To many, university students' innovative projects often seem confined to laboratory settings. However, there is a group of young researchers from the Xiamen University Malaysia Campus and the National University of Singapore who spend most of their time in bustling workshops, working with laser equipment and aging bearings.

Their focus is somewhat niche – bearing repair. Globally, the demands placed on bearing reliability by high-end equipment are becoming increasingly stringent; the scrapping or replacement of damaged bearings is not only costly but also results in significant waste of resources. How to "give new life" to existing bearings – ensuring both safety and cost efficiency – has become a shared concern within the international industrial sector.

Since the project's inception, team members have repeatedly visited the front lines of corporate production and operations and maintenance, engaging in face-to-face discussions with engineers and frontline technicians to accurately ascertain the actual operating conditions of the damaged bearings. Addressing the common challenges encountered during the repair process, this student team—comprising members with diverse academic backgrounds—leveraged the support of mentors from both locations and industry experts to conduct extensive experimentation and iterative improvements: from the development of novel repair materials to structural innovations in specialized repair devices, and further to an AI-assisted process optimization platform. Through these efforts, they have gradually established a comprehensive technological framework spanning materials, devices, and software, which has been successfully implemented across multiple enterprises, transforming the extensive repair expertise accumulated over the years by seasoned technicians into a sustainable digital asset.

Today, the team members' resumes now feature numerous honors at various levels, and their achievements have begun to attract the attention of the media and industry organizations. The team emphasizes that bearing repair is a common challenge across the global manufacturing sector; they have proactively aligned their practices with internationally recognized standards, and their innovative solutions are gradually gaining recognition on a broader global stage.