of this historically and culturally-rich place!
Not forgetting the amazing Chinese delicacies that have filled my stomach throughout this three months! Absolutely am going to miss the land of xiaolongbaos!!
All in all, I am truly thankful for this fulfilling experience DATE has provided me, not forgetting all the friends that I have made here which made this journey an absolutely nostalgic one! This past three months have been filled with many great memories and lots of positive growth that will stay with me for years to come! For now, goodbye China! 😊
cool!