From January 10 to 11, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) was the host venue for the 2020 Winter Joint Workshop for the Centers for Mechanical Engineering Research and Education at MIT and SUSTech (Center). SUSTech Vice President Zhang Dongxiao and Vice-Provost (Global Strategies) Zheng Chunmiao attended and delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Mechanical Engineering Head Evelyn Wang and Center Co-director Chen Gang also participated in the ceremony. The opening ceremony was also attended by staff and students of both MIT & SUSTech, with SUSTech College of Engineering Dean Xu Zhenghe presiding over the opening ceremony.

SUSTech Vice President Zhang Dongxiao welcomed everyone in attendance, pointing out that SUSTech pays significant attention to in-depth cooperation with world-class universities around the globe. He hoped that more innovative ideas would come from this workshop, including for the development of mechanical engineering at SUSTech.

Vice Provost (Global Strategies) Zheng Chunmiao reviewed the extensive cooperation between SUSTech and MIT. He anticipated that there would be further collaboration between the two institutions.

The Center co-director Chen Gang summarized the work of the Centers in 2019, detailing the smooth progression of undergraduate exchanges, graduate training, and teacher development, in particular, the achieved accomplishments in the collaboration research.

Three further reports were given by SUSTech Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) Head Yao Xin, MIT Professor John Lienhard, and Aftershokz CEO Chen Hao. The Centers Deputy Director and SUSTech Department of Mechanical & Energy Engineering (MEE) Head Rong Yiming hosted the invited reports. Their reports outlined the latest progress in software engineering computing intelligence, MIT water safety, and food system research, and technology innovation industry, inspiring lively discussion.

Following the invited reports, several meetings took place, including several MIT professors interviewing SUSTech undergraduates applying for year-long exchange programs in Boston. The Center’s Executive Committee also met to discuss their plans for the next stage of development.

January 11 saw 12 teams present reports on their projects, covering a broad spectrum of mechanical engineering issues. The accompanying poster display drew many onlookers for discussion with the project teams, while faculty members from both institutions discussed more avenues for cooperation and collaboration.

MIT Professor David Wallace will teach the comprehensive design course “Product Engineering Processes” at SUSTech over the summer semester this year. It is one of the most popular mechanical engineering courses at MIT. Professor Wallace provided an introduction to his class, along with the curriculum plan and teaching model for the summer semester. He also spent time with MEE to discuss the undergraduate curriculum.