ABT Chapter 0028 Car Design Competition
Li Fanyu squatted in front of the office building for over an hour before he saw Professor Zhang coming out with a dejected look.
He immediately stood up and walked over, saying, "Professor Zhang, I want to go to Germany."
Startled, Professor Zhang sighed, "You can't go. The school doesn't support it, how can you go?"
Li Fanyu urged, "Professor Zhang, I can fund it myself!"
"Do you know what you're saying? The invitation from Germany is for the school, there's no reason for students to pay themselves. Besides, this is not something for one or two individuals; the competition requires a team of at least five people. Do you know how much it costs for five people to stay in Germany for a week? Airfare, visas, accommodation... education is poor, education is poor, what a great opportunity!"
Professor Zhang became increasingly agitated, especially when talking about funding.
Watching his demeanor, Li Fanyu felt a sense of admiration. Although he thought Professor Zhang was somewhat rigid, even pedantic, and even somewhat bookish, it couldn't be denied that this person was indeed doing things, uncompromisingly, for his students, for his ideals.
On this point, Li Fanyu believed he surpassed at least seventy percent of educators nationwide.
Clearing his throat, he said, "Professor, you choose the team members. If the school really won't provide funding, I'll cover the airfare, but I insist on it. The rest of the expenses, I'll go find sponsorship for. I can't let you bear this alone!"
Professor Zhang looked at him in confusion. Wasn't this the student who slept in his class? Did he suddenly have an epiphany after being scolded by me that day, and developed a love for the automotive industry? And from the sound of it, is he also from a wealthy family?
"Really?"
Li Fanyu nodded solemnly, "Absolutely."
Professor Zhang grabbed his hand, trembling lips saying, "If what you're saying is true, and you're not fooling old Zhang here, then I thank you on behalf of the students! You're responsible for the airfare, the rest of the expenses, I'll go get sponsorship. You can't bear this alone!"
The seven-day European tour online quote was just over ten thousand, and with five people, plus old Zhang, it was only seventy to eighty thousand yuan. For Li Fanyu's current wallet, it was not a problem. Moreover, Li Fanyu's motive was selfish; he went just to fulfill the task.
But no matter how much he resisted, old Zhang insisted on sharing some of the burden with Li Fanyu.
Unable to persuade him, Li Fanyu had to agree.
He left his phone number for old Zhang and hurried away.
Two hours later, Li Fanyu received a call from old Zhang, asking him to go to the school's auditorium.
When he arrived, there were already three men and one woman sitting in the auditorium, four students in total.
The four of them were whispering excitedly, obviously thrilled about going abroad for the competition.
Even if they couldn't win, the opportunity to interact with outstanding designers from around the world was very rare.
As the saying goes, it's better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books, and it's better to meet countless people than to travel ten thousand miles. The academic environment in China rarely provides such experiences for students. This competition indeed made them yearn for it.
When they heard someone come in, the four of them stood up. They had already heard from old Zhang about someone sponsoring the airfare.
"Wow, this is the rich brother?"
"Hello, rich brother, I'm Xu Fufang, I want to be friends with you!"
"Hello, Professor Zhang will be here soon, please wait."
"Is it you?"
Li Fanyu was taken aback. Wasn't this Cheng Ke? How come she's also going to Germany?
"Ha, we're really fated to meet again. Is your leg better?" Li Fanyu nodded to the other three while speaking to Cheng Ke.
Cheng Ke recovered from her surprise and scolded, "Do you still have the nerve to ask? Look, it's still bruised."
Perhaps realizing her tone was too ambiguous, she quickly stopped.
The other three looked at Li Fanyu meaningfully, making him feel uncomfortable under their scrutinizing gaze.
After this little episode, the several people formally introduced themselves to each other. Li Fanyu then realized that the people standing in front of him were all authentic academic elites.
Xu Fufang, 23 years old, the science champion of Zhejiang Province, a junior student majoring in automotive engineering.
Liu Qing, 23 years old, an inventor madman, with full-level hands-on ability. It is said that he already has over 30 patents.
Wang Yu, 24 years old, quiet and reserved, but a super academic overachiever. A senior student with six degrees, including minors, double majors, and seven secondary professional certificates.
Cheng Ke, 20 years old, the darling of the group.
Okay, Li Fanyu had underestimated this cute girl before. He didn't expect that she would actually be a language genius, proficient in English, French, German, and three other languages. It's said that she's currently studying Japanese through anime.
"You're a student of a university of technology, why do you know so many foreign languages to show off?" Li Fanyu grumbled with resentment in his heart. He knew that during the college entrance examination, he only scored 70 points in English.
Professor Zhang strode into the classroom, seeing the group gathered together, he laughed heartily, "So you've all met, I don't need to introduce anymore. The competition this time is in Munich, and one of my students happens to be there, so we'll leave our accommodation arrangements to him. I also talked to the school about passports and visas, and they'll take care of it."
Liu Qing raised his hand excitedly and asked, "Professor Zhang, what's the content of the competition?"
Old Zhang waved his hand with a smile and called the group over.
He took out a large booklet from his briefcase and said, "This competition is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and is dedicated to the development of green automotive industry, advocating innovative designs for environmentally friendly and new energy vehicles. Here are the detailed requirements for participation and the various procedures, take a look."
The group gathered together, carefully examining the booklet.
Li Fanyu and Cheng Ke huddled together, her slightly raised hair tickling his neck.
But he didn't have the mind for any monkey business, he focused with the others on examining the booklet.
As Professor Zhang said, this competition is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, and Mercedes-Benz has specified the design tasks for the competition.
The competition is open to all full-time undergraduate and above level design majors in the world. But for some reason, only the university of technology in Tiancheng was invited from China.
In other words, this competition will be a lonely journey for Li Fanyu and the others.
The competition process is very complex, and even the smell of German rigor can be sensed through the paper.
After the invited teams arrive in Munich, Germany, they will gather and then visit the headquarters of Mercedes-Benz Germany.
After the visit, the organizers will provide guidance and training for the participating teams, and issue the competition tasks, specifying the design time.
From all the participating teams, 30 outstanding teams will be selected in the preliminary round.
Finally, around ten thematic directions, the winners of the final awards will be decided.
These ten awards are; Best Exterior Design Award, Best Interior Design Award, Best Luxury Concept Award, Best Lifestyle Fashion Design Award, Best Ecological Solution Award, Best Innovation Design Award, Best Mass Production Model Award, Best Digital Modeling Award, and Best Technology Application Award.
In addition, the sponsor of the competition, Mercedes-Benz, will also select a special prize from all the entries - the Green Earth Award.
The group looked at the booklet dazzled, the renowned automotive powers, the world-famous industrial academies...
A feeling of the long road ahead and the grandeur of competing against each other quietly grew in their respective hearts.
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