US students explore SZ tech, innovation

Twenty-two students from American universities, including MIT, Stanford, and Cornell, concluded the Shenzhen leg of their China tour yesterday with a visit to the Shenzhen InnoX Academy, an accelerator for early-stage tech startups.

Chris Ge (L) tests a portable recovery device with assistance from Shenzhen InnoX Academy staff during a visit to the academy in Nanshan District yesterday. Chen Siqi

Their one-month China tour is part of the SEE China program organized by the U.S. non-profit organization Youth4M. Before Shenzhen, the group visited Beijing and Shanghai. Next, they will explore Hangzhou.

“I think Shenzhen is very suitable for people who are interested in startups,” said Chris Ge, a sophomore from the University of California, Berkeley. “I knew Shenzhen was like the tech hub of China, and I knew that it was pretty young. But, I didn't know the extent to which tech is booming here.”

Their five-day tour of Shenzhen, which introduced them to the city's tech scene and cultural offerings, included visits to Tencent, BGI, the Shenzhen UAV Industry Association, the Southern University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, the Guanlan Original Printmaking Base, and the Gangxia North Metro Station.

U.S. students participate in a seminar with Saudi Arabian exchange students at Shenzhen InnoX Academy yesterday. Chen Siqi

At the Shenzhen InnoX Academy, the students learned about the academy’s development and explored tech products developed there. Since opening in 2021, it has incubated more than 140 smart hardware startups that have produced a wide variety of products, including a cold therapy machine, an automated massage roller, and an intelligent guitar.

Ge, who had previously used a cold therapy machine for post-surgery treatment, tried a portable recovery device developed at the academy. “It could definitely be something that surgery patients or athletes would want to use in the future,” Ge said. Unlike traditional machines that require ice and water, this device, which looks like a knee sleeve, automatically cooled his leg.

Visiting students pose for a group photo at Gangxia North Metro Station during their Shenzhen tour Wednesday. Lin Songtao

During their visit, the students attended a seminar where they were able to discuss study opportunities in Shenzhen and their aspirations with the academy’s incubation team and Saudi Arabian exchange students based at the academy.

One highlight of the trip was a visit to Tencent on Tuesday, where the students participated in a hands-on AI workshop exploring Tencent’s Hunyuan large model.

Andre Wang presents his creative work generated using Tencent’s Hunyuan large model Tuesday. Lin Songtao

The students learned about the tech giant’s self-developed AI and created their own images using the model. “It took about three minutes to generate three different images for me,” shared Christopher Young, a computer science sophomore from the University of California, Irvine.

Tamara Kohmann and Sophia Kohmann commented that the model is user-friendly, technologically advanced, and highly efficient.