Member Spotlight Series – Wenze Wang
Highlights
- Hear from Wenze Wang, who is currently in his final year at QUT studying Information Technology (Computer Science), as he shares the range of university groups and projects he has been working on as he prepares for graduation and finding his first role in the AI industry.
Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I am a final year Information Technology (Computer Science) student at Queensland University of Technology and have been exploring various areas of my field. I minored in Intelligent Systems and Data-Centric Computing extensions, along with courses in Information Security. I am ACS student member and my passion for technology has led me to join many organizations at QUT including QUT Robotics Club, QUT Electrical Engineering Student Association, QUT White Hats, QUT Motorsport , QUT Code Network and QUT Aerospace Society. As an active member of these groups, I participated in events such as the Australian Rover Challenge and served as Industry and Opportunities Manager for the QUT Electrical Engineering Student Society. Currently I am the General Executive at QUT Code Network, the Driverless & Software team developer of QUT Motorsport and the General Executive of QUT Robotics Club. At the same time I am still Web Control System Lead of the QUT Australian Rover Challenge Team, and as a founding member of the QUT Australian Rover Challenge team, we won the best newcomer team and fourth place in the first competition.
In addition to my involvement in these organizations, I have some experience in the industry, including serving as a Coding Instructor for Junior Engineers and as a machine learning intern on the R&D team at Holovision, where I was responsible for developing ML models to detect product issues. This role provides me with an opportunity to enhance my expertise and use my skills to help others. Currently I work as Bill Synnot and Associates (Business Consulting and Services) AI Project Manager & AI developer.
What is a key project or initiative that you are personally working on that is tech related?
The project I am currently working on consists of three parts. The first part is my university's Capstone Project, where I and my team members work with OrefoxAI and help them build intelligent mining Automapper. The second part is a club project, including QUT Motorsport The driverless part of the car. The third part is my artificial intelligence language model project with Bill Synnot and Associates. My next plan in the industry is to get some valuable certifications and find a post-graduation job.
What do you enjoy most about working in the tech industry?
What I like most is the sense of accomplishment when completing a project and the feeling of challenging unknown problems and solving problems when completing the project. At the same time, I also enjoy the feeling of participating in the process of technological progress. I have always believed that technological progress is the fundamental way to change society. And the most important thing is that I met a lot of very capable and thoughtful people.
What is your greatest challenge within the tech industry?
The biggest challenge is the lack of time. I have many projects that I want to do, but I am unable to participate in them due to time constraints. At the same time, the uncertainty of my current identity in the future is also a potential influencing factor on my technological path. Of course, there are many other problems and challenges, but I can solve them through my efforts. Problems that I think have reasonable solutions will not make me feel anxious.
Which ACS member benefit have you found most valuable?
ACS has helped me a lot, organized many very meaningful seminars and activities, and allowed me to meet many very enthusiastic people. For example, the MongoDB exchange meeting I participated in previously brought a lot of inspiration to my current project. At the same time, the weekly newsletter is also very meaningful. I usually spend time reading it, which allows me to understand the latest developments in the industry and the opinions of some experts in less time.
How has the ACS membership supported your career journey in tech?
As I said in the previous question, I met a lot of people in the industry at ACS. Some of them are technical personnel from enterprises, managers from technology companies, and even technical service personnel from schools. This is undoubtedly beneficial to my career. At the same time, many seminars also gave me a lot of inspiration, and ACS emails also gave me a lot of information. In addition, ACS's uni activities are also very helpful. For example, I helped ACS organize ACS on-campus orientation activities, which allowed me to get to know many staff and students. At the same time, ACS also helped many university societies organize activities. For example, I participated in the QUT Law Society's "Artificial Intelligence Helps the Law" event; and the Code Network Winter hackathon that I participated in organizing. I gained a lot from these activities, and the active help from ACS was also impressive.
What do you know about the ACS now, that you didn't know before you were a member?
So many, I had previously thought ACS was purely a qualifications body, but once I joined I discovered that members often have access to a professional peer network which is invaluable for career development, guidance and industry insight. And it’s great for professional development too! ACS offers a variety of resources for professional development, including seminars, and courses that may not be widely known to non-members. At the same time, many industry insights can be obtained through the weekly report, which will provide a deeper understanding of industry trends, challenges and opportunities in the Australian and global technology fields. There are also exclusive resources, which include access to exclusive publications, research papers and industry reports, providing in-depth knowledge on all aspects of the computing and IT industry and more. At the same time, you can also participate more broadly in the IT community. There are many opportunities to participate in community initiatives, activities and volunteer services, and to contribute to the broader IT community. And for university students, membership is free. Of course, if you need to pay one day, I still think it is worth it!
What is a tech related project or achievement are you most proud of?[AG1]
I have many project experiences that I am proud of, including winning the most innovative award twice at the WIT Hackathon competition, and I have also won awards at the Code Network Winter Hackathon. As well as my experience in Holovision's R&D team, and my current experience as the leader of the AI language model project. But here I will focus on the experience of my QUT Australian rover challenge team. Under tight time, tight funds, and lack of manpower, we flew to Adelaide to compete in the first year and won fourth place and the best new team!
QUT Australian rover challenge team:
This is a student technology group representing QUT, organized by the QUT Robotics club, sponsored by Boeing, supported by the QUT School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics and QUT Center for Robotics
Role: Web control system product lead
As the QUT Australian rover challenge team - lead of Web Control System, I went to Adelaide in March 2023 with 9 other project leads. In the case of tight personnel, time, and funds, we took part in the first
year of the competition and completed 90% of the work during the
three-month holiday.
Awards:
- 2023 Australian rover challenge - Best New Team
- 2023 Australian rover challenge - 4th place
Project Description:
I am responsible for the programming of the
software part. The webpage I made is part of the control system. ROS transmits real-time data into JSON file, including real-time RPM data of
the six wheels, real-time angles of the six joints of the 3D robotic arm, Machine State, 3D The real-time state of the model car (realized by the
values of x, y, z).
Technologies used throughout the project:
Javascript, html, css, Three.js, python, json, ROS
Links:
https://set.adelaide.edu.au/atcsr/australian-rover-challenge/
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/qut-foe_qutengineering-qutroboticsclub-robotics-
activity-7047035578491551744-LKLe?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
https://www.instagram.com/p/CqUkZneJLij/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/wenze-wang-a43672235_engineering-data-team-activity-7050287857621495808-u8lj?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7053517517499076608?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
https://www.youtube.com/live/lRISkZbUxZ4?feature=share
https://www.youtube.com/live/e5qJGFU-ewk?feature=share
https://www.youtube.com/live/o8Wzeb0eM0o?feature=share
https://www.youtube.com/live/kvymk_walsc?feature=share
What are your career goals and who is supporting you getting there?
My future career goal is to work in the artificial intelligence industry and do my best to develop technology. I hope that through my efforts, I can make people's lives better. My family, friends, and partners are all my motivation to move forward. But of course, my first big goal is to get my first job role in the industry.
Is there another ACS member who you would like to shout out who may have helped you on your career goals, or worked together with recently that deserved to be recognised?
I have a very good impression of everyone I have come into contact with at ACS. There are many people who have helped me a lot and I am always grateful to them. But Alannah really helped me a lot. She provided me with a lot of great advice and a lot of support, which allowed me to better understand the technology industry and learn more information. Moreover, she is very friendly and willing to help. She actively helps our club contact sponsors and organize activities. To be honest, she plays a very important role. Therefore, I sincerely thank her for her long-term help!
Are you currently looking for a job within the tech industry? If so please provide more information on what type of role you are looking for and location.
Yes, I hope to find a job related to my major (data analysis, artificial intelligence and computer science) after graduation in Brisbane or any other area in Australia. I expect to graduate in July 2024.
What is the key piece of advice you would give to an student or emerging professional entering the industry?
I think there are two main points for freshmen:
1. Be brave enough to take on technical challenges, nothing is impossible! You are much stronger than you think. If others can do it, you can do it too!
2. Communicate and communicate more with others. This is often easier to get inspiration than from your own closed thinking.
If you are interested in knowing more about Wenze or would like to discuss any of the above, please see the below for the different options:
- Email - wenze.wang@connect.qut.edu.au
- Phone – 0413 059 906
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wenze-wang-a43672235
If you would like to be featured in our ACS QLD Member Spotlight Series, please email Alannah.Grech@acs.org.au.
[AG1]See article in folder if the format doesn’t make sense. It looks messy in the column but makes when in a blog.