IPhD Summer School participants were divided into three groups based on their preferences, and they participated in three series of activities organized by three departments, including lab visit, meeting with PhD supervisors, research design and presentation, interviews and so on.
1. Business Administration
Warm-up Dinner and Game
All summer school participants joined the warm-up dinner and games. The Business Administration group had a "Speak out Your Name” game to start with. This game enabled the group to know each other in a short time. Then, this newly formed group played “Passing on” and “Dancing to the End”, which brought lots of fun to the group.
Introduction to the Discipline & Dialogue with a PhD Candidate
The main purpose of the summer school is to select5-year PhD candidates for 2015, so the group met some PhD supervisors in the discipline. The Head of the Department of Business Administration, Prof. CHEN Ling made a brief introduction of the department. Then, students interacted with some PhD supervisors about the research opportunities and their interests. After the introduction and Q&A, students met some PhD candidates from the school. Those senior students talked about campus life from different perspectives.
Academic Assignment
On the third day of the summer school, the Business Administration group went to the PC Lab to make a brief outline of a research design. In a short period of time, students were asked to synthesize literature and propose a research design with their own research questions based on the literature.
Academic Report
During the Summer School, Prof. ZHOU Fan and Prof. HUO Baofeng made two academic reports. Prof. ZHOU reminded students that pursuing a PhD degree needed careful consideration. The most important ability for a PhD student was conceptualization, rather than English proficiency or mathematics, which was largely based on research training.
Prof. HUO named his report as “Paradise with Nobody”. He shared his research findings with the students, and the joy of publishing a paper. He also said, doing research and generating findings was a way to prove that you were alive. This was contribution to the whole society.
2. Management Science and Engineering
Warm-up Dinner and Game
In the first part of warming-up, some young faculty members from the department introduced research strength, research teams and faculty members in the department. After the introduction, each student in the group made a self-introduction, some of which were rather impressive.
Face to Face with PhD Supervisors
Firstly, the Head of the Department of Management Science and Engineering Prof. LIU Yuan introduced the department in details, including the discipline construction, faculty, and international cooperation etc. In the face-to-face meeting session, several PhD supervisors introduced their research foci. They also gave students some advice of being a successful PhD candidate.
Visiting Neuroscience Lab
On July 15, students visited the Neuroscience Lab on Yuquan campus. A 5-year PhD candidate MENG Liang introduced the lab, including its research projects, findings, international cooperation and undergraduate development plan. Students experienced fMRI, ERP and other equipments. Later, some students tried to wear the equipment to test their “consciousness”, which aroused great interest among the group.
3. Agricultural Economics and Management
Warm-up Dinner and Game
In the CARD (China Academy for Rural Development, Zhejiang University) Center, students joined the warm-up activities organized by Agricultural and Forestry Economics and Management discipline. It was started with an introduction of the city of Hangzhou, the university and the School of Management, particularly, the advantage of this discipline. Students raised some questions to faculty members, expressing their ambition of pursuing a PhD degree in the School of Management. After the introduction, students played some games, which helped them to know each other well.
Visiting CARD Centre and Talking to Faculty Members
In the afternoon of July 14, students visited CARD research center. The huge library captured the students eyeballs. They also watched a documentary for the development of CARD, which deepened their understanding of the center – the history and its development, how it worked and its research, academic communications and achievements. After the visit, students talked to some PhD supervisors in the field of agricultural economics and management. Prof. GUO Hongdong said to the students, to start their research life, they should think about two questions, why PhD, and why in the field of agricultural economics.
