About this guide

I am Bofan Zhu, also known as Hikaru. This guide collects resources I have used since arriving at university, paths I have taken, and things I only understood afterward. I hope it gives students beginning to explore a concrete place to start.

What is here

A letter to new students, research questions and answers, small projects, research directions, useful tools, and personal reflections. Courses, papers, blogs, and teams are collected in the resource index.

Content and sources

The opening essay, research Q&A, and freshman-year review retain my personal experiences and judgments. Courses, papers, and blogs link to their original authors.

The resource collection builds on the earlier UESTC AI Society Guide and its predecessor, AI4UESTC_Beginners. Thank you to the original contributors and to everyone sharing courses, open-source projects, blogs, and experience.

Lumina's Embodied AI Guide informed the organization and resource selection for embodied AI.

Start from the guide home · A letter to new students

irene contributed the experience behind Building your research workflow: paper and note management, research briefs, reading depth, and questions from AI. Related methods throughout the guide are adapted from this account.