ASME Student Section Launched at Ningbo University
ASME Student Section Launched at Ningbo University
Just several months after its initial proposal, a new ASME student section was launched at Ningbo University in Zhejiang, China. The new student section — the first to be established in mainland China — officially opened with a kickoff meeting held in late June at the university’s Xiushan Engineering Hall of the School of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics.
The idea of launching a student section at Ningbo University was met with enthusiastic support from faculty and students at the university’s School of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, which has more than 1,000 students and a faculty numbering more than 100. With financial support from the Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science to cover a portion of the students’ membership dues, the formal application process for the student section was initiated in April by several faculty volunteers. After the student memberships were approved in early May, the inaugural meeting of the ASME Ningbo University student chapter was planned and held on June 23.
Professors Ji Wang, Fuxing Miao, Tingfeng Ma, and Lijun Yi, who are all active ASME members, are the faculty advisors for the chapter, which has approximately 35 members. The ASME Beijing Office assisted the Ningbo University’s efforts to launch the new student section by answering questions about ASME and how to set up a student section, supporting the student section launch event, and establishing communication between the university and staff at ASME’s headquarters in New York.
Prof. Wang, associate dean and one of the faculty advisors for the new student section, began the meeting on June 23 by talking briefly about the importance of launching a student section at the university. As members of an ASME student section, students will have the opportunity to become a part of the global network of mechanical professionals and explore education opportunities beyond the campus, Dr. Wang said. By participating student activities of the ASME through conferences, site visits, speakers, competitions and mentor programs, students can receive the training and education which can complement the classroom and campus experiences to perfect the knowledge and skills required for a mechanical engineer today, he said.
During the meeting’s keynote presentation, “Growing Your Engineering Career and Knowledge with ASME,” ASME Fellow Horn-sen Tzou, a professor at Zhejiang University and the former chair of ASME’s Board on Technical Knowledge Dissemination (BTKD), provided the students in attendance with background and details on ASME, and talked about his career path and his experiences within the ASME organization. He impressed upon the students that ASME membership would be beneficial to their studies as well as their later career.
Dr. Tzou added that student members would learn skills and gain insight into the professional world that are only available through ASME, its members and its programs, and offered students advice on how to participate conferences and talk to colleagues in ASME events. Afterward, he answered a number of questions from student members about ASME’s various programs and how to maximize the benefits of being a student member of ASME.
For more information on the new student section at Ningbo University, contact Erin Sun of the ASME Beijing Office at SunY@asme.org.
Related Content
