Zheng Boyang is a 2023 graduate of the Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation program at the College of Engineering, Shantou University, and a recipient of the 2023 "Shantou University Medal." During his undergraduate studies, he achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.92 and ranked first in his major overall. He was recommended for graduate studies at Fudan University with a perfect comprehensive ranking score, the highest in the College of Engineering. He led a National College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program project and a Guangdong Province "Climbing Plan" special fund project. In competitions including the "Challenge Cup," the Mechanical Innovation Design Competition, and the American Mathematical Contest in Modeling, he won 7 national-level awards and over 10 provincial-level awards, and filed a total of 14 national invention patent applications. He is currently pursuing a combined master's and doctoral degree in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Fudan University under the supervision of Professor Fei Chengwei, focusing on interdisciplinary research in aviation structural reliability and artificial intelligence. He has published 7 SCI papers (including 2 Chinese Academy of Sciences Category 1 Top papers as first author) and has delivered multiple presentations at domestic and international academic conferences.
Campus Memories: From Zhixing College to the Competition Arena
A Single Sentence—"I Can Take You to Give It a Try"—Lit a Lamp
When Zheng Boyang first stepped through the gates of Shantou University, he was like most freshmen—full of anticipation but also confusion. Fortunately, he met a senior student mentor who patiently answered every question he raised and personally took him into the CDIO laboratory and into the college's science and innovation clubs. With the mentor's introduction, Zheng Boyang joined STU-ME (Shantou University Carbon-Free Car Club) and began systematically engaging in science and innovation training. The warmth of this "mentoring and passing on" became what he most wanted to pass on to his junior peers when he later served as a student mentor at the College of Engineering and as a core leader of the STU-ME club.
An Umbrella, a Rainstorm, and Team Memories from the "Challenge Cup"
During his four years at Shantou University, what Zheng Boyang remembers most vividly is not any single certificate, but those nights spent with teammates in the laboratory, working side by side before competitions. In the 16th "Challenge Cup" Guangdong College Students Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Competition, their project—"'Shadow and Form' — A Multifunctional Nursing Wheelchair Based on Intelligent Control"—was originally planned to be sent to Shenzhen for an offline roadshow. On the night before the project was to be shipped, they had just completed the final debugging in the CDIO laboratory, staying up all night. The next day, however, they suddenly received notice that due to the pandemic, the roadshow had been changed to an online format.
The team quickly revised their plan and went to the administration building to shoot a demonstration video. Halfway through the shoot, the weather turned bad and a sudden rainstorm broke out. To protect the electronic control components of their project from getting wet, everyone on the team held up umbrellas, tightly encircling the project—it didn't matter if people got wet, but the project could not. After the rain cleared, they continued filming and stayed up all night editing, barely making the provincial competition roadshow deadline. In the end, this project won the Special Prize in the 16th "Challenge Cup" Guangdong Provincial Competition and the Bronze Award in the 17th "Challenge Cup" National College Students Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Competition.
There were many similar stories: During the Engineering Practice and Innovation Capability Competition, they debugged their project at the South China University of Technology sports ground from afternoon until late at night, with several of them sleeping less than 4 hours combined, yet they took first place in their track the next day. In the 10th National College Mechanical Innovation Design Competition, the "Desert Ship — Straw Grid Sand Barrier Laying Machine" nearly fell apart while shooting the demo video; they carried it back to the lab piece by piece late at night and eventually polished it all the way to a National First Prize.
A "B" Grade Calculus Assignment, Buried Beneath All the Awards
On Zheng Boyang's dormitory bookshelf, there is a box containing all the award certificates, honors, and conference badges from his four years of college. At the very bottom of the box lies a first-semester freshman calculus assignment with a grade of "B."
"That was the grade I got when I first entered Shantou University, and it made me reflect for a long time—if I couldn't even do well on something that could have been prepared in advance, then it would be even harder to handle more complex tasks later on." Since then, he has kept that assignment at the bottom of the box: whenever he feels restless or a little proud, he takes it out and looks at it, telling himself, "When pride creeps in, looking at that paper helps me slowly settle down and focus on doing what needs to be done." This is another kind of "transcript" that Shantou University taught him.
Reflections on Academic Learning: Learning "How to Learn" at Shantou University
During his four years of study at the College of Engineering, Shantou University, the most profound lesson Zheng Boyang took away was: "The most important thing in university is to cultivate the ability to identify and solve problems." GPA is certainly important, but a high GPA does not necessarily mean true learning has taken place. With this understanding, he deliberately trained his "learning ability" outside of coursework—how to quickly build a knowledge map when entering an unfamiliar field, how to grasp a direction starting from a review article, and how to truly apply what he had learned to a concrete project.
It was this training that gave him the confidence to lead, as an undergraduate, a National College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program project and a Guangdong Province "Climbing Plan" special fund project, independently completing the entire process from project initiation, proposal design, technical problem-solving, to final defense. It also transformed him from a beginner tinkering with small inventions into a researcher capable of delivering academic presentations at international conferences. In short, what Shantou University taught him was not just any specific course, but an engineering foundation of "not panicking when facing the unknown, willing to try, and determined to dig deep."
From Shantou University to Fudan University: Continuing the Research Path
After undergraduate graduation, Zheng Boyang was recommended to the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Fudan University with the highest comprehensive ranking in the College of Engineering's graduate recommendation process. He joined the combined master's and doctoral program under Professor Fei Chengwei, embarking on the second leg of his journey toward "serving the nation through aerospace." His research direction shifted from undergraduate work in mechanical design and intelligent control to a more focused interdisciplinary area combining aviation structural reliability analysis and artificial intelligence, with deep involvement in research related to the national "Two Aircraft" major special project.
During his two-plus years at Fudan, he has conducted continuous research on aviation structural reliability, EBSD crystal orientation image restoration, aero-engine blisk tolerance reliability, and landing gear fatigue life prediction. He has published 3 SCI papers in Chinese Academy of Sciences Category 1 Top journals including Expert Systems with Applications, Aerospace Science and Technology, and Advanced Engineering Informatics (with 2 as first author), and 4 additional papers in journals such as Aerospace and Journal of Physics: Conference Series, bringing his total publication count to 7. He has also applied for an invention patent as a primary inventor titled "Method, Device, and Product for Determining Tolerance Reliability of Complex Aviation Assembly Surface Defects."
He has also represented Shantou University and Fudan University on domestic and international academic stages—in November 2023, he delivered an academic presentation titled "MSA-GAN: A Novel Deep Learning Method for EBSD Defective Image Restoration" at the Shanghai Graduate Student Academic Forum in Aeronautics, Astronautics, and Mechanics; in March 2024, he delivered an English academic presentation titled "MSA-GAN: A Novel Method for Inpainting EBSD Image Via Cellular Automation and Deep Learning" at the AAME 2024 International Academic Conference held at the University of Hong Kong. Every time he steps onto the stage, he remembers his first experience sharing science and innovation insights with junior students at Shantou University—the stage has grown larger, but his confidence still comes from that seaside campus.
Beyond research, he has also carried forward the habit of "doing things and being a person well" cultivated at Shantou University: he serves as a student assistant at the Fudan University Party Building Service Center, responsible for Party member organization relationship transfers and reviewing materials for Party member development. He has been recognized as an "Outstanding Student" and "Outstanding Student Leader" at Fudan University for the 2023–2024 academic year, received the Fudan University Meng Foundation Huabao Scholarship, and was named "Setting Sail Star" of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Spiritual Legacy and Value Transmission
(I) Life Wisdom: Begin with Dreams, Build on Innovation, Achieve through Action
These twelve characters form the motto that Zheng Boyang has refined through his four years at Shantou University and his two-plus years at Fudan. They represent three insights he wishes to share with his junior peers.
Begin with Dreams — Passion is the Foundation. He believes that behind almost every proud achievement stands someone who "truly loves what they do." Without genuine passion, one cannot endure those all-night sessions or take pleasure in the iterative refinement of details. He often tells himself: "It's not that the process is more important than the result, but that enjoying the process is more important than the result." Only by staying true to one's original aspiration can one forge ahead.
Build on Innovation — Focus on Yourself. "Choice is more important than effort" is a phrase often repeated in this era. He wants to emphasize its other side: "Focus on yourself"—don't blindly compete with others, but carefully examine your own interests, strengths, and direction, and dare to put forward unique ideas. This applies to both research and engineering: when everyone is willing to speak their mind and walk their own path, there will be no so-called "involution," only a flourishing diversity.
Achieve through Action — Choice and Effort Are Equally Important. Looking back at the projects he has worked on, almost none went smoothly: roadshow formats changed at the last minute, equipment fell apart before competitions, model training repeatedly diverged... Many things are beyond our control, but what we can control must be done to the best of our ability. So he refines "choice is more important than effort" to "choice and effort are equally important"—a good starting point and direction determine how far you can go, but only persistent, solid work determines whether you can actually get there.
(II) Message to Junior Students
If there are a few words he would like to leave for the students currently studying at Shantou University, Zheng Boyang expresses them this way:
Find your "guide" early. It could be a senior student mentor, a teacher, or a club. A good start often determines how far you can go. When you have walked this path yourself, go on to become a guide for those who come after—this is a meaningful cycle.
Do every small thing thoroughly. Don't look down on a calculus assignment, a small project report, or a minor competition—these seemingly insignificant efforts accumulate and determine whether you can handle "big things" in the future.
Learn to collaborate with others in teams. One of the most precious gifts Shantou University gave him was a group of friends who were willing to stay up late with him, get caught in the rain with him, and work together to make something beautiful. Cherish those "ordinary" days in the lab and in clubs—you will later realize that they were the brightest part of your youth.
Keep the name "Shantou University" in your heart. No matter where you go or what you achieve, always remember Shantou University's educational goal of "having ambition, having knowledge, having perseverance, and having achievement." Today I am proud of Shantou University; tomorrow I hope Shantou University will be proud of us.
(III) Sentiment for the Alma Mater: Washing Away the Dust of the Past, Nourishing the Parched without End
During his four years at Shantou University, Zheng Boyang grew accustomed to sitting by the window in the library to watch the sunset, to listening to music through earphones while debugging in the CDIO laboratory, and to meeting teammates at the No. 2 and No. 3 cafeteria for late-night snacks and project reviews during competition seasons. These seemingly trivial scenes came together to form his most complete memory of Shantou University.
He also remembers clearly the words he spoke as the graduate representative at the 2023 commencement ceremony: "Washing away the dust of the past, nourishing the parched without end, the Creator does not speak of its merits." What Shantou University gave him goes far beyond knowledge and awards—it is a spiritual foundation of "establishing self and pursuing selflessness"—one that gives him composure in the face of challenges and keeps him humble even when he achieves a little success.
Now, as a doctoral student who has gone out from Shantou University, he will continue to aim for "serving the nation through science and innovation" and strive to write his own life's answer sheet well. He sincerely wishes his alma mater—may its glorious chapters continue and its future be bright; and wishes the College of Engineering—may it flourish with new talents and continue to nurture outstanding graduates.
"Shantou Engineering Imprint"
The "Shantou Engineering Imprint" alumni campaign is an important initiative by the College of Engineering, Shantou University, to preserve its spiritual heritage and consolidate development momentum. Since the university's founding in 1981, College of Engineering graduates have been making their mark across various industries—overcoming challenges at the forefront of engineering projects, pushing boundaries in research, and contributing quietly at the grassroots level, embodying the engineering spirit of "dedication, rigor, and innovation" through practical action. Through the "Shantou Engineering Imprint," the College connects these scattered stories, turning the journeys of senior alumni into guiding lights for new generations, and helping current students find their direction by learning from the growth trajectories of role models.
At the same time, "Shantou Engineering Imprint" serves as an emotional bond between the College and its alumni. The campaign not only allows alumni to feel the care and recognition of their alma mater but also builds a platform for resource sharing—alumni enterprises can engage in industry-university-research collaboration with the College, transforming research outcomes into industrial drivers; entrepreneurial alumni can provide internship opportunities and entrepreneurial guidance to students, facilitating the transmission of experience. This two-way interaction both supports alumni career development and injects new vitality into the College's disciplinary construction and talent cultivation.
Furthermore, "Shantou Engineering Imprint" serves as a window showcasing the College's educational achievements and enhancing its social influence. When alumni take on major responsibilities in significant engineering projects or earn honors in technological innovation, their accomplishments become the best testament to the quality of the College's talent cultivation. Through promoting these achievements, the College can attract high-caliber students, expand cooperation resources, further advance the implementation of its "dual-college synergy" and "five-pronged education" talent cultivation system, and contribute more high-quality engineering talents to the industrial development of Shantou and the nation as a whole.
Text by: Zhu Guang
