SURF 2024: Record participation and continued academic excellence

The 2024 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) programme recently concluded with 399 projects spanning across artificial intelligence (AI), biomedicine, language and culture, business development, and architectural design. The programme attracted around 1,800 students this year, surpassing previous records in the number of both projects and participants.

A total of 20 projects went on to the finals, and six teams emerged as the Academic-Nominated Winners. The project posters were also displayed on XJTLU Learning Mall, with 15 projects earning the Student-Nominated Winners through online voting of over 5,000 students.

2024 SURF Student-Nominated Winners

Project name: A practice-based research on AI-generated film production
Award: Group Winner of the School of Film and TV Arts (SoFTA)
Supervisor: Biwei Cong, Teaching Lecturer at SoFTA
Team members: Yiqi Chen, Rongchen Chu, Ting Li, Jincheng Liu, Zhiyuan Zhang, and Haikuo Zhao

This year, SoFTA’s Group Winner explored the potential for AI to empower non-professionals in the field of film production, showcasing a blend of creativity and technological advancement within the industry. The project team consists of students from BA Filmmaking, BA Digital Media Arts, and BA Media and Communication Studies.

From left to right: Rongchen Chu, Ting Li, Yiqi Chen, Zhiyuan Zhang, Haikuo Zhao, and Jincheng Liu

The team produced a three-minute narrative animation using 11 closed-source generative AI models, such as Runway and Suno, across script, storyboard, video, sound, and editing phasees. Their findings show that although AI shows great potential in terms of time and cost efficiency, its implementation is not barrier-free.

The team’s storyboard generated by Midjourney, an online tool that creates images based on text prompts

Professor Fei Ma, XJTLU’s Associate Vice-President of Research and Impact, highlights the increase in AI-related research in this year’s SURF.

“Participating in SURF allows students to learn through research, as these projects are all centred around new achievements and developments in the field, which can help students understand the latest trends in the industry and get in touch with the forefront of academic research,” he says.

Project name: Design of genetic tools for precise regulation of Bacteroidetes biosynthetic pathways
Awards: Excellent Academic-Nominated Winner (First Prize), and Group Winner of the School of Science
Superviser: Dr Yongtao Zhu, Associate Professor at the School of Science
Team members: Pengbo Ji, Yukun Jiang, Junqi Qian, Yuetong Wang, Zibo Wei, and Yuying Xun

This project developed an efficient target-gene expression regulation system in two Bacteroidetes species, for which precise gene editing and regulatory systems had been unavailable. By employing suicide plasmid vectors, the research team achieved significant advancements, including gene knockout and promoter insertion for gene overexpression within target strains.

Dr Zhu noted that this achievement bridges a technological gap and provides a foundation for the in-depth analysis and application of bioactive compounds derived from Bacteroidetes.

Yuying Xun (left) and Yukun Jiang (right)

Project name: Building and testing a simple electric motor
Award: Group Winner of the School of Mathematics and Physics
Supervisor: Dr Denis Tramonte, Assistant Professor at the School of Mathematics and Physics
Team members: Chenyu Jia, Mo Li, Fengjiang Liu, You Wan, Yuchen Wang, and Yuliang Zhang

In this team, almost all members were Year One students. Dr Tramonte guided them in their first research experience, from explaining basic concepts and principles, to teaching modeling and programming languages, and then finally making the electric motor.

The simple electric motor built by the students

Front row, left to right: Yuliang Zhang, Dr Denis Tramonte, and Mo Li
Back row, left to right: You Wan, and Yuchen Wang

Dr Tramonte believes that SURF is a good start for students’ research career.

“Younger students do not have enough knowledge to independently carry out new research projects. SURF allows them to understand the essence of research, including how to ask questions, obtain answers, verify answers, and draw conclusions,” he says.

Since its launch in 2011, SURF has attracted a growing number of undergraduate students and research projects.

Professor Zhoulin Ruan, XJTLU’s Vice President of Academic Affairs, says: “SURF is a special event strongly supported by the University. It provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to explore new things outside the classroom during the summer vacation. The diversity of research topics and the wide participation demonstrate teachers and students’ enthusiasm for SURF.”

By Yunji Tao and Qinru Liu
Edited by Qiuchen Hu and Xinmin Han
Photos by Zuofu Wang and Research Management Office