The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS) welcomed students from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Zhejiang University (ZJU) for a two-week Summer Programme held from 9 to 20 July. From learning the fundamentals of robotics in the classroom to exploring research laboratories and connecting with faculty members, researchers and students, participants experienced first-hand how teaching and research come together within the department.
Faculty members guided students through the fundamentals of robotics and control in a series of lectures. Associate Professor Peter Chen led sessions on robot kinematics, dynamics, feedback control, probabilistic localisation, navigation and robot learning. Rather than presenting these topics in isolation, he connected engineering principles with practical applications, showing how robotics brings together mechanical engineering, computing and artificial intelligence to develop autonomous systems.
Jing Yaoye, a ZJU student, said, "Prof Chen explained complex concepts with great clarity, enabling us to build a solid, step-by-step understanding. Even topics I had previously studied gave me new insights."
The learning continued in the department's research laboratories, where faculty members, researchers and postgraduate students shared their work in robotics and intelligent systems. Demonstrations on embodied intelligence, tactile sensing, teleoperation and vision-language-action systems showed how ideas introduced in the classroom are applied in ongoing research and real-world engineering challenges.
Zhang Xingzhi, a ZJU student, said, "The laboratory visits were one of the most impressive parts of the Summer Programme. Seeing research on robotic teleoperation, tactile sensing and vision-language-action models helped me better understand how artificial intelligence and robotics can be combined in practical systems."
Beyond the classroom and laboratories, students connected with members of the NUS Society of Mechanical Engineering (SME) and the NUS Robotics and Machine Intelligence (RMI) Club, exchanging perspectives on university life, research and future aspirations. These conversations gave participants a chance to learn more about student life while building new friendships.
Zhang Ziheng, a ZJU student., said, "The Summer Programme broadened our academic horizons and strengthened our interest in the future development of intelligent robots. The combination of lectures and laboratory activities made it an informative, engaging and memorable learning experience."
By bringing together classroom learning, research and student interactions, the Summer Programme gave participants new perspectives on robotics and a better understanding of how teaching and research come together within the Department of Mechanical Engineering. It also strengthened the longstanding partnership between the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Mechanical Engineering at ZJU.
Visit the photo gallery: https://cde.nus.edu.sg/me/gallery/zhejiang-university-summer-programme/
