Fang Huaiyu and Zhang Fan are quite a couple. Although they both studied at the Beijing Jiaotong University, it was only at Group T that the flame grew. They studied Electronics Engineering; Huaiyu went for the focus in Intelligent Electronics, Fan for Internet Computing.
/jaargang-19-3/images/19_03_28b.jpg "Huaiyu Fang and Zhang Fan. Both studied at Beijing Jiaotong University but they need to come to GROUP T to get to know each other and become a couple.")
Zhang Fan and Fang Huaiyu.
“Student life is completely different from China,” Huaiyu notes. “Just the fact that you do not live on a campus here but rent a room in town, makes the experience completely different.” “Also studying is different,” Fan continues. “The profs here set higher standards. You also have a more personal relationship with them: they know you by name and you can speak to them or ask them questions at any time.” Huaiyu is very happy with the lab sessions. “The lab sessions are more elaborate. These sessions also ensure that you keep up with the theory because otherwise you can’t do a good job on the assignments or experiments.”
“I enjoyed working with the Flemish students. They are intelligent and diligent and they have a lot of respect for foreign students. You do have to go to them to make contact. But once the ice is broken, all goes well.” “Chinese students do indeed have the tendency to stick together,” Huaiyu adds. “The fact that teamwork is not really established at Chinese universities has something to do with it. A Group T engineer, by definition, is a team player.” It is precisely because of the teamwork at Group T that Huaiyu and Fan got to know each other. They did their master’s thesis together and as the work progressed, the mutual admiration grew and they became a couple.
After her studies at Group T, Huaiyu went to Gent to study Marketing Management. “Management really appeals to me and is a great addition to my engineering diploma. The Vlerick Management School graduates enjoy a very good reputation in the business world.” Fan is specializing in Artificial Intelligence at the K.U.Leuven. “We haven’t yet decided whether we will look for a job in China or here. There is a lot of competition in Belgium.”
