In the recent campus open day, the "X+ Physics" elite program of Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) made its debut for the first time, attracting many students and parents. Assoc. Prof. Ivan Savenko and Teacher Amit Shlomo from GTIIT Physics provided comprehensive introductions to the participants about the program, drawing a series of enthusiastic inquiries.

GTIIT has world-class physics education and research resources. Prof. Gong Xingao, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chancellor of GTIIT is a leading expert in condensed matter physics research in China. He founded the Key Laboratory of Computational Physical Sciences (Fudan University), Ministry of Education and served as the Director. Prof. David Gershoni, the former director of the Precision Science Department of the Israel Science Foundation and Vice Chancellor of GTIIT, is an internationally renowned nanophysicist. He was a student of Professor Nathan Rosen, one of Einstein's assistants and one of the proposers of the "EPR paradox" in quantum mechanics.

This year, GTIIT plans to recruit students for the "X+ Physics" elite program among freshmen. This program leverages the strong educational resources of GTIIT physics, offering advanced physics courses for undergraduate students who are passionate about science and engineering and aspire to engage in high-level scientific research or industrial innovation. It helps STEM students without a physics background to strengthen their foundation in physics and research training during their undergraduate studies. Graduates of this program would be in an excellent position to become leaders in their academia and industry in the future. Students winning Olympiads of the five major subjects with provincial second prize and above, can be enrolled into this program after being admitted to GTIIT, following an interview. Corresponding scholarships will be granted to these students.

“This elite program for students who want to start scientific research early is inherited from Technion and has been proved to be efficient.” For students not selected for this program at the time of admission, Assoc. Prof. Ivan Savenko mentioned that if they get good grades in physics in the first semester, they can apply for it. He also shared the "question-driven" teaching mode at GTIIT, where students are free to ask questions any time in class or during office hours, earning warm applause from the participants present.

The sharing session also invited several students in this program to share their experiences, providing insights for the audience from the perspectives of curriculum design, learning difficulty, scientific research resources, etc.

Li Yundong, a sophomore in the "Materials + Physics" program, shared his experience of the program. According to him, the "X+ Physics" program offers a broader range of courses that expand his horizons and provide more research opportunities. "I have been exposed to some cutting-edge topics in this program, such as the dynamics of electrons in its natural time scale using Attosecond pulses and Quantum dot, which are related to the research of recent Nobel laureates. This precisely proves that many projects in GTIIT stand at the forefront of existing research, and our research for upcoming postgraduate is more likely to lead in China and even the world."

The program is mainly for students majoring in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and Mathematics with Computer Science (MCS). Students from other majors can apply for it separately. Physics professors will give recommendation letters based on the students' performance in scientific research projects, boosting their applications for further education to the most prestigious universities in the world.

Text/Photos: GTIIT News & Public Affairs