I arrived in Wuhan on the Saturday morning after a long overnight flight. My first impression of the HUST campus was of its large size. I quickly understood why most people were driving around on electric mopeds - in the heat, walking long distances is not desirable. Along with some other new students, I explored some of the nearby buildings, finding numerous places to eat with a large variety of delicious options.
At Birmingham, I studied Physics and Astrophysics, so the AI and Robotics course has been a fascinating introduction into a new academic area, with lectures on topics including swarm intelligence, autonomous driving, and humanoid robots. In the afternoons, cultural workshops have allowed me to develop my Chinese language skills, learn more about the history of the area, and practice traditional crafts such as fan painting.
Last weekend, I ventured outside Wuhan to Tianzhushan, a mountain in Anhui. The scenery was breathtaking, and my friend and I were “adopted” by a group of Chinese Volkswagen employees from Hefei. We chatted about space exploration, a shared interest in sci-fi books, and life in China compared to Europe. They were really fun to spend time with.
In our third week, we have begun our Practical Innovation Training. Split into small groups, we learnt how to control a robot arm to pick up and place down small objects, then program a control sequence so the task could run automatically. The size and facilities of the Centre for Practice Innovations were extremely impressive, and I am excited to take part in the remaining sessions.
I have really enjoyed my time at HUST so far. The weeks so far have flown by. This has been my first time in China, but I definitely intend to return in the future!
