On the morning of May 20th, the 5th M-DAY Material International Cultural Festival of Wuhan University of Technology was successfully held at the West Mafangshan Campus. The launching ceremony was attended by Shen Gewu, Vice President of Wuhan University of Technology, Ju Chao, Secretary of the School Youth League Committee, Wang Xiumei, Minister of the Graduate Work Department of the Party Committee and Vice Dean of the Graduate School, Chen Limin, Director of the Materials Research and Testing Center, Luo Xiaohan, Secretary of the General Party Branch of the New Materials Research Institute, Lu Shaoping, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wang Tao, the International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Yan Kui, Party Secretary, and Xia Jianlong, Vice Dean, and Chen Fei, Vice Dean.

All teams gathered to showcase the discipline of materials. A team of 22 top mentors led by academicians and chief professors of the discipline focuses on the innovative talents cultivation of three collaborations on science education, internationalization and industry. Each team gathered at the M-Day event to showcase their latest scientific research achievements which range in multiple fields from infrastructure, energy environment, information interconnection, life and health, and service under extreme conditions so to create a wonderfully diversified feast of material technology. Leaders at university and school levels jointly visited the exhibition booths set up by each team and attentively listened to progress reports of each team’s research. The advanced green building materials team showed the laboratory's cement substrates; the information function team utilized microfluidic chips to generate electrochromic devices that can quickly change color; the semiconductor thermoelectric material team applied the solid-state refrigerating principle of thermoelectric materials to make ice cream on-site as a taste of this colorful summer. In short, this is a gathering of outstanding talents creating an actively engaged academic atmosphere.

Moving forward to various competitions, you would see how well-developed our outstanding students are to be pioneers of the youth. The Material Advantage WUT Charter took the lead in organizing a series of “M” competitions, actively encouraging students to participate in global material competitions such as academic posters, Chinese/English speeches, and quizzes. On the M-Day stage, exciting competitions took turns. In the M-speech competition, Xie Yang, Zhang Yuzhe, and Wan Luyao presented their academic achievements in English, and in Chinese Tian Yutian passionately described his hometown with a strong sense of patriotism after which he invited college leaders to sing I Love You China with him. In the M-poster academic poster competition, the contestants awed audience for their scientific research progress and achievements. The M-show competition required visual aids such as experimental images and story-telling competence to promote research with a unique charm of materials science. In the M-standing competition, contestants Liu Ruizhi, Wang Hanxiao, Zhai Jianxiang, and Qiu Guogen paired up to grab the answers to the quizzes about science and party history, and they were winning applauses from the audience for their extremely high accuracy. The M-mugs competition was divided into two tracks: the most beautiful and the strongest. The most beautiful mug would be the ones with decorative patterns or lines, and many contestants came up with shape of sharks, watermelons, or rabbits. The strongest mug was the survival one falling from high places but remaining intact. The audience were intrigued during the challenges and even held their breath at the moment the mug would be replaced to a place as high as 3.1 meters. Such intricate competitions have been a vital mechanism integrating classroom teaching and technological innovation, constructing a multi-level and multi-dimensional educational system, emphasizing the cultivation of students' innovative and practical abilities, and eventually building a broad platform for the internationalization of students.

The benefits of arts do trickle down to every student through cultural performances. “When dreams start to shine, my thoughts soar... ,” sung by the first performer, marked the beginning of the M-DAY International Cultural Festival. Graceful dance movements, magnificent vocal music, and sincere recitations not only brought audio-visual enjoyment to the audience, but also showcased the youthful vitality of contemporary young students.

In summary, the M-DAY Materials International Cultural Festival is unique in many aspects. First, it combines subject exhibitions, student competitions, and cultural arts. Second, as a vast stage for young students to showcase their talents, it places higher expectations on their growth and success, inspires wisdom and nourish the heart, and emphasizes practical cultivation. Most importantly, the International School of Materials Science and Engineering nurtures its students to be “virtuous, knowledgeable and excellent,” the motto of WUT, targets at the “high, precise, and scarce” fields, the ones urgently needed by China. It will strive to cultivate more innovative talents with aspiration, dedication, and responsibility in the "Materials + Microelectronics" discipline. Along the way more and young students will be encouraged to pursue lofty dream and dedicate their youth to our country.

Written by: Fu Liwei, Zhang Pengcheng

Shot by: Liu Wenrui , Hong Xiaoqiao

Translated by: Liang Shouyi

Proofread by: Tang Jiaheng