The same transformational journey begins with three starting points

Three students with very different backgrounds and levels of experience embarked on the same transformational journey at Duke Kunshan University (DKU) – to pursue a master’s degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE program). Now, Zecheng Wang, a business major at college who worked for three years in the finance sector after graduation; Yiheng Chen, who specialized in economics; and Xuanzhe Zhu, who studied electronic science and technology, have landed exciting jobs at leading tech companies, and are ready to start a new chapter in their lives. 

<p>Three students with very different backgrounds and levels of experience embarked on the same transformational journey at Duke Kunshan University.</p>

Student name: Xuanzhe Zhu

Undergraduate program: Electronic Science and Technology, Zhejiang University 

Secured job offers from:

– Google U.S. 

– Meta U.S. 

– Amazon U.S. 

Personal tags: rigorous, optimistic, persistent

Student name: Yiheng Chen

Undergraduate program: Economics (Boling Class), Nankai University

Secured job offers from:

– Meta U.S.

– VMware U.S. 

– better.com U.S. 

Personal tags: good at self-reflection, driven by passion

Student name: Zecheng Wang

Undergraduate program: Ross School of Business, University of Michigan 

Working experience: three years at a financial institution

Secured job offers from

– Samsung Research (Samsung Electronics)

– PICC Information Technology Co., Ltd.

– JD.com

Personal tags: always on the road to explore, keep a balance in life

In the past two years of their learning at DKU, how did they overcome the challenge of studying a different major in their graduate program? What opportunities did they seize to land coveted jobs in world-leading tech companies?

Different backgrounds, same choice

As a finance practitioner, Zecheng Wang started to feel the pressure as IT rapidly changed his industry. For example, the new automated trading system at Goldman Sachs Hong Kong had replaced dozens of traders.

Wang found that clients were initially not interested in the financial products recommended by his team. But a relationship of trust developed once his team was able to help solve some of the clients’ digital technology problems.

“I came to realize that the future business model will be solutions based on products, services and technology,” said Wang. “After working in the traditional finance sector for three years, I had a clearer view of where the future was headed. So, I wanted to go back to school to learn more IT knowledge.”

After studying economics in college, Yiheng Chen knew she needed to pursue a Ph.D. if she wanted to have a career in academics. But she wasn’t sure how she might apply her academic findings in real life. During an internship, she saw how strong software programming skills could assist her in the job market. “I can immediately see millions of people using the web page or new functions developed by me. I really love the instant impact,” said Chen. “I found my passion. For my graduate program, I wanted to study a more hands-on major with better job prospects.”

The ECE program offers students the opportunity to spend their first year on DKU’s campus and second year at Duke University in the U.S. Chen likes the arrangement, as it helps students learn the fundamentals in a comfortable, home environment, and allows for a gradual transition between the two cultures.

Xuanzhe Zhu specialized in computer hardware when majoring in electronic science and technology, but now he is more interested in software development. Zhu said he was attracted to the ECE program at DKU after finding its software courses “very practical.” “The program focuses as much on soft skills as on technical abilities, which is helpful for job hunting,” said Zhu.

The ECE program offers a series of courses that cover engineering, business, and management. Students are expected to complete two industry-preparation classes focusing on industry management (Management in High-tech Industries) and business fundamentals (Business Fundamentals of Engineers). “The interdisciplinary curriculum provides us with a broader perspective and better job prospects,” said Zhu. 

The incredible courses and valuable internships

When asked which course in the ECE program impressed them most, each provided a different answer. 

Zhu said he was most impressed by a computer security course at Duke University. 

Once, the professor planted a virus into a virtual machine, and asked students to observe, track and analyze the whole process of virus invasion. The students then were required to design and implement a solution to remove the virus, and check the effects of their work. After lively discussions and hands-on practice, Zhu and his fellow students quickly built up an intuitive knowledge of computer viruses.

In the same course, when discussing the physical security of computers, the professor provided only a few photos as clues when asking students to look for a QR code he hid on a tree. Scanning the QR code with their smartphones would allow them to find the link to their final assignment.

Through this game, the students learned about the risk of information leaking out through the online sharing of photos.

Zhu found these teaching methods engaging and fun. In addition, he was impressed that professors asked them to complete most course projects according to industry standards. For instance, in the ECE564 course (Mobile Application Development), students were asked to develop a mobile application.

Zhu and his team developed an app similar to Rate Professor, which aims to help students select courses by posting comments online. With the support of Duke IT, the team obtained actual data on courses. After going through the whole development process, Zhu said he now has a good understanding about managing an IT project.

Yiheng Chen found herself struggling in the Fundamentals of Computer Systems and Engineering course in the first semester. After explaining some basic concepts, the course instructor quickly moved to the lab portion, giving each student a circuit board and some wires. Chen said she was clueless about what to do next. “It felt like I was forced to build an airplane when I only knew how to construct frames,” she said.

To complete the project, she teamed up with roommates to learn the relevant knowledge to finish the assignment. They finally got the circuit connected and saw the light bulb turn on – both literally and figuratively – giving Chen a great sense of accomplishment. “Through this course, I learned that there is no standard answer to business development projects,” said Chen. “You have to figure it out by yourself and solve problems creatively.”

Zecheng Wang started from scratch when learning programming. One of the first courses he took was ECE 551 (C++ Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms), which combines knowledge of three subjects and has a very steep learning curve. Given his undergraduate major in business, Wang worried whether he would pass the course. 

The course instructor, Drew Hilton, an associate professor of the practice in electrical and computer engineering at Duke, intentionally incorporated a lot of knowledge points in the syllabus and designed more than 100 hands-on programming projects, each for one learning point. Hilton did not assign textbooks in his class, but asked students to work on programming exercises and answered their questions on the spot.

Wang and fellow students had to do a lot of studying before class to keep up with the pace of learning. At the beginning, Wang found the course very challenging, but as time went by, he started to see the benefits. “The professor teaches us a systematic learning approach,” said Wang. “We are required to quickly get the concepts and then deepen our understanding in hands-on practices. This learning method is demanding, but leading to surprisingly effective outcomes.”

What have these students learned after taking these courses?

“I cannot believe that I have learned so much in just four months!” exclaimed Wang. “I’ve grown from a complete beginner to a C++ professional. I have my confidence back.”

The ECE program offers students opportunities to be connected to companies within the industry. During an internship at a leading IT company, Zhu learned that companies attach more importance to IT security than to ease of use, and software has to be both reusable and scalable.

He has also come to understand that program developers must take into account the requests of various units. Although the real business environment is more complex, Zhu said he feels confident that he has mastered the basic principles for program development.

Wang received five internship offers from well-known companies at home and abroad and landed his desired job after the internship. Wang said an internship is a quick way to get to know a company through exposure to its corporate culture, hiring requirements, and career development potential.

“Our ECE curriculum is designed to meet the needs of companies, which makes our students very popular with potential employers,” remarked Xin Li, DKU’s Associate Vice-Chancellor for Graduate Studies and Research and director of the ECE Program. “We provide a lot of opportunities for company visits and internships, allowing students to gain first-hand knowledge on what skills are most sought after in the industry. We also work with companies to set up internship positions just for our ECE students.”

Becoming interdisciplinary talents

Duke Kunshan aims to train interdisciplinary talents (i.e., a talent who has knowledge and skills in more than one professional field). And this goal matches well with Wang’s aspiration, who realized that his lack of IT knowledge had become the biggest bottleneck in his career development and why he wanted to become proficient in IT through two-year intensive courses. “Two groups of people enjoy the best opportunities in the information age: one with strong expertise in a field and the other is interdisciplinary talents,” said Wang.

At DKU, Wang found the ECE program has recruited students of various majors, and a third of his classmates switched to this field from other disciplines. “This is related to how we designed our ECE program,” commented Xin Li. “Classroom instruction is just a part of the whole learning process, and discussion between students and discussion with faculty and teaching assistants complement the courses. This is why DKU intentionally selects students from diverse backgrounds, which aims to open up broader perspectives by encouraging students to learn from each other.”

According to Zhu, his biggest benefit from two years of study at DKU is he has become confident and proactive. He has transformed from being an individual contributor to a team collaborator, as many projects in the ECE curriculum require group work. He also worked as a teaching assistant for two semesters thanks to his excellent academic performance. 

“There was a lot of work and sometimes it was quite exhausting,” Zhu said of his experience as a teaching assistant. “But the experience was also very rewarding, allowing me to thoroughly understand the learning points.”

During her two years at DKU, Chen has learned a new way of thinking. As an economics major, she was trained to use theories to explain phenomena; with software programming, you work out the process from the results.

For example, to create a web page, you have to first think about the layout. If you want to add a search bar, you should consider how the items in the drop-down menu correspond to the back-end database and what changes should be made to the data. “This step-by-step backtracking demands stronger logic reasoning skills,” said Chen.

Chen also found the entrepreneurship and leadership courses very helpful. “I have learned how to demonstrate personal leadership in the workplace, with many detailed, practical advice such as how to respond to questions in emails and how to show respect to others’ opinions while expressing your own views,” she recalled.

Advice to future students

Xuanzhe Zhu: Get prepared as early as possible for the skills required by your desired position. Many jobs require candidates to have rich experience in solving algorithm problems. Communicate with your job interviewers, rather than just quietly writing code. Submit resumes early, so there will be a higher probability of being selected to enter the follow-up process.

Yiheng Chen: If you plan to switch to study ECE from other majors, you should try to have a clear idea about what exactly you want to do as early as possible. Do you want to be a programmer, a data scientist, or a data analyst? Anyway, you shall get prepared early and make use of the resources around you. If you are still in college, try to use on-campus resources and take more relevant courses. If you have already graduated, try to find quality tutorials on the Internet.

Zecheng Wang: Cherish your time on campus. Life at DKU is exciting and fun, and there are a lot of free resources and opportunities, so don’t miss them. Most people reach their goals step by step from a rookie. Believe in yourself. Believe in the curriculum of the ECE program. Get inspired by the achievements of previous students.

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Author: Palen Zhang

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