All about studying abroad
The China Education Expo provided visitors with an insight into the universities, colleges and high schools of nearly 40 countries and regions. Xing Wen reports.
The 2017 China Education Expo, which toured Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai from Oct 21 to 29, attracted over 50,000 visitors, with the expo at the China National Convention Center in Beijing hosting the most, around 27,000 visitors.
Universities, colleges and high schools from nearly 40 countries and regions including the United States, Australia, Canada, Spain, Japan and Sweden had booths at the expo, which provided visitors with details about different universities, scholarships, tuition fees and living expenses.
“Although it’s more effective to cooperate with high schools in recruiting qualified students, we can give students and parents more comprehensive information about our university through the expo,” said Zhao Suping, the international relations manager and special adviser of University of Waterloo in Canada. “For example, I can introduce them to the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies in our university, which ranks high in the field all over the world yet isn’t known by many Chinese students.”
Among all the national pavilions, Canada’s was the largest, with over 130 universities and colleges showcasing their programs, courses and curriculums.
As the Country of Honor for this year’s expo, Canada promoted its international education brand “EduCanada: A World of Possibilities” and developed an app to present information about the education institutions featured in the expo.
Zhang Ke, the trade commissioner of the Canadian embassy, said staff from the visa office also showed up to answer questions about how to apply for student visas and work visas.
“This year marks the 150th anniversary since the birth of Canada, and the embassy of Canada welcomes talent worldwide to study and work in the country,” said Zhang. “The expo is necessary for visitors who want to study in Canada to get constructive and accurate advice directly from the representatives of their ideal universities.”
Rob Batchelor, an international officer of the University of Kent in the United Kingdom, offered face-to-face interviews with Chinese students in his booth.
“We have different requirements, depending on the subjects. The most important aspect in the interview is to assess the student’s educational background and English language level. Then I’ll give them advice on how to prepare the application,” he said. “The expo helps us promote the university’s name and get to speak to many Chinese students who have potential.”
The expo also enabled cooperation between institutions.
Gu Lin, a teacher from Tianjin Urban Construction Management and Vocation Technology College, visited the expo in Beijing to seek cooperation with foreign universities in improving the college’s newly offered major, Information-based Management of Cities.
The major aims at cultivating skilled professionals in data collection, statistics analysis and system maintenance for the management of smart cities.
Gu looked through all the booths and finally found there’s a similar major in the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain. “I hope we can develop a joint curriculum with the university and launch international exchange programs,” said Gu. “I think the expo would benefit if more foreign institutions of vocational education participated.”
This year, visitors could attend a series of seminars with topics ranging from International English Language Testing System presentations to how to find a job in the United States.
Yang Qiaoyue, a senior from Beijing Information Science and Technology University, attended a seminar given by German Academic Exchange Service.
She said the seminar showed the general situation of studying in Germany and as educational institutions were grouped in the hall, it was more convenient to turn to the service desk than search online.
According to China’s Ministry of Education, China has the biggest international student presence in other countries. To meet the higher requirements of China’s educational services market, the expo has accommodated a range of such overseas education-related service providers as well as airlines, banks, law firms and overseas apartment suppliers.
Contact the writer at xingwen@chinadaily.com.cn