Beihang University International Graduate Summer School, 2015

Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Beihang University) recently invited graduate students from around the world to Beijing for their annual International Graduate Summer School in Aeronautics and Astronautics. Beihang played host to over 120 students, constituting of 40% PhD to 60% Masters students. Successful international applicants were invited with full or partial funding for their international travel, accommodation, food and entertainment expenses throughout the summer school.

After a successful application, I was awarded the full scholarship for the summer school. To my surprise the representation of UK Aeronautics and Astronautics graduates in Beihang was small at around 5 students, with only myself representing Southampton.

Aims of the summer school were to facilitate international academic exchange, deliver seminars from invited leading professionals in academia and industry, give tours on the research facilities at Beihang, and allow the students to experience the culture and attractions around Beijing.

The cohort was split into groups by topic, namely in Aircraft Design, Materials & Manufacturing, Navigation and Control, Aerospace Propulsion, and New Energy Resources. Within these groups, students presented on recent projects and attended lectures specific to their area of work.

Here's me asking Professor Georg Eitelberg of German-Dutch Wind Tunnels (DNW) a question about the dangers of aeroelasticity in wind tunnel models:

As an aircraft aeroelastician, I joined the group of Aircraft Design with around 30 other graduate students. I delivered a presentation on my current project entitled 'Fast Aeroelastic Assessment Methods for Industrial Aircraft Design' (project blog entry pending, slides available here). Invited professors provided feedback by choosing the 3 best presentations, and my talk was given this high praise. I was then selected to represent the Aircraft Design group at the closing ceremony and re-delivered the material to the rest of the cohort.

I also found the time to advertise the University of Southampton and my department (NGCM) ...

To any Aero and Astro graduate students; I can strongly recommended this summer school for an unforgettable experience. As a side note, English is not widely spoken outside of the universities, and some basic Mandarin lessons will prove useful (and fun!).

Keep watch on this blog for progress on the project and my upcoming conferences. 谢谢 (thank you)!