Time flies and the second cohort of students are going to graduate from Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) this year. From this article, we will present a series of interviews with the graduates from the Class of 2022, to show their stories at GTIIT in the past four years.

Here is the story of Shao Yuanchuan, a student in the Chemical Engineering Program.

Shao Yuanchuan, an excellent GTIIT Chemistry Engineering student from the 2018 cohort, ranks first in the program while pursuing a dual degree. However, the "successful boy" once failed – he played below par in the college entrance exam four years ago.

Shao was not trapped by the past failure. He kept going on and became the top in his program. With outstanding academic performance, he received offers from the most prestigious universities including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Duke University and Brown University. Here is Shao's story, a story about a counterattack.

Learning is a marathon, not a sprint

To come out on top, Shao lived a stressful life just like how he prepared for Gaokao in the high school.

He signed up for a dual degree offered by GTIIT, which aims at nurturing interdisciplinary study and research. Students are exposed to curricula combining course-work in cross subjects, leading to a joint degree from both programs.

Soon after the opening of the popular program Mathematics with Computer Science, over 40 students participated in the joint program, but not all of them can undergo the test — you need the strong willpower, and of course, the mastery of knowledge.

The dual degree doubles the workload. Taking courses and revising the materials took up nearly all of Shao's time. "Once I took 10 courses in only half a semester. That was not an easy time for me," Shao added, "but I made it."

Three years have passed, there are no more than 10 students who are still taking the "test", and Shao will be the first one of them to pass. He will also be the first GTIIT student to get a dual degree in four years.

No Cross, No Crown

"Every time I become too loose and ineffective, I will remind myself of the regrets and sorrows four years ago," said Shao. This is the way how he keeps moving on.

"I barely go to parties or other activities. People might think I am a nerd," Shao told us, "I just want to spend time reading books."

GTIIT will never let studious students down. Shao was surprised by the academic atmosphere as well as the strong faculty team in GTIIT. 

Professors with rich experience in teaching and industries help strengthen students' mathematical and scientific foundations as well as their questioning skills by incorporating the "problem-driven" elements in lectures, tutorials and labs. Shao's parents were astonished by their son's homework, for they realized that GTIIT's faculty team is equipped with both teaching and researching abilities, and is training the students to be the best ones.

Shao's efforts paid off. He won not only the scholarships, but also offers from world's top universities. He thinks what he harvested in GTIIT is far beyond expectation. From GTIIT to the world, the young man will set out for the next trip to chase his dream.