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Student inventors solve puzzles for big business
By Xu Wenwen |
July 20, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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MECHANICAL engineering students at Zhejiang University disprove the saying that Chinese students are long on book learning and short on practical knowledge. They're inventing equipment for top corporations. Xu Wenwen reports.
While known for getting high scores on examinations, many Chinese students are also known for their lack of practicality and hands-on competence. There's even a saying about this stereotype: the higher their marks, the lower their actual ability, since Chinese students spend so much time with textbooks and test papers.
However, top mechanical design students at prestigious Zhejiang University recently demonstrated that they're not just academically excellent, they can come up with excellent solutions to real-world problems.
Last month undergraduates at the university's Institute of Mechanical Design demonstrated their solutions to tasks posed by major international corporations working with the institute.
In one case, they worked out plan to refit the ladder of a giant bulldozer for Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment. Their low-cost and practical idea was accepted.
"Why does the ladder have arms on one side and not the other? How can you ensure it can withstand the weight of 4 tons?" A jury of senior caterpillar engineers peppered the young designers with questions and were satisfied with answers.
"If opportunities are given to our students, they won't be incompetent," says Gu Daqiang, associate professor of the mechanical design institute. "Opportunity means a proper subject for investigation and sufficient capital."
He called the students' work on corporate mechanical engineering problems a "win-win" situation. "Companies offer practical subject matter and financing, and students solve the company's problem," says Gu.
Caterpillar is one of a number of international enterprises cooperating with Zhejiang University. Details were not disclosed but the companies likely buy the final design and intellectual property rights.
Two weeks ago, a packaging enterprise in the top 500 multinationals approved the plan of a cutting machine designed by two mechanical engineering undergradates, Ge Hanxiao and Xu Hongyan. The company is not identified because the technology is considered a business secret.
A year ago the company contacted top colleges worldwide - Zhejiang University was one of them. The requirement: design a cutting machine to separate a milk carton into two pieces, while leaving a small middle part linking them.
To the company's surprise, the two undergrads worked out a design in two months.
"We overcame the problem because it's the first time we ever designed a milk carton-cutting machine, so we didn't have any preconceptions or limitations," says Ge.
The machine they invented can cut as many as 100 cartons an hour, representing a major saving of time and labor. The company praised the machine and is to put it into production soon.
"High academic marks don't necessarily mean students cannot handle practical tasks," says Ge, who just graduated and will enroll in the University of Minnesota next semester to study mechanical engineering.
One reason these students are so capable is that they are encouraged and nurtured in special classes, mechanical design competitions and the Innovation and Experiment Club at the institute - they are supposed to think outside the box.
Since 1995, Zhejiang University has pioneered in holding an annual mechanical design competition - anyone around China can participate. The national competition started in 2004.
The Innovation and Experiment Club gives science and engineering undergrads the same opportunities as graduate students to run their own experiments.
The club recently designed a machine that can fold a particularly hard-to-fold fabric for a European manufacturer of dining table accessories, says Professor Gu, declining to name the company because of proprietarial considerations. The fabric is thick, soft and creates a lot of fricton when rubbed.
The basic machine has been accepted; students are now refining the plan and simplifying the procedure.
While known for getting high scores on examinations, many Chinese students are also known for their lack of practicality and hands-on competence. There's even a saying about this stereotype: the higher their marks, the lower their actual ability, since Chinese students spend so much time with textbooks and test papers.
However, top mechanical design students at prestigious Zhejiang University recently demonstrated that they're not just academically excellent, they can come up with excellent solutions to real-world problems.
Last month undergraduates at the university's Institute of Mechanical Design demonstrated their solutions to tasks posed by major international corporations working with the institute.
In one case, they worked out plan to refit the ladder of a giant bulldozer for Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment. Their low-cost and practical idea was accepted.
"Why does the ladder have arms on one side and not the other? How can you ensure it can withstand the weight of 4 tons?" A jury of senior caterpillar engineers peppered the young designers with questions and were satisfied with answers.
"If opportunities are given to our students, they won't be incompetent," says Gu Daqiang, associate professor of the mechanical design institute. "Opportunity means a proper subject for investigation and sufficient capital."
He called the students' work on corporate mechanical engineering problems a "win-win" situation. "Companies offer practical subject matter and financing, and students solve the company's problem," says Gu.
Caterpillar is one of a number of international enterprises cooperating with Zhejiang University. Details were not disclosed but the companies likely buy the final design and intellectual property rights.
Two weeks ago, a packaging enterprise in the top 500 multinationals approved the plan of a cutting machine designed by two mechanical engineering undergradates, Ge Hanxiao and Xu Hongyan. The company is not identified because the technology is considered a business secret.
A year ago the company contacted top colleges worldwide - Zhejiang University was one of them. The requirement: design a cutting machine to separate a milk carton into two pieces, while leaving a small middle part linking them.
To the company's surprise, the two undergrads worked out a design in two months.
"We overcame the problem because it's the first time we ever designed a milk carton-cutting machine, so we didn't have any preconceptions or limitations," says Ge.
The machine they invented can cut as many as 100 cartons an hour, representing a major saving of time and labor. The company praised the machine and is to put it into production soon.
"High academic marks don't necessarily mean students cannot handle practical tasks," says Ge, who just graduated and will enroll in the University of Minnesota next semester to study mechanical engineering.
One reason these students are so capable is that they are encouraged and nurtured in special classes, mechanical design competitions and the Innovation and Experiment Club at the institute - they are supposed to think outside the box.
Since 1995, Zhejiang University has pioneered in holding an annual mechanical design competition - anyone around China can participate. The national competition started in 2004.
The Innovation and Experiment Club gives science and engineering undergrads the same opportunities as graduate students to run their own experiments.
The club recently designed a machine that can fold a particularly hard-to-fold fabric for a European manufacturer of dining table accessories, says Professor Gu, declining to name the company because of proprietarial considerations. The fabric is thick, soft and creates a lot of fricton when rubbed.
The basic machine has been accepted; students are now refining the plan and simplifying the procedure.
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