Wentao recalled that he was struggling to catch up with the lecturers in sophomore year, since the difficulty of the courses increased significantly. He was stuck in self-doubt for nearly two months, asking himself "what if I don't understand the lectures?" "Shall I continue to learn math?"… Wentao said this is what many GTIIT students have to go through. Eventually, he chose to face it and tried to overcome challenges.

"For math learners, view exchanges with others are important," Wentao said, "math is all about understanding." Instead of drowning in frustration, he kept reviewing the knowledge after class, actively discussed with his classmates and made the most of office hours. "Thinking and communication greatly opened my mind when dealing with math problems," Wentao shared. In GTIIT, he freely wandered in the world of mathematics and gradually discovered its beauty.

With his passion for math and strong time management skills, Wentao completed all the foundational credits required by MCS department in mere three years, allowing him to explore more possibilities outside the classroom.

In his junior year, Wentao joined a professor's research group with several top students, focusing on Lie groups and quantum computing, which were graduate-level courses. Last summer, Wentao participated in a computer science research project as an exchange student at the Technion. He also took an internship for an AI project in Shenzhen. Wentao explored multiple directions for his future.

Wentao (Second from the right) in the Technion

With rich experience, Wentao found that his interest was not only algorithm, but also the underlying logic and general structure behind it, which requires a profound basis of mathematics. Realizing that, Wentao decided to pursue further studies in mathematics.

Despite strong passion for learning, Wentao mentioned he seldom prepared lessons before lectures because it might make him "lose the inspiration".

Wentao anticipated the unknown in every class at GTIIT. As he said, "The higher-level the course is, the more abstruse the content will be. While many of us might not be able to understand it instantly, I particularly enjoy the academic atmosphere at that moment." Touching beyond the boundaries of knowledge and hitting by inspirations through lectures and discussions gradually helped him build the mathematical world in brain.

The complex mathematical formulas represent the beauty of abstraction, in Wentao's view. "Some mathematical research may seem 'useless' at first, but proves to be a significant leap after ten years or at a future point," he introduced. Wentao is always surprised by the power of math to describe the universe and complex human activities, as well as the conciseness of math theorems written by predecessors. "Studying mathematics allows me to perceive the world from different angles and make a leap in logical thinking," he said.

Wentao with classmates

Wentao felt lucky to meet other math-lovers in GTIIT, where they supported each other and grew together. They would discuss math problems together and regularly meet up during office hours. "We have different interests. Some like math and some prefer computer science. If a bug comes up in a model, we will turn to the 'computer experts' for help. If we are trapped in a math problem, the 'math genius' will be helpful. That's our friendship," he said. Like-minded students sparked ideas in discussions and leveraged respective strengths to tackle challenges. This is what Wentao cherished the most in university.

In addition to academic learning, Wentao served as a "Peer Tutor" at GTIIT and patiently provided assistance to junior students. "GTIIT MCS program emphasizes math, which accounts for a high proportion and remains relatively difficult. If you have a passion for mathematics, you should try more, think more, and strive to overcome temporary difficulties. It's important to solve problems independently."

“ Four years at GTIIT have turned Wentao into an independent young man with excellent communication abilities. Setting off from GTIIT, carrying original aspiration towards math, he is now ready to take flight and reach far across the vast science sky.