Prof. Amir Mokhtarzadeh, who came from the UK in 2011, now works at the School of Computer and Software Engineering at Huaiyin Institute of Technology. As the leading expert at the university's Foreign Expert Workshop, he won the Friendship Award of Jiangsu in 2019, and was awarded Envoy of People's Friendship of Jiangsu in 2022.

"Through the last 11 years, I'm witness to extremely fast development both in scientific research and contributions to global scientific research community," said Prof. Mokhtarzadeh.

He said it is one of his main responsibilities to bridge the gap between academia and industry. "Theory and practice must come together."

One of his recent developments is the autonomous outdoor sweeping robot car developed by his team. The project is also a collaborative project with a local company.

Another example is an intelligent bin for smart cities that his team completed last year in collaboration with local industry, and it is already operational in some communities in Huai'an city.

In fact it's pretty commonplace to see the government support for AI and robotics in Jiangsu. "I can say that achievements in our labs in recent years are result of our national and local government support. Because of this support we managed to build our local and national collaborations," said Prof. Mokhtarzadeh.

In the field of technology, we are witness to a very fast shift in the recent decades. In China the speed is even faster. "I can see this shift in my students learning and achievements," said Prof. Mokhtarzadeh.

Mokhtarzadeh developed his Lab in 2015, which provides practical experiences in robotics and AI. In the lab there are many kinds of machinery to support students for their innovative ideas. The students can design and build their projects, like 3-D printing and using laser cutter.

"There are non-stop improvements not just in what students develop, but in their ideas. A very clear sign is continuous achievements in provincial and national robotics competition, even during the difficult period of epidemic," said Prof. Mokhtarzadeh.

Of course living and working in another country, coming to know another culture, both is fun and challenging. Through his living in China, Prof. Mokhtarzadeh has developed interest toward Chinese Language and Chinese calligraphy. "For me, Although Chinese language and culture is more different and difficult to grasp, but there is also a strong element of hospitality which makes it even more interesting to explore it," he said.