Taiwan youth falls in love with programming
Li Boyu, a 22-year-old man from China’s Taiwan province, had a passion for literature and art since childhood.
"I read 'How the Steel is Tempered', 'Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung' and 'On Protracted War' when I was very young," Li said.
His parents had a deep affection for the Chinese mainland and placed great emphasis on shaping their children's worldview. During childhood, he enjoyed singing Chinese songs like 'Descendants of the Dragon' and traveled with his parents to cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
Li was inspired to be a programmer after learning about modern e-commerce in 2015.
"Taiwan specializes in semiconductor manufacturing, with world-class companies like TSMC and UMC being world-class, but software design and development were not as advanced as those in Chinese mainland," said Li.
Li's teachers appreciated his dream a lot and advised him to study and work in Shenzhen city, where he could find the "best technology and work environment."
In 2021, Li started his undergraduate study at Central South University in Changsha city, Hunan province. Despite his initial confidence, he faced challenges. "Taiwan high schools do not teach electricity in physics, and the private school where I studied didn't cover calculus," said Li. At that time, Li couldn't even comprehend his textbooks, which made him disheartened.
Luckily, Li’s classmates helped him with advanced mathematics and praised his practical ability. The teachers patiently taught him advanced calculus and mathematical modeling, approving of his hard work.
Supported by many others, Li resolved to overcome his difficulties. He started sitting in the front row during classes and stayed up late studying. Finally, he conquered the challenges posed by mathematics.
Li's abilities continued to shine as he progressed through the specialized classes: he received the highest mark in Java in his class, and his got best grades in operating systems, computer networks, computer architecture, and data structures.
Li was also good at writing mini-programs. He created several programs, such as express management and data statistics, earning much appreciation from teachers and classmates.
Li and two classmates established a team and participated in the China University Big Data Challenge in November 2022. They won first place at the regional level and progressed to the national tournament. Despite finishing third, Li was encouraged to aim higher. That is, to compete in the National College Student Mathematical Modeling Competition.
In July of this year, he participated in the 2023 Summer Internship Program for University Students from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, organized by the China Association for Science and Technology and the Chinese Ministry of Education.
Li interned at Sunward Intelligent, a well-known engineering equipment manufacturing company in China. At that time, the company was building an internet cloud platform and innovating new technologies. They had hired a group of specialists from Shanghai and Hangzhou.
It's a rare opportunity to learn from the specialists. Li gained a wealth of information and expertise throughout his 45-day internship. "They are technologically advanced and have excellent execution. And our technical discussion could be heated," Li said. Now, he wishes to work for Internet giants after graduation. "I'm more motivated to strive for success."
Source: China Youth Daily; trans-editing by Guo Yao