During July 21 to August 18, 27 students from Zhejiang University were selected to attend the summer program held in UIUC. Specifically, 23 of us attended the Information science and Engineering Program(ISE), while 4 of us attended the Accounting and Finance Program(AF). We spent two weeks on campus studying and one week off campus travelling together with approximately 40 students from Beihang University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, founded in 1867, is one of the most well-known university in America, which is known as one of the members of the ‘Public Ivies’. UIUC’s engineering is of the highest rank in the United States and even around the world, and its computer, mechanical, electrical, civil engineering are among the top five in the United States.
Students attending ISE program chose to take two classes among Control System, Network analysis and Artificial Intelligence, while students attending AF program took Accounting Theory and Financial Management, and each course took 16 hours to accomplish. Besides, several homework, quizzes and final reports were involved for validation. Control system mainly introduced classic control theory and modern control theory, which is quite similar to the course named automatic control in China. Network analysis informed us ways to analyze and evaluate different kinds of networks, which required us to master different software like UCINET, Gephi and Netlogo to help our analysis. In Artificial Intelligence class, the professor helped us to build up a preliminary understanding of artificial intelligence, and we learned different algorithm including search algorithm, game theory and deep learning. Accounting Theory class involved different projects, which should be completed by group cooperation. Usually, professor began with basic concepts of accounting, and gradually introduced specific situations in order to help us better understanding course contents. Financial management introduced much financial knowledge, for instance, calculation for Time Value of Money and CAPM model calculation, which is similar to the corporate finance course in Zhejiang University.
In addition to study, we spent our spare time in physical exercise and social activities. For instance, we participated in different sports activities in the student activity and recreation center on campus every afternoon, enjoyed band performances and watched outdoor movies. Also, we tried different kinds of American food and learned some basic table manners and their eating habits, which partly differ from that in China.
After two-weeks campus life, we travelled to Chicago, Washington DC and New York. And we visited famous scenic spots, museums and schools, like Princeton University and Columbia University. It is through tourism that we enhancedour better understandings of American life and culture.
To sum up, just as the title suggests, UIUC is a fabulous university with different voices, where students have individual education. And attending the summer program in UIUC is an extraordinary experience, given that not only could we experience American campus life and American culture, but also we could really broaden our horizons to the outside world, which could be great treasure for our further development.
ZENG Zhicheng
