Shanghai Jiao Tong University Global College (SJTUGC, abbreviated as GC hereafter) held its first GC Science Camp and the inauguration ceremony for the GC branch of the university’s Student Innovation Center on October 24 at Room 100, East Upper Hall, Minhang campus. The event brought together students, faculty members and industry representatives for hands-on training in robotics, artificial intelligence, mathematical modeling and physics competitions.
GC Deputy Party Secretary Xiaoling Wu welcomed the participants and introduced the science camp and the new branch. She said GC would use the branch to expand hands-on innovation activities, encourage broader student participation and engage faculty members in research and innovation mentoring, providing further support for student projects and competitions.
Chairman of the GC Council Yanchun Yang thanked the SJTU Student Innovation Center and industry partners for their support of GC’s innovation education initiatives. He said the new branch would help integrate university-wide resources with GC’s educational programs, promote resource sharing and strengthen collaboration between the university and industry. Through advanced training, company visits and connections to research opportunities, GC aims to provide students with sustained support for innovation and scientific research. Yang also encouraged students to discover their research interests through experimentation and experience, and to pursue them with curiosity and perseverance.
Xuming Song, Party Secretary of the SJTU Innovation Center, said the collaboration would combine GC’s strengths in international education with the center’s mission to develop students’ innovation and entrepreneurial capabilities. The two sides will bring together international innovation programs, undergraduate research training, competitions and practical workshops to give students more opportunities to experiment, learn from setbacks and explore across disciplines.
Song and Yang then jointly unveiled the plaque for the Student Innovation Center’s GC branch.
The ceremony also featured the awards presentation for the 16th Liming Cup Freshman Mechanical Creativity Competition, hosted by GC with sponsorship from Zhejiang Liming Intelligent Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Under the theme “Engineering Begins Here, A Century of Progress Together,” the competition attracted 42 teams and 164 participants. Fifteen teams received awards.
Winners of the freshman mechanical creativity competition receive their awards.
During the ceremony, Xiaoling Wu also introduced GC’s undergraduate research and innovation scholarship support system. Guided by the principle of learning through research, the system follows three progressive stages: research introduction, advanced innovation training, and further development supported by previous experience and achievements. It aims to provide sustained support as students progress from initial exposure to research to more in-depth inquiry.
Five training camps connect learning with practice
The first GC Science Camp featured five programs: robotics simulation and reinforcement learning, Huawei CANN, Tencent WorkBuddy, Mathematical Contest in Modeling/Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (MCM/ICM), and the University Physics Competition (UPC). Through lectures, hands-on exercises and presentations of student work, the programs connected technical concepts with practical tasks.
The Robotics Simulation and Reinforcement Learning Camp introduced humanoid robots, dexterous hands, reinforcement learning algorithms and simulation environments. Graduate students from Dean Hesheng Wang’s research group led the sessions, which included setting up simulation environments, modifying robot models, training grasping strategies and visiting a laboratory. Participants explored how robot modeling and learning algorithms work together in practice.
The Huawei CANN Camp introduced artificial intelligence, operator fundamentals, the CANN architecture and Ascend neural processing units (NPUs). Led by CANNbot agent expert Junren Jiao, the program included exercises in running a first kernel function, developing basic operators and integrating them with a framework, helping students understand the interaction between software and hardware.
The Tencent WorkBuddy Agent Training Camp was led by SJTU alumnus and WorkBuddy product lead Shengjie Wang and Tencent Cloud senior architect Jian Yuan. Students learned about AI agent capabilities and completed practical tasks involving tool use, agent configuration and automated workflows. They then presented their work and discussed possible applications of AI in learning and everyday tasks.
The MCM/ICM Training Camp introduced competition formats and preparation strategies, covering English-language problem analysis, mathematical modeling, Python programming and visualization, and LaTeX report writing. Led by a coach from SJTU’s School of Computer Science and Engineering and his team, the program guided students in developing short modeling reports and interpreting results in relation to their assumptions and data.
The University Physics Competition Training Camp was led by Associate Professor Zijie Qu of GC. Qu introduced the competition requirements and preparation methods, including problem statements, assumptions, physical analysis, calculations, simulations and model evaluation. The session also covered the structure of an English-language research paper, helping students understand how to develop a physical analysis into a research report.
Supported by the Bosch China Early Talent Program, the science camp formed part of GC’s science and technology festival. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Tencent Cloud Computing (Beijing) Co., Ltd. also supported the relevant training camps. Building on the first GC Science Camp and the establishment of the Student Innovation Center branch, GC will continue to organize advanced training, academic exchanges, company visits and research-opportunity matching. These initiatives aim to help students discover their interests through experimentation, develop practical skills and take their first steps toward research projects and innovation.
