Experience about my research and life in KAIST CAMPUS Asia

Jiang Lin from Tsinghua University

In 2023 March, when I went through the news feed on the phone, I was attracted by the notification on the Tsinghua University International Exchange Office WeChat account. There were three considerations that pushed me to apply for it bravely. Firstly, I have been a loyal fan of K-pop and Korean TV dramas for about ten years, therefore I am really interested in Korean life and culture. Secondly, KAIST was so famous and excellent in my recognition that I was looking forward to access and learn from it. Thirdly, I have always hoped to go abroad to exchange, including feeling different cultures, making more friends, and learning advanced ideas… Based on these reasons, I selected this program and luckily was selected by the program in turn.

In CAMPUS Asia, I participated in the research-oriented program. My lab was the Nuclear Fuel Material Laboratory in the Nuclear and Quantum Engineering department. According to my research fields and the early online communication with Professor Ryu, he helped me determine the research topic as “FVM simulation of 3D printing”. After I arrived at KAIST, we immediately met up and discussed the detailed work face-to-face. During the program, I totally accomplished three tasks: 1. searching, looking through, and summary the literature related to the ink extrusion process simulation using the CFD method; 2. reproducing the results proposed in a typical paper and establishing the simulation frame for various ceramic inks; 3. discussing with professor and mentor to decide the necessary rheological parameters which need to be measure experimentally. This was the first simulation trying on direct ink writing process in this lab, thus it would be instrumental in enhancing the understanding of necessary processes involved in conducting CFD simulations for ceramic 3D printing.  In addition to the lab work, excursion and understanding of KAIST and Korea were also the staple of the CAMPUS Asia program. In one month, we visited five cities including Daejeon, Seoul, Busan, Jeonju, and Yongin Everland, and tasted local food specialties. Furthermore, some Korean-style activities were experienced in a limited time, such as Korean lectures, Hanbok, Saunas, music festivals, make-up classes, and photoism. Through the meaningful program, I have gained a deeper appreciation and insight of Korea.

In the CAMPUS Asia program, the greatest reward was the working style of my lab mates. In my opinion, they are always highly efficient and high-programmatic in treating the research tasks, which strongly stimulates me to change my lifestyle and work harder. In addition, they are usually willing to ask questions and discuss about own research together both in the seminar and privately.  Secondly, my spoken and listening English both had significant improvement. Due to the major limitation, I barely had the chance to communicate and make friends with foreigners, thus it was really a nice opportunity for me to broaden my horizons and exercise my social skills.

In this program, my favorite thing was the kind and friendly friends I met. My professor and lab mates treated me very well and gave me a lot of warmth. I seemed like a member of this lab, not just a visiting student. They usually treated me to meals, coffee, and snacks, and helped a lot on my research topic. As for the students in our program, our buddy Suhee and new friend Joshua, I totally enjoyed the time spent with them. Breaking through the language barriers, we always gathered to dine out, sing, explore Korean cities, and deepen our friendship through these associations. Moreover, Ms. Bae and Prof. Kim, who was in charge of the program, also supported and assisted us a lot in completing the program happily and smoothly. I have gotten so many recommendations and advice from Ms. Bae while living in Korea and thank her so much. I was so lucky that I could meet this group of lovely people in the summer program. The completion of the program is not the end of our friendship, and we will meet again in the coming days!

In the future, I think on the one hand, based on the acknowledgment of my research results here, I will be more confident about my research content in Tsinghua. And from the daily practice and writing lectures, I will be more confident about my English capability in paper writing and speaking.  Furthermore, I will be more hard-working and efficient like my lab mates in NFML, which would be helpful for me to propel the missions in the important fourth year of my Ph.D.! With respect to finding a career, I just limited my selection area domestically before. Through my experience abroad, I noticed that working in an international organization is also wonderful and worth trying. I think this program slightly changed my employment intentions and gave me the encouragement to challenge working abroad.

Thanks for CAMPUS Asia program, thanks everyone I met in this month. Really glad to meet Korea and KAIST in 2023 summer, I will strongly recommend this program to others and seek opportunity to visit here again!