PhD student Hui Yu Li came to SPbGASU from Harbin, the capital of the Chinese province of Heilongjiang, located in the northeast of the country, to study methods for testing frozen soils. In addition, she improves her skills as a translator of literature and documentation on geotechnics. We talked to her about her impressions of studying at SPbGASU.
Хуэй Юй Ли
– Where do you work and what research do you do?
– I work at the Heilongjiang Research Institute of Cold Region Engineering as the Head of the Department of Scientific and Technological Activities, in charge of project management and external relations. Our institute has gained authority in such scientific areas as permafrost engineering, winter construction and energy-saving building technologies, offers services in the design of buildings and structures, urban planning, testing of building materials and structures.
– Why did you decide to study at SPbGASU?
– In the early 2022, I applied to the Chinese State Scholarship Council, which provides support for international academic exchange. Thanks to this grant, I got the opportunity to study in Russia for three months.
Lately, I have been doing a lot of translation of materials related to geotechnics, including the topic of frozen ground foundations. One of my acquaintances recommended Rashid Mangushev, Professor at the Department of Geotechnics of St Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, as a scientific adviser, as he has deep theoretical knowledge and rich experience, continuously offers new developments with their subsequent implementation at construction sites.
Besides, a few years ago, I was in St Petersburg on a business trip for two days. I really liked this city, but I didn't have time to see many places interesting to me, i.e. museums, theaters, cathedrals, homes of great writers. This trip has remained in my heart forever, and I decided that I definitely had to go to St Petersburg again. These two factors coincided, and I, without hesitation, decided to go to study at SPbGASU.
– What are you studying here?
– I am taking the course of "Research of methods of testing frozen soils and the use of energy-saving technologies for construction in the North of Russia". In addition, I want to improve the skills of scientific and technical translation from Russian to Chinese and back. The Department made up my curriculum, which included classes on frozen soils, numerical methods for calculating frozen soils, work in the laboratory, as well as the study of textbooks, monographs and regulatory documents of the Russian Federation, selected by the teacher.
I’ve studied geotechnologies used in St Petersburg to lay the foundations of new buildings, reconstruct existing facilities and preserve buildings located near new structures under construction.
What was new for me was the study of Frost 3D, a powerful computer program for calculating frozen soils and predicting their changes in the long term. I hope that after graduation, I will be able to create a project in this program, taking into account all the characteristics of the soils of Mohe, the northernmost city in China.
– Tell us about your impressions of St Petersburg and SPbGASU.
– I have been to Russia many times, I have good friends and work colleagues here. I love Russian literature. St Petersburg is a unique and beautiful city, the predecessors left architectural treasures here.
SPbGASU was founded in 1832. This is one of the oldest universities in Russia, which has maintained the highest level of architecture and engineering education for almost 200 years. University graduates have invested their efforts in the development of construction both in St Petersburg and in other cities. In addition, St Petersburg is very open, it has a friendly atmosphere for foreigners.
– What can you say about the people with whom you communicate here? About students, teachers?
– I communicated a lot with Sergey Lanko, Associate Professor at the Department of Geotechnics and Professor Mangushev’s assistant. He was always eager to listen to me and help. Sergey Vladimirovich made up my curriculum, conducted individual classes, since I do not understand Russian as well as other students, selected the necessary textbooks and SNiP (Construction Standards and Regulations) on frozen soils for study according to my interests. He also gave me the opportunity to attend the defense of master's theses of graduates of the Department of Architectural Design.
Aleksandra Eremeeva, Associate Professor at the Department of Architectural Design, offered me a mutual project upon completion of my studies at SPbGASU.
Also, I became friends with students named Lera and Natasha. They helped me in everyday life. Natasha is learning Chinese, so it was interesting for us to hang out. We spent time together in the lab: they take soil testing seriously and carefully.
– What do you plan to do in the future?
– In the future, I will try to establish scientific and technical cooperation in the field of construction of buildings and structures between organizations in China and Russia, so that scientists and specialists can communicate and share their developments with each other. As for my own scientific work, I, together with Russian and Chinese colleagues, will be engaged in comparing the regulatory documents on frozen soils of our two countries in order to improve them. And in the future I will definitely return to St Petersburg, not alone, but with friends, colleagues or family.