Li Ping: What is the experience of doing R&D at ZTE?

At the end of April 2024, the annual reports of A-share listed companies were released, and 5,146 companies disclosed a total of about 3.34 million R&D personnel, who are the most active group in China's scientific and technological innovation activities today, and are also an important force in promoting advanced technology to social life in different industries.

How did such a group of people start a career based on R&D work in the company? And how to work as a team and constantly push the boundaries of technology? As a woman, how do you balance work and family, and how do researchers move from the front line to leadership positions?

At the end of April 2024, in Shenzhen, China, Southern Weekend researchers met with ZTE (000063. SZ) 5G algorithm project manager of Shanghai Research Institute, Li Ping. She is one of the 3.34 million R&D workers in Chinese companies and one of the few female leaders.

After graduating with a master's degree in 2004, she joined the Chinese communications giant to participate in the technical pre-research of TD-SCDMA system, and then experienced the research of 4G LTE, microwave algorithm, 5G NR high frequency and other communication technologies, and grew into a senior expert in wireless algorithms, and is the leader of 5G-A intelligent metasurface algorithm and synaesthesia integrated system design technology.

In the past 20 years, the global communications industry has undergone changes, and China's communications industry has experienced a rise of 3G breakthroughs, 4G synchronization, and 5G leadership. As the core team leader of ZTE's 5G-A technology, Li Ping is not only a witness, but also deeply involved in the research of a number of 5G key technologies, leading the team to achieve wireless communication technology from catching up to leading.

She has personally applied for nearly 100 domestic and foreign patents, and published a number of 5G and 5G-A technical papers in international journals.

She puts a lot of time and effort into her work. Fortunately, her husband is also a colleague, understands and supports her work, and can communicate with each other and discuss technical topics. Their daughter chose "Physics + Chemistry + Biology" when choosing a subject in the 2024 college entrance examination. Soon, their family will welcome another science and engineering girl.

Li Ping, Project Manager of 5G Algorithm at ZTE Shanghai Research Institute (Photo provided by the interviewee)

He has been deeply engaged in algorithm research for 21 years

Southern Weekly: How did you join ZTE?

Li Ping: In 2003, ZTE came to the school to recruit, I was in the second year of graduate school, and I originally planned to study abroad after graduation, but ZTE came to the school to recruit technical experts and industry experts, in the process of communicating with them, I was very touched, it turned out that what I learned was applied in the actual system, and I decided to go to the company for internship first to learn how to apply communication knowledge in the actual system.

It was the initial stage of 3G in China, and ZTE's R&D core included 3G's TD-SCDMA technology. And what I learned in school is very modular knowledge, and this project allows me to string this knowledge together and be able to make technology with our country's independent intellectual property rights, which is very attractive to a student. A year later, I gave up the idea of going abroad and concentrated on TD-SCDMA algorithm research in the company, which was 21 years.

Southern Weekly: What did you study in college?

Li Ping: I was sent to Xi'an Jiaotong University by high school in the pilot class of education reform, with a bachelor's and master's degree, and all the disciplines of communication, computer, automatic control, and electronics are relatively comprehensive and relatively strong.

Southern Weekly: You have been working in R&D at ZTE, what challenges have impressed you in the process?

Li Ping: Most women are more inclined to liberal arts, and I am one of the few who choose science and engineering, and the proportion of girls in schools and classes is very low. But whether in school or in the company, the professional and technical requirements for everyone are the same, and women may be more detailed. We all have to overcome a lot of technical problems, sometimes it is really difficult, and we will bear more pressure, after all, scientific research will succeed and fail, but everyone wants to go a little more in the direction of success, so this pressure will be shared.

In addition, the male colleagues of the team are actually quite kind to the women. In addition to being in the laboratory, we often have to go to the field to test and verify the performance of the product, and the female students will sometimes have a hard time, and the male colleagues will take more care at this time.

I had a baby and came back after a period of absence, and there was a short adaptation period, at which time the company gave a lot of attention, such as going to the field to test the task and not being reassigned. Of course, our team is also very harmonious, everyone helps each other and grows together, more like a big family.

Southern Weekly: Do you spend more time with your colleagues than your family?

Li Ping: That's right, that's it, so we're all familiar with it. Team dinners, sometimes I bring my daughter along. There are also a lot of young people in our team, and my daughter is not much younger than them, so I would like her to show her what a very good brother and sister are like, and excellence needs role models.

Southern Weekly: What does your husband think of your work?

Li Ping: His work intensity is no less than mine. He is engaged in chip research and development, and we are peers, so we know each other's work rhythm and intensity better, and we already have a high tacit understanding. He is also more supportive of my work, and we often share with each other and discuss new technologies together, so that we can exchange different opinions and perspectives.

Bring the direction of the product right

Southern Weekly: You have hundreds of domestic and foreign patents and many top journal papers, what is the most rewarding thing for you?

Li Ping: For those of us who do technology, patents and papers are the results and impressions of our in-depth research on a technology, and they need to be recorded in writing so that more people can see it. I often learn from other people's strengths, so I am more willing to share and want my results to be seen by others.

The most rewarding thing is that I have the right direction for the product. When you turn something from impossible to possible, when the unknown becomes certain, the excitement in your heart is indescribable.

The product condenses countless patents, I don't want the idea to stay only in the theoretical stage, but the process of product landing is vague, equivalent to exploring a primeval forest, how to go, where to go, which way to get to the destination faster, these are unknown, and you may get lost and make mistakes halfway, so the correctness of the direction of the product is very important to me.

Making a product is not only a judgment of technology, but also a judgment of value. This value, in addition to being technically good, should also be able to put the product into everyone's life and be useful to society, so there are many factors to consider. Therefore, we do pre-research and innovation, and before the official product, the judgment of cutting-edge technology can reduce many detours, saving time and resource cost investment for the company.

Southern Weekly: What are the key moments for you personally experiencing the wave from 3G to 5G?

Li Ping: When I first entered the industry, China's communication technology was still relatively backward, and then after learning 3G and using 4G, I started to do 5G millimeter wave communication in 2014, ushering in a turning point in my personal development.

I am doing algorithms, which requires a long time of accumulation and precipitation, and many things I have done in the past ten years, such as algorithm research experiments, simulator experiments, laboratory tests, and data analysis, have given me a lot of experience opportunities.

In 2014, the company asked me to be a project manager, and I was not confident at that time, but the leader always encouraged me, saying that I could verify the technology first, so that I could express the technology I was best at. It was my transition from the front line to a leadership role.

However, the first year or two was very stressful, and I was worried that I would not be able to do well. Later, with personal learning and the cooperation of colleagues, my ability was exercised, and I began to take on more responsibilities, and slowly stopped having stage fright. During this period, I also received a lot of support and help from leaders and colleagues.

At the same time, my way of thinking and perspective have also changed, I used to do the assigned tasks well, but now I think about how to move forward with the whole thing, tell the team where the boundaries are, where to focus my energy, and consider the problem from a higher dimension.

In the last ten years, I have also experienced too many uncertainties, and I have held one meeting after another with anticipation, but I can't wait for a conclusion, and no one has helped me make a decision. I later realized that the person making the decision could only be myself.

Southern Weekly: What do you think is the main source of ZTE's core competitiveness in the 5G-A field?

Li Ping: ZTE started relatively early in 5G-A, is willing to invest in new technologies, key technologies are very good, can judge the right direction, we have a dedicated team and international standards organizations to discuss the development direction of technology, and there are many R&D teams to support the advancement of cutting-edge technologies.

At the same time, we have carried out a series of school-enterprise cooperation, and set up research institutes and laboratories in the school, so that the school's research is close to the direction of enterprise innovation, and can also directly deliver talents for enterprises and improve the transformation of scientific and technological achievements integrating technology, production and research.

Southern Weekly: When do you think 6G will come?

Li Ping: I don't think it's too slow. In fact, the switch from 4G to 5G is already a smooth transition, and there is no very obvious dividing line. Therefore, 6G will also be a subtle process, which cannot be quantified and portrayed in form, but you will definitely be able to perceive the changes when it comes.

Southern Weekly: What changes will it bring?

Li Ping: There is no upper limit to the imagination brought by 6G, but it is not necessarily a earth-shaking change, and it will not make people feel a big difference like 3G and 4G, and it is more likely to moisturize things silently.

Female leaders are more advantageous

Southern Weekly: Is it inevitable for R&D workers to move from the front line to the leadership position?

Li Ping: An excellent R&D worker can do everything well, go through one project after another, and master the correct logic and methods of doing things.

When you find it more valuable to lead people in the right direction than to do a module well, you are willing to lead the team. But some people may not be good at words, and that may not be the right fit.

Southern Weekly: How do you see women's leadership in tech?

Li Ping: I think women may have more advantages. Women have stronger observation skills, more detailed thinking, more comprehensive consideration, take into account everyone's feelings, are better at communication, and are aware of changes in other people's emotions, and can solve hidden dangers in time.

Southern Weekly: What style of leadership do you think you have?

Li Ping: I'm not strict, but I'm not amiable either. When I encounter things, I can cut things more clearly and do things well in a technology-oriented way. I won't criticize my colleagues if they do something wrong, but I will point out the problem and give definitive suggestions for improvement.

Southern Weekly: What percentage of women are in your current team?

Li Ping: 1:7 to 1:8.

Southern Weekly: In your observations, what is the current presence of women in the tech industry?

Li Ping: Very responsible. I see more and more excellent girls, who do things neatly and neatly, and the results are also beautiful, and the expression of opinions is not weak, but clear and sharp. Not only are they delicate, but they also take on more responsibilities.

Southern Weekly researcher Zhang Jin

Editor-in-charge: Huang Jinping