“This program has provided me with the unique opportunity to add an international dimension to my ANU degree. Studying at BIT has allowed me to be immersed in another culture while building skills and gaining knowledge. I would like to thank all the professors and lecturers at BIT who presented on interesting topics and supervised our learning of content related to the Internet of Things.”----Alexandra Grant from Australian National University

“The entire trip was a blast from start to finish. I found our use of wireless nodes fascinating throughout the project, as I have not worked with many communication systems, all my experience is with autonomous systems. I found china an immensely interesting country, with all its history and people, it was truly awesome.”----Harley Dyson from Swinburne University of Technology

“The program at BIT helps create the foundations for my own study which I wish to further pursue and potentially make a career.”----Joshua Townsend-Long from University of Technology, Sydney

These above words came from three out of the fourteen undergraduates who have participated in a four week study tour program hosted by Beijing Institute of Technology from 27 November to 23 December of 2016.

This was a program with lectures and project design experiments on the theme of Internet of Things, the study program was supplemented with Chinese language and culture classes, Chinese cultural experience, site seeing activities, and three industry visits to SAP Beijing, IBM, and Beijing Automotive Works. The seven students from Australian National University also took the chance to give an information session about studying at ANU for BIT students including the BIT-ANU 2+2 double degree candidates.

The program closed on the morning of 23rd December 2016, when all participants presented their results of experiments and their achievements during the four weeks. For most of them, knowledge, experience, horizon, cultural shock and friendship were their valuable gains from this program.

All the 14 students were sponsored by the New Colombo Plan, which is a signature initiative of the Australian Government lunched at 2014. This program aims to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the region. In 2017, the NCP is supporting around 7400 mobility students and more than 1200 will participate in projects in China, one of the most popular destinations. This Internet of Things Study Tour Program is BIT’s the first program for NCP sponsored students from its key partner institutions in Australia.