Let me first say the conclusion: the college was very attentive during the reporting process, and the management and process were very good. I give a big thumbs up to the staff :)

Registration

Registration officially began at 8:30 AM on September 10th. Parking and a tea break area were set up. Family members accompanying students were asked to wait at the tea break area while students reported to the second floor. Staff members guided the entire registration process. Upon reaching the second floor, students were given a registration process sheet and a black pen. The process sheet clearly outlined the order and requirements for reporting. The general process was as follows: check information and materials, collect campus card, activate bank card, take campus cultural and creative gifts, draw lots for accommodation, submit registration sheet, and apartment check-in.

  1. Document and Document Verification: This process is divided into direct doctoral admissions, general doctoral admissions, and master’s-to-doctoral transfers. The process primarily reviews degree certificates, graduation certificates, transcripts, and ID cards. It’s a step-by-step process and takes three minutes.
  2. Campus Card: You will receive a dedicated card holder, card strap, and campus card (the campus card is primarily purple and white, and features a stylish design).
  3. Bank Card Activation: This campus card is sponsored by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), so the bank card must be an ICBC card. This step is lengthy, especially since the college hasn’t fully set up Wi-Fi yet. Another option is to activate your card yourself at a nearby bank office, which is about 300 meters from the dormitory and very convenient. It’s important to note that ICBC cards opened at the college are best designated as Class I cards to avoid single-transaction limits. (If you already have a Type I ICBC card, the college will not reissue one for you.)
  4. Campus cultural gifts: The campus cultural gift center gave you an umbrella (purple - for rain or shine), a water bottle with the college logo (choose from black, purple, pink, white, or blue), a 14-inch business laptop bag, and a burgundy shirt. The amenities are quite good.
  5. Accommodation: Dormitory assignments are entirely based on luck. The college’s dormitories are divided into five types: A, B, C, D, and E. Before enrollment, students will be asked to submit a questionnaire asking if they have a roommate they would like to share. Roommates will be assigned based on the results of the questionnaire; otherwise, the assignment is random. The dormitory lottery is conducted on a computer and is managed by a dedicated person. The lottery stops when a student requests to stop before or after the start of the lottery, and the screen displays the final assigned dormitory number. Regarding room assignments, Hetao operates on a first-come, first-served basis. While the provided room drawings don’t reveal any substantial differences within the rooms, the significant size differences are noticeable (there are very few such rooms). 6. Submit the check-in process sheet: Each step in the form will be stamped after completion, and a fully stamped process sheet is required for submission.
  6. Apartment Check-in: All dormitories are double and triple suites, some with living rooms and some without. The bathroom and toilet are shared within the suite. I stayed in a double room with a double sink and a small refrigerator (either a refrigerator or freezer). The area of ​​each room varies significantly; the E unit varies significantly. The other units are similar in size, but the area varies significantly between room numbers. It’s actually much smaller than originally advertised, but it’s perfectly adequate for single-person living.

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Office

Doctoral workstations are assigned by center. After students determine their center affiliation, a dedicated instructor will assign them a room and corresponding number. Those who wish to change their workstation location can apply (as first-time students, of course, they can move sideways). The workstations were treated with formaldehyde before the start of the semester, ensuring a non-pungent odor. Each new doctoral student is equipped with a computer, two monitors (31.5 inches and 27 inches), a computer stand, a robotic arm, and an ergonomic chair. The workstation environment is generally quite good. Of course, there are areas for improvement, such as the lack of Bluetooth wireless network adapters in the computer, the 2K monitor resolution (a 2K + 31.5-inch resolution is a disaster for those accustomed to 4K), and the robotic arm causing two horizontal monitors to clash (hence, I consider one vertical and one horizontal monitor to be the most preferred).

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Apartment

Since each apartment type is different, I will only share with you the D apartment type where I live as an example. The room smelled quite strong when I first moved in, and I felt a bit dizzy after staying there for too long. Therefore, I stayed in a hotel for the first week, kept the air conditioner and all doors and windows open 24 hours a day, and placed a basin of water on the floor. The smell was much less when I moved in again a week later, so I bought formaldehyde removal kit and formaldehyde test strips. The staff explained that the formaldehyde level was definitely within the safe range and that the smell in the room was coming from the furniture. This seems to be true; after I moved in, I tested the formaldehyde level and it was within the safe range. The room was furnished with a bed (197 x 120 mm), a desk (120 x 60 x 78 mm), a mattress (200 mm), and a wardrobe. The balcony was equipped with a separate washing machine and clothes drying rack. The road next to the bed is narrow, but it can easily accommodate one person. If you plan to work or sit for long periods in the dormitory, you should bring your own chair; the hard benches provided are not good for your health.
The apartment is fully staffed with a front desk and property management. While it’s inevitable that there are some minor issues with the rooms at the beginning of the semester, I can tell they genuinely want to help students resolve any issues. Almost any issue raised in the group chat is addressed, which is fantastic. There’s a delivery station on the second floor, so most deliveries go to the second floor, with a few being delivered to the Fengchao lockers downstairs.

Courses

First, it should be noted that all courses are taught in English (except for ideological and political courses). Information technology majors must attend all courses at Hetao College, fulfilling the requirement of two required courses and five elective courses. Non-information technology majors must take at least two information technology courses at Hetao College. Whether or not to return to your original university for courses depends on the regulations of your original university.
The first semester’s courses were primarily theoretical, focusing on computer science and artificial intelligence courses. These covered machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing (NLP), computer vision (CV), ideological and political education, academic English, and system-level hardware and software knowledge. Most courses focused on projects, with a few having exams. As a non-information major, I sat through nearly every course in my first week, analyzing the syllabus based on my research interests and personal interests. I ultimately chose 7-8 courses (already anticipating the overwhelming workload of the first semester). The instructors flew from various universities to Shenzhen to teach, and I want to thank them for their hard work. For non-information majors, many of the technical terms may be unfamiliar and difficult to understand. However, for CS or AI majors, many courses are already covered in undergraduate studies, so taking them is simply a review and not a stressful experience.
In addition to taking courses, the college has set a lecture attendance requirement each semester. In the first semester, each student must attend at least 10 lectures, all of which are related to scientific research. For example, the first lecture was by Professor Han Xiaoguang: Sharing Practical Scientific Research Experience; the second was by Professor Li Hongsheng: Image Generation Based on Thought Chains. 17

New Start Point

The day after I arrived, the college organized a briefing, a buffet dinner, a music festival, and subsequent drone photography. Meanwhile, the college is constantly ventilating and cleaning unused classrooms. The college has also opened a gym and library, all open to all students free of charge. The library boasts numerous details, including reading pods (which offer privacy and are rotatable, with seating surrounded by seating areas except for the front), desks with electrical outlets, three-person and five-person seminar rooms, and conference rooms. Many areas are carpeted, effectively reducing ambient noise.
Since the start of the semester, I’ve been quite busy. Since my class schedule isn’t completely finalized, I’ve been commuting to class almost every day. I haven’t fully explored the campus yet, but I’ll share more about that later. Morning classes don’t start until 9:30 AM (so nice to not have to get up early), and afternoon classes start at 2:30 PM. Just after the first week, a typhoon hit Shenzhen. Times like these are when the college’s commitment becomes even more apparent. Yesterday, Shenzhen issued an orange typhoon alert, and the college emailed a notice suspending classes that evening. Today, a dedicated college staff member inspected every room for potential safety hazards and issued advance notice to remove all items from the balcony, except for the washing machine. The cafeteria still provided breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the second-floor apartment complex also coordinated food and water supplies for students in advance (to ensure anyone missed out). We also checked everyone’s status today to see if they were in the dorms or off campus. I felt incredibly flattered and treated like a giant panda.
In short, one can feel the care that the college has put into various aspects of its operation, and I won’t go into details.

Welcome everyone! You can’t go wrong by choosing SLAI!

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