On November 26, warm applause broke out in the lecture hall of the School of Economics and Management where Tongji students Report Meeting on the Progress Control Team of Beijing Daxing International Airport (BDIA) was held. Students came to the stage in turn to talk about their challenging time in the progress control of BDIA. "Initial intention", "mission", “professionalism”, "responsibility", and "efforts" became highly quoted words at the Report Meeting.
Guarding your initial intention with professionalism
Changes were made over 20 times to a PPT with about 30 slides. Data were scrutinized so closely that even a simple punctuation had to be perfect. You could imagine what would happen to progress control plans and reports of hundreds of pages. Team of Tongji University’s pursuit for perfection produced quality products. The progress control plan, monthly reports and briefings produced by Tongji University Team consistently received praise from the airport construction headquarters as being of very high quality.
The students attributed their professionalism to the good examples and guidance of their teachers. SUN Qiao, a graduate student from Year 2018, showed his respect for his teachers with the following words: “Our teachers have been devoted to their research on progress control for a decade. They often solve complicated and difficult problems through innovative thinking and practice”.
ZHAO Xueyang, a graduate student from Year 2018, shared similar emotions. She said that students on the airport construction site all had a sense of reverence and mission, and a continuous commitment to their original intention so that goals could be achieved with their professional performance.
ZHENG Mian, a graduate student from Year 2017, spent the longest time working at the site, and devoted his winter holiday and Spring Festival holiday during the busy period. He had a vivid memory of Beijing's severe cold and his days with his classmates working until midnight every day. ZHENG said: "We worked hard every day, and we became more and more committed. This was because we believed in our mission and was aware of our responsibility”.
Comparison of airport photographs showed the contrast before and after the construction. What remained unchanged in the background was a high-flying, bright, five-star red flag, i.e. the national flag. This reminded people of the speed and miracle of their endeavor in constructing BDIA and the contribution of the Tongji University’s Team through hard work and professionalism.
The team demonstrated their strong collaboration in preparing for plans, writing reports and inspecting the site. LIU Yuhao, a graduate student of Year 2017, said: " We worked closely together, and shared responsibilities ".
CHEN Yanyu, a graduate student of Year 2018, stated affirmatively: "As long as we work together, the mission will be achieved!"
Improving theory in major engineering practice
Rather than immersing themselves in research in the laboratory, the team preferred to make more project site visits. What would happen when engineering management theory learnt from classrooms met with a major engineering project?
QU Zhanyu, a graduate student of Year 2019, observed: "It seemed simple that there was only one key route from the beginning to the end." However, when preparing the Comprehensive Progress Control Plan for the airport construction and operation preparation, the team identified 16 key routes out of more than 30,000 tasks. Moreover, BDIA implemented an integration of "construction + operation preparation" system which created greater complexity in the progress control work, but better results.
In QU’s opinion, major engineering practice requires the guidance of engineering management theory, which was also an indispensable process for deepening theoretical understanding.
XU Qixiong, a PhD student from Year 2017, believed that he was more fortunate than his former classmates who did not pursue further studies because he had gained valuable opportunities to participate in major national construction projects during his PhD study. He believed that behind every major project, theories provided strong support. However, engineering practice was constantly changing. From smaller projects completed in the past to the mega project of BDIA, the theory learnt from the classroom had its limitations, meaning his research on theory had to advance with the time. As a result, he had developed his understanding and vision of research. "Based upon my initial intention, I was interested in refining theory to better serve the practice.
Making contributions to the motherland
In LIU Jiawei's view, the reason why the Team of Tongji University could overcome all obstacles and ultimately shortened the construction period by 1.7 months was "the spirit of Tongji University" and "the strong willingness to serve the motherland". He proudly stated: "This is my response to the motherland and the University as a student party member. I will live up to glorious youth and be a deserving member of Tongji!"
QU admitted that this experience with BDIA had affected his career choice to a certain extent. "My participation in the national major construction project has brought me a sense of accomplishment and honor, which cannot be replaced by money or anything else." For this reason, when he graduated this year, he became a public servant and now works for the Development and Reform Commission of Pudong New Distinct, hoping to contribute to the country's economic and social development.
A teacher asked the students, "Think about what other missions the country will give us in the future? Who will complete these missions? Are you ready?"
"The sharing of the thoughts of the students was truly touching and reflected the spirit of Tongji people. It is the inheritance of the Tongji spirit." SHI Yan, deputy secretary and deputy dean of the party committee from School of Economics and Management, hoped that students will continue to be devoted and work hard to contribute to major national projects with Chinese wisdom and solutions towards engineering construction world-wide.
Source: https://news.tongji.edu.cn/info/1003/71782.htm
