CN FR EN
  • About
  • Academics
  • Research
  • Enterprise
  • Admission
  • Campus

Global Competence for Top Engineers | Paris Study Report (Part 2): Learning Beyond Borders in an International Classroom

08.12/2026 117

 

 

 

 

    After the first week of language classes and the visits of the engineering schools, the "Paris Vibes, Global Exploration" summer program team moved on to the next phase of their study and exploration.

    During the last two weeks, the students took courses at Aivancity, a French AI and data science school, and at the Paris School of Luxury. They also visited UNESCO. Through specialized classes, cross-cultural teamwork, and exploring the city on foot, they continued to develop their global competence.

01.

Collaboration with international students in the AI class

One group of students from the program went to Aivancity and joined a classroom with students from different countries, learning, exchanging ideas, and collaborating together. The courses focused on artificial intelligence and data science, covering topics such as machine learning, AI ethics, natural language processing, and AI agents.

     The classes were rich in industry content. They were taught by industry professionals, including engineers and entrepreneurs, who shared a lot of hands-on experience from the field, offering industry perspectives that you don't get from textbooks.

      In class, our students were mixed into teams with peers from various countries and academic backgrounds. They worked on group projects centered around themes like AI-powered personalized job hunting and AI-enabled urban infrastructure. Among all the tasks, the AI agent project was the most challenging part of the course: each team had to build an intelligent agent from scratch and give a live demonstration.

      One participant said: "My teammates came from different countries and had different technical backgrounds and ways of thinking. The language and cultural differences, finding common ground despite disagreements, and dividing work efficiently under time pressure, it was great cross-cultural collaboration training for all of us."

02.

From consumer to researcher, understanding French high-end brands

     The other group of students from the program went to the Paris School of Luxury, where they took courses and conducted fieldwork on the development of French high-end brands.

     Each student chose a brand they were interested in and, approaching it from a researcher's perspective, examined it through dimensions such as historical heritage, craftsmanship, and market positioning. This helped them gain a deeper understanding of the business logic and cultural traditions behind French high-end brands.

     Beyond the classroom, the students also visited the Chanel 19M atelier and Paris's traditional covered arcades. Up close, they observed the collections and handcrafted techniques preserved in these century-old shops, and came to understand how high-end brands create value through craftsmanship, culture, and brand storytelling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chen Kewei, a first-year undergraduate student from the class of 2025, shared: "Through this luxury research course and the French language classes from the previous week, we visited several distinctive areas, including Montmartre, the Champs-Élysées, and the Parisian covered arcades. As I walked through different streets and conducted my research, I gradually noticed the diverse nature of Paris's urban spaces: Montmartre still retains a vibrant street art atmosphere, the Champs-Élysées functions both as a commercial hub and as a symbol of the city, and the covered arcades preserve the historical forms of early modern commercial spaces."

03.

Visiting UNESCO, understanding global governance through classroom topics

     At UNESCO headquarters in Paris, the students visited several thematic exhibition areas and learned about the organization's work in promoting educational equity, fostering international scientific cooperation, and protecting cultural diversity.

     One section in particular, focusing on "AI Ethics and Global Governance", resonated with what the students had previously discussed in their Aivancity classes on AI ethics. From algorithmic bias and data privacy to inclusive access to technology, the concepts they had learned in the classroom were now presented within the broader context of global governance.

     Moving from specialized courses to an international organization, the students began to think more deeply about a bigger question: as technology becomes increasingly embedded in the functioning of society, engineers need to consider not only technical feasibility, but also the boundaries, responsibilities, and social impact of their work on different groups of people.

04.

Exploring Paris on foot, broadening horizons through experience

 

     Beyond their specialized studies, Paris itself was a classroom without walls for the students. During the day, they attended courses; after class, they walked through the city's streets and neighborhoods, experiencing the language, culture, and society through everyday life in the city.

    Dong Chunze, a first-year undergraduate student from the class of 2025, said: "Before coming to Paris, I had some preconceived ideas, for example, I thought daily life might not be as convenient as in China, and I worried about cultural barriers. But after actually stepping into this city, I realized that many judgments only become concrete through personal experience. The different ways of life, the urban spaces, and the way people interact with each other, all of it gave me a new understanding of Paris. For me, this study trip was not just about academic learning; it was also a process of re-examining myself through cross-cultural comparison, and thinking about the direction of my future professional growth."

     For Hu Jinlei, this experience brought to life many French words and aspects of French culture that had previously only existed in textbooks. He said: "A lot of the vocabulary and cultural references I had only seen in books came alive during this trip. For example, I learned the word 'bouquin' in class, but it wasn't until I came to Paris and actually walked along the Seine to the second-hand bookstalls that I really understood what it meant. On several afternoons, I browsed through used bookshops along the Seine and Saint-Michel Boulevard, and found quite a few beautifully bound old books. I had read Zola's Germinal in Chinese before, but this time I came across a French edition in one of the green metal bookstalls by the Seine. At that moment, it felt like French was slowly becoming part of my everyday life. This experience gave me a much more tangible understanding of French language and culture."

     Chen Kewei also felt that the act of walking through the city was itself a form of language learning. Through conversations with local residents and professionals, she gradually came to realize that cross-cultural communication is not just about "saying the right words", it also requires understanding and respecting the ways different cultures express themselves.

 

     The knowledge gained in the classroom became more concrete through exploring the city; their understanding of France moved from books and imagination to real-life experience.

     Through this program, the students gained a deeper understanding that the skills required of tomorrow’s engineers go beyond solving technical problems.They also improved their ability to communicate and collaborate with people from different cultural backgrounds, to understand issues in a global context, and to develop their own observations and judgments.

     Three weeks may be short, but the rich experiences in language, professional learning, and culture have left a lasting mark on this journey in Paris.