Renate Zhang’s journey in optimising the cost of creation
In 2025, the Aalto Science Institute (AScI) International Summer Research Programme accepted more than 7000 applications and successfully hosted 57 students from diverse backgrounds. Renate (Nana) Zhang is an outstanding master’s student who not only participated in the summer programme but also extended her research work at Aalto University for a total of six months.
AScI programme – when everything came together
Zhang’s academic background provided a perfect foundation for her interdisciplinary project. Zhang is studying her master’s degree in Media and Human-Centered Computing at Vienna University of Technology, Austria. In addition, practical skills in rapid prototyping, like 3D printing and laser cutting, gained during her studies, combined with foundational Machine Learning classes from an exchange semester in China, all converged in her research. ‘During my project, this all came together.’
‘I wanted to visit the Nordic countries in my bachelor’s as an exchange semester, but then Covid happened – so this was a really nice opportunity to catch up,’ Zhang says. Having studied abroad in China before, she was also drawn by the prospect of international exchange and meeting people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Prototyping optimised hardware design
At Aalto University, Zhang worked in the Computational Behavior Lab. She developed a method to make the challenging process of hardware prototyping more efficient. Her project ‘Cost-Aware Bayesian Optimisation for Prototyping Interactive Devices’ was supervised by Dr. Thomas Langerak and Professor Antti Oulasvirta. The most challenging part was diving deep into Bayesian Optimisation without prior training in machine learning – but Zhang beat the learning curve.
Her research addressed a fundamental dilemma in hardware design. ‘Basically, making hardware is hard. When designing, a central concern is to decide which design is worth prototyping,’ Renate states. Should a designer reuse an existing component for speed or create a new, more informative part that takes longer to produce?
‘This is where my project steps in. We developed a Cost-Aware Bayesian Optimisation method which accounts for these different prototyping costs.’ The results were promising: ‘We even got pretty good results; we did a user study, and by using our method to prototype a joystick, the savings were around 30%!’
The paper was submitted to the conference. ‘This was also my first time participating in paper submission, so it was really interesting to see how the lab worked before the deadline,’ Zhang admits.
During these demanding working periods, Zhang received immense support from her research group. ‘I think mostly it was pretty chill, everyone was open to talk, and my supervisor was really helpful in basically all aspects.’ Weekly group meetings helped her connect with other doctoral students and post-docs.
Her advisory team provided excellent, multi-faceted guidance. She had regular, flexible meetings with Dr. Thomas Langerak, who helped her grasp the project's foundations. ‘He was also always very supportive of my ideas, and I felt like I could voice my opinions and questions on eye level,’ Zhang says. Professor Antti Oulasvirta helped steer the project's direction, and later, Professor Per Ola Kristensson from the University of Cambridge joined, adding valuable practical prototyping insights. ‘In hindsight, I couldn’t have asked for better advisors.’
Making memories across Europe
During her stay in Finland, Zhang travelled extensively around Helsinki: to Porvoo, Turku, Tampere, Savonlinna, Tallinn, and on a memorable group trip to Stockholm with fellow interns. ‘Almost a third of the AScI students participated in the Stockholm trip, so that was a lot of organising, but the experience was definitely worth it.’
The quietness is a remarkable cultural difference to Zhang. ‘Helsinki is not the most exciting city compared to other major European cities; you have to dig a bit to find the good spots. What I was astonished by is how quiet it is here, even in public places, like in the metro. During my extension, I went to the Christmas parade, and there was no music. People were marching in almost silence - that is very different from what I am used to.’
She was also impressed by the long summer nights. ‘It’s just so amazing that the sun sets only at like 10pm or 11pm!’
Her top recommendations for future interns during the summer are definitely visiting a sauna and the beach! ‘We often went to the beach after work to swim and hang out; coming from a country with no sea access, that was great. Also, the sauna is pretty fun, even more so if you go with lots of people. I really recommend the Siipisauna on campus: it is directly next to the bay, so after the sauna you can just jump into the water.’
Renate ZhangWhat made my experience here so memorable was the friends I made, these are memories I will have for a lifetime.
‘Our coordinators, David Radnell and Uyen Lan Nguyen, were very helpful when we had general questions about campus life and bureaucracies like going to the tax office,’ Zhang says. ‘I think what also helped me a lot was talking about my work with other interns – how they were approaching their project, and how they communicated with their supervisors. The programme also organised a lot of social events like sports day and sauna night. There was also a weekly get-together, so that was also a nice way to get to know new people.’
Looking into the future
Zhang’s future plans evolved significantly during her time at Aalto. Originally a three-month intern, she extended her stay to lead her own project after finishing her coursework. This experience opened a new path. ‘Now that my second term is almost over, I am even considering applying for doctoral positions right now – before coming here, I had not even thought of this.’ Professor Oulasvirta has been instrumental in her growth, recommending labs and researchers that align with her interests.
Her final reflection on the programme is wholly positive. ‘I really recommend this programme,’ she says. ‘During this time, I have learnt so much, have grown as a person and met so many people from all over the world. So just apply and try your luck!’
Zhang is also willing to help future AScI applicants, ‘if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me! Find me on or shoot me an email :).’
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