Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing July 29-August 17, 2018, Beijing, China

Yannick Le Moullec Tallinn University of Technology

Contents 1. Acknowledgements ...... 3 2. Academic life ...... 3 3. Chinese culture life ...... 7 4. Daily life ...... 9 5. Conclusion ...... 11

Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing July 29-August 17, 2018, Beijing, China

1. Acknowledgements First of all, I extent my warmest gratitude to Beijing Institute of Technology for inviting me and five students from Tallinn University of Technology to participate in the Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing 2018. I thank all the organizers, lecturers, volunteers, students, and leaders who made this summer camp an unforgettable experience. In particular, I thank Ms. Yufeng Mao, Ms. Yuzhuo Huang, Ms. Lili Wang, and Ms. Tiantian Li for their kind help and assistance.

2. Academic life The theme of the Belt and Road Student Summer Camp 2018 was Green Car and Autonomous Vehicle. The organizers had arranged a broad and rich academic program comprising a series of lectures, technical trainings, innovation and entrepreneurship training, and field trips to innovative Chinese automotive manufacturers (BAIC BJEV, Beijing Benz Automotive Co, Great Wall Motors) as well as ride-sharing, artificial intelligence and autonomous technologies (DiDi). The camp started with the opening ceremony (see Photo 1).

Photo 1. Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing 2018 Opening Ceremony. The lectures included many topics such as vehicle engineering, car-body and aerodynamics, intercultural management, presentation of the New Energy Automotive Laboratory, intelligent vehicles, electric vehicles, and automatic transmission tech. Examples of lectures can be seen in Photos 2 to 4. The lecturers were very knowledgeable and willing to answer the questions of the audience. They used different teaching approaches, including slides, blackboard, pen-&-paper exercises, and group discussions. Altogether, the lectures provided important and useful knowledge to the participants; some of this knowledge could be put directly in practice during the lab and entrepreneurship course; some of it could also be related to real-life products seen during the field trips to the Chinese automotive manufacturers.

Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing July 29-August 17, 2018, Beijing, China

Photo 2. Lecture by Dr. Xudong Zhang on the development of new energy and intelligent connected vehicles.

Photo 3. Lecture by Prof. Dr. Jianwei Gong on self-driving technologies.

Photo 4. Lecture by Dr. Chao Lu on reinforcement learning for self-driving applications.

Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing July 29-August 17, 2018, Beijing, China

The Belt and Road Student Summer Camp 2018 also included active learning in the form of the innovation and entrepreneurship training. This training was conducted in the form of teamwork. Each team consisted of students from different countries and universities. Such an approach stimulated the creativity of the participants and gave them the opportunity to experience and develop their inter-cultural work skills and competences. Such teamwork can be seen in Photo 5. An additional motivation factor was that each team had to prepare a poster and present their work in a competition, which made the training even more exciting.

Photo 5. Teamwork during the innovation and entrepreneurship training.

Another major activity organized during the Belt and Road Student Summer Camp 2018 was the field trips to four companies, namely Beijing Electric Vehicles (BJEV), Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Great Wall Motors, and DiDi. Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. (BAIC) holds several subsidiaries, including BJEV and Beijing Benz Automotive Co., which we both visited as part of the summer camp. BJEV was founded in 2009 and is the major new energy (electric) vehicle player in China. It has independent production, sales, and research and development capacities. It was the first new energy vehicle company to carry out the reform of mixed ownership, and was in the first pilot of state-owned enterprise-employee shareholding reform. The visit started with a welcome lecture by key representatives of the company who introduced the company, its key numbers, and active research and development domains. After that, we could To the delight of the participants, it was possible to take photos of the various models in the showroom. These included both small and larger cars (some with an autonomy of more than 400 km), as well as the impressive super-car shown in Photo 6. In addition, the company organized a discussion session with some of their experts during which the participants asked questions related to the key technologies developed by the company (in particular batteries) and to other aspects such as possible sales outside of China. The visit was concluded by a delicious lunch at the company’s canteen.

Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing July 29-August 17, 2018, Beijing, China

All in all, the visit at BJEV was extremely instructive and clearly demonstrated the importance and potential of electric vehicles in China and the rest of the world.

Photo 6. Field trip to BAIC BJEV. The photo show their most impressive model, the electric super car Arcfox-7. It can accelerate to 100 km/h in 3 seconds, its top-speed is 260 km/h, and its autonomy reaches 300 km. On the afternoon following the visit to BJEV, we visited another subsidiary of BAIC, namely Beijing Benz Automotive Co. More precisely, it is a joint venture between BAIC Motor and Daimler AG. The factory that we visited produces specific models in China, such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and C-Class. We were given the opportunity to visit the production lines were we could see and hear about the different steps of the manufacturing and assembly processes. All in all, the participants were impressed by the size and cleanness of the factory, as well as by the various machines and robots used to produce and build the cars. Another visit organized as part of the Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing 2018 was at Great Wall Motor. We travelled by bus to their headquarters in Baoding, Hebei. Great Wall Motor is the largest producer of sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pick-up trucks in China. Its vehicles are sold under four different brands, namely Great Wall Motor, Haval, Ora, and Wey. The company organized the visit for the whole day. During the visit, four groups were formed. Our group first visited the automatic transmission plant and then the assembly line. The participants noted the advanced machines and robots as well as the full concentration of the employees on their work. We then had the great opportunity to participate in a test-drive session. The company provided four cars with their pilots and took us in small groups on the on-site test track. During the test, we could experience the great acceleration of the car as well as its silence and comfort, even at high speeds (up-to 189 km/h in our case). We then moved to the research center of the company were we had a nice lunch, followed by a visit to several test facilities for EMC, noise, etc.

Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing July 29-August 17, 2018, Beijing, China

We ended the visit with an expert session, where key representatives of the company presented their key strategy as well as opportunities for students and fresh graduate to join the company in engineering positions. All in all, this was another very instructive visit to a major Chinese automotive producer. At the time of writing, the visit to DiDi has not taken place yet. It will certainly be also very interesting to visit this Chinese innovative company that deals with ride-sharing, artificial intelligence as well as autonomous technologies.

3. Chinese culture life Besides the academic program, the organizers of the Belt and Road Student Summer Camp arranged a series of cultural visits to some of the best world known Chinese attractions such as Tian’anmen Square, Forbidden City (See Photo 7), Temple of Heaven, Juyongguan Pass of the Great Wall (see Photos 8 and 9), Summer Palace, Bird Nest, Water Cube, and Silk Market, and the Chinese acrobatics show at Chaoyang Theatre. The visit to Tiananmen Square allows one to realize that it is the largest central square in the world. During the visit, we had the opportunity to see world-known landmarks such as the Great Hall of the People, Monument to the People's Heroes, and Chairman Mao's Mausoleum. The Forbidden City (officially the Imperial Palace Museum) is another major landmark of not only Beijing but also China. It is a large complex including 9999 and 1/2 rooms. It is a wonderful experience to walk through the Forbidden City and to marvel at its architecture and rich history. The Temple of Heaven is a unique structure that used to be a sacrificial building dedicated to Heaven. It is surrounded by a large park that offers a relaxing environment for walking and taking photos. A very exciting tour was the walk on the Great Wall. We went to the Juyongguan Pass, more precisely the Heros' walk. It is a unique experience to climb the stairs and realize that one is standing on one of the most famous landmark of the world. The Summer Palace is extremely large and it was great to enjoy the views of the lake, the palace itself, and their surroundings. The walk over the bridge is relaxing and offers many photo opportunities. We also experienced the modern Beijing with visits to the Bird Nest (officially the Beijing National Stadium) and Water Cube (National Aquatics Center) that are both located on one of the Olympic Village sites (from the 2008 Beijing Olympics). Both structures are really interesting from an architectural perspective and symbolize what the modern Beijing and China can offer. Finally, the Chinese acrobatics show at Chaoyang Theatre was a new and truly unique experience for us, an amazing performance that will remain with us for the rest of our lives. Overall, the various cultural visits organized during the Belt and Road Student Summer Camp 2018 gave all of us an excellent glimpse at the long and rich history of China as well as unforgettable memories of Beijing.

Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing July 29-August 17, 2018, Beijing, China

Photo 7. The main building inside the Forbidden City

Photo 8. Group photo in at the Great Wall, Juyongguan pass, the Heros' walk.

Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing July 29-August 17, 2018, Beijing, China

Photo 9. Visit to the Great Wall, Juyongguan pass, the Heros' walk.

4. Daily life The main campus of Beijing Institute of Technology is located in the Zhuongguancun area of Beijing (northwest area of the 3rd Ring Road). It is surrounded by other universities, research centers, and high-tech research park. The Zhongguangcun campus is quite large with an area of 920,700 square meters. It can be accessed by metro (Weigongcun and Renmin University stations) as well as numerous buses. The campus includes many facilities such as teaching buildings, library, administrative buildings, dormitories, apartments, YuYuan guesthouse, International Educational Exchange Building (hotel), small grocery shops, restaurants, excellent sport facilities etc. Meals can be taken at one of the various restaurants, as illustrated in Photos 10 to 12. In addition, drinks and snacks can be enjoyed at the cozy and stylish coffee named Scholar’s Coffee (see Photo 13). Other restaurants, fast-food chain outlets, and various shops are within walking distance of the campus. Beijing’s city center can be reach by metro in 30 to 40 minutes. All in all, the daily life on Beijing Institute of Technology’s Zhuongguancun campus is comfortable and convenient,

Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing July 29-August 17, 2018, Beijing, China thus allowing students and scholars to focus on their studies and research activities.

Photo 10. Breakfast at Yuyuan restaurant on Beijing Institute of Technology’s Zhuongguancun campus.

Photo 11. Menu at one of the restaurants on Beijing Institute of Technology’s Zhuongguancun campus.

Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing July 29-August 17, 2018, Beijing, China

Photo 12. One of the restaurants on Beijing Institute of Technology’s Zhuongguancun campus.

Photo 13. Scholars’ Café on Beijing Institute of Technology’s Zhuongguancun campus.

5. Conclusion To conclude, it is clear to me that the Belt and Road Student Summer Camp 2018 with it theme on Green Car and Autonomous Vehicle was definitely a success. It provided us with great learning opportunities in many ways, encompassing academic, professional, and cultural perspectives. The summer camp has been an extraordinary experience that will remain carved in my memory. I wish other participants will be given the same exceptional opportunity in the coming years; I also wish that Tallinn University of Technology will be able to welcome students, lecturers, and staff members of Beijing Institute of Technology in the future and that the partnership between our institutions will continue to be successful and fruitful in the many years to come.

Belt and Road Student Summer Camp-Beijing July 29-August 17, 2018, Beijing, China

Thank you Beijing Institute of Technology for organizing the Belt and Road Student Summer Camp 2018 and see you soon again!