Interview with Scholarship Winner – Xin Wei
Xin Wei was born in China, Jiangsu Province and is working towards his PhD at Auburn University in Industrial and Systems Engineering after graduating with his Bachelor at Shanghai University in Industrial Engineering. He expressed that he decided to pursue this as his major because he would like to improve the efficiency of processes which indicated that Industrial Engineering is a good choice. He serves as the Treasurer at the IPC Student Chapter at Auburn University. He has worked as product manager assistant to help improve the manufacturing process, including quality control and inspection, in Union Group, China.
Charlene Gunter du Plessis, Sr Director of the IPC Education Foundation interviewed Xin to learn more about his academic journey and career goals.
Charlene: “What valuable tips do you wish to share with likeminded students working within the industry?”
Xin: “Communication is very important.”
Charlene: “What have you learned from professional work experiences?”
Xin: “Be patient and prioritizing work. It’s always important to well organize works to do, especially when you are busy.”
Charlene: “How did you prepare for your interview (internship/job)?”
Xin: “Read the job description carefully and review what I have learned before regarding the job. Prepare similar work experience and the reasons that I am competent for the job.”
Charlene: “What attributes of an employer are attractive to you?”
Xin: “Communicative, hardworking, responsible.”
Charlene: “What accomplishments are you most proud of?”
Xin: “I made finalist in Simio Student Competition, and I’m going to work as vice president of IPC chapter in Auburn University.”
Charlene: “What are your goals in terms of engineering today?”
Xin: “Becoming expert level at data analysis and reliability engineering.”
Charlene: “Why do you love about the industry in general?”
Xin: “I like analyzing data and finding out the implicit principles and laws. With that, I can improve the efficiency of different processes.”
Charlene: “How would you describe the term “Engineering”?”
Xin: “Engineering is the process to design and manufacture a desired system using scientific principles.”
Charlene: “Do you have short term goals?”
Xin: “In short, I’m trying to get involved in the reliability engineering – find a summer intern. Although I have learned lots of knowledge and theories about reliability engineering, the most important thing is to apply the theoretical frameworks into practice.”
Charlene: “Thank you, Xin – We wish you all the best with your future endeavors.”
Xin: “Thank you, Charlene.”
