On the evening of December 5th, the opening ceremony and first class of the first batch of courses "Reliability Engineering and Maintenance Management" of Zhejiang University's "Global Distinguished Educator Program" were held at the Zijingang campus, Zhejiang University. Professor Tang Loon Ching from the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management at the National University of Singapore, Academician of the Academy of Engineering, Singapore, Professor Zhang Guangxin, Dean of the Undergraduate School at Zhejiang University, Xu Xuan, Director of the Office of Talent Management, Ni Jiani, Deputy Director of the Office of Graduate Academic Affairs at the Graduate School, Fan Yifan, Deputy Director of the Office of Talent Management, Professor Li Hanying, Dean of the International Campus, Zhejiang University, Professor Lee Der-Horng, Dean of ZJUI, Professor Ma Hao, Vice Dean of ZJUI, and Associate Professor Chen Piao of ZJUI, attended the ceremony. The opening ceremony was presided over by Professor Lee Der-Horng.
Prof. Li Hanying warmly welcomed Professor Tang Loon Ching. He pointed out that 2024 is the year for improving the quality of undergraduate education at Zhejiang University. The "Global Distinguished Educator Program" is an educational initiative launched with the aim of implementing the "student-centered" educational philosophy. By pooling top - notch international teaching resources, this program is designed to comprehensively enhance the quality of education and global competitiveness. The International Campus of Zhejiang University (ZJU) and ZJUI fully capitalize on their international, interdisciplinary, and innovative features, and further integrate top-tier educational resources from both China and the West, unswervingly driving the enhancement of educational quality. The joining of Professor Tang Loon Ching will inject strong impetus into the formation of a first-class educational brand with Zhejiang University's unique international characteristics and cross-disciplinary features. It also provides valuable opportunities for students to listen closely to lectures from international masters, helping them to gain a deeper understanding of the basic theories and cutting-edge topics of reliability engineering. He encourages students to fully experience the collision and integration of knowledge in this transformative journey of interdisciplinary and cultural integration and embark on a wonderful and fulfilling academic journey.
▲ Professor Li Hanying, Dean of the International Campus, ZJU, delivered a speech
Xu Xuan and Fan Yifan jointly awarded the plaque to Professor Tang Loon Ching and warmly welcomed him to join the "Global Distinguished Educator Program" of Zhejiang University.
Professor Zhang Guangxin and Ni Jiani presented flowers to Professor Tang Loon Ching to express their sincere gratitude for his extensive knowledge and teaching experience in students’ instruction.
▲ Xu Xuan and Fan Yifan jointly awarded the plaque to Prof. Tang Loon Ching
▲ Prof. Zhang Guangxin and Ni Jiani presented flowers to Prof. Tang Loon Ching
Prof. Tang Loon Ching expressed sincere gratitude for the strong support and deep trust provided by Zhejiang University. He expressed that he is honored to be selected as one of the first batch of experts in the Program. He looked forward to learning with students in the coming month and encouraged everyone to "learn more from each other than learning from me". He hoped that students can explore the vast world of knowledge through mutual communication and cooperation, absorb more wisdom from different perspectives, and harvest richer and more diverse achievements.
▲ Professor Tang Loon Ching spoke
▲ Professor Lee Der-Horng, Dean of ZJUI, hosted the ceremony
After the ceremony, Professor Tang Loon Ching gave the first lecture on the introduction of reliability engineering to more than 100 students from Zhejiang University. The course explains the basic concepts of reliability engineering and maintenance management through multiple representative and typical engineering cases, helping students establish a preliminary understanding of reliability engineering and maintenance management, and recognize their irreplaceable importance in modern engineering systems. Professor Tang also carefully analyzed various measurement indicators in reliability analysis, from failure rate, mean time between failures to reliability function and other key indicators, elaborating on their mathematical definitions and physical connotations. Combined with practical engineering scenarios, he analyzed their specific application methods and interpretation techniques in different scenarios. Through a teaching approach that closely integrates theory with practice, it helps students to initially construct a knowledge framework in the field of reliability engineering and maintenance management, laying a solid foundation for their further in-depth learning and exploration in the future.
In addition, this course has established a unique evaluation system, which relies on group projects as its core. In this mode, students are divided into several groups, and each group needs to work together to tackle and overcome a complex problem originating from a practical engineering application scenario. This process not only tests students' comprehensive application ability of the knowledge they have learned, but also focuses on cultivating their teamwork spirit, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities. It is particularly worth noting that the course plan enables a group of students to participate in international conferences. By doing so, students are given the opportunity to present their project achievements on international academic platforms. The overarching goal of this initiative is to broaden students' international horizons, allowing them to gain a more profound understanding of international cutting-edge academic trends and industry developments.
The atmosphere on site was very lively, and students expressed their willingness to fully devote themselves to the program with the most proactive attitude. They were looking forward to continuously exploring their own potential in the field of practical engineering applications and gaining more diverse and profound practical experience and growth insights.
董润桢
Tang Loon Ching
Professor Tang Loon Ching was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Engineering, Singapore in 2022. Currently, he is a professor in the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management at the National University of Singapore. He served as the head of the department from 2008 to 2015. During his more than 30 years of teaching at the National University of Singapore, Professor Tang has taught about 20 courses related to operations research and industrial systems engineering. He led the establishment and update of three master's programs (Logistics Management, Systems Engineering and Management, Defense Science and Technology and Systems). He has also provided consulting and training in these areas for more than 20 multinational enterprises. He is the author of two books, "Markov-modulated Processes and Semiregenerative Phenomena" and "Six Sigma: Advanced Tools for Black Belt and Master Black Belt". The former is about the mathematical theory of advanced communication systems and storage systems, and the latter is about the application of industrial statistics in enterprises. Among them, "Six Sigma" was awarded the first Best Book Award by the International Quality Academy. Professor Tang was awarded the Outstanding Educator Award in Industrial Engineering and Operations Management in 2014 and the Best Lecturer Award for the relevant master's program in 2021.
