China News Service, July 20, according to the "European Times" British edition report, the study abroad industry has always contributed greatly to the British economy. The data shows that international students studying in London alone contribute 2.3 billion pounds in net profit to the British economy each year. Among them, international students from China are the main source of this group.
Facing a crisis when studying in the UK? Most prospective international students are determined to continue
Under the epidemic, international students all over the world face the same problem. The white paper "How the New Crown Outbreak Affects Students at Different Levels to Study Abroad" recently released by the global higher education analysis agency QS shows that 50% of international students' plans have been affected. What about Chinese students who want to continue their studies in the UK?
74% freshmen: will not postpone or cancel the plan to go abroad
Under the influence of the epidemic, will this year's freshmen in Britain choose to continue their studies abroad? Danielle Newey, a senior liaison with the International Department of the University UK, said many organizations, including the British Council, IDP Connect and QS, are conducting student sentiment surveys to understand what they plan to study abroad Student number.
The latest information provided by IDP Connect shows that 74% of students are going to study abroad as originally planned, up from 69% in April. The latest results released by the British Council show that since early March, the mood of Chinese students has hardly changed. 74% of graduate students and 84% of undergraduates believe that it is impossible to postpone or cancel their overseas study plans.
Neway said that even so, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that students are confident of continuing their plans to study in the UK. The reopening of the visa application center and the English test center in China is an important step to return the university application process to normal operation. The British government and higher education departments have been working hard to actively communicate with interested students to resolve any study abroad they may encounter problem.
At present, some Chinese students in the UK are stranded in the UK due to the closure of the city and cancellation of flights. Some students return to China and face the dilemma of not being able to return to the UK. Accordingly, Neway said that the British government and universities have increased concessions and flexibility to support international students who face various challenges and may not be able to start studying as planned. The British government has confirmed that international students who are unable to study in the UK as planned due to the epidemic will still be eligible to apply for a PSW visa as long as they arrive in the UK by April 2021.
Online and offline teaching mode may become a trend
In the last semester of the 19-20 school year that just ended, affected by the epidemic, many universities turned to online teaching. A survey of British students released on July 15th showed that students are still very satisfied with their university experience and teaching level. Newey said that at a challenging time, students showed their resilience, focus and adaptability. The university will continue to improve students' online learning experience based on the experience gained during the implementation of online teaching during this period.
Talking about how to ensure the quality of online teaching, Neway said that according to a survey of British universities, 97% of universities plan to provide safe offline teaching in the new academic year. Under the premise that the current public health epidemic prevention recommendations continue to be implemented, most universities are seeking a combination of online and offline teaching methods: that is, to provide as many offline teaching as possible, but such as large classrooms and other difficult teaching methods, It will be conducted online in an interactive and attractive way. British university organizations and higher education representative institutions and delegations have also jointly released a set of high-level principles and supporting information, which provides an overall framework for each university to formulate a teaching plan after "unblocking".
Under the circumstances that the epidemic has not really passed, how to integrate British students into the local society, actively socialize and maintain mental health is also one of the problems facing British universities. According to a survey organized by British universities, 87% of British universities surveyed plan to provide students with face-to-face physical exercise, fitness and health activities in the fall of 2020, while 95% of college plans to provide a set of mental health The internal and complete student support plan (the remaining 5% plans to carry out pure online activities), combined with online and face-to-face activities, provides a good environment for students in the UK to integrate into the school and the group.
How to ensure the safety of the activities below the line is particularly important in the face of a pandemic. Neway said the university is researching and developing multiple methods to ensure the safety of offline activities and comply with government and public health recommendations based on current risk levels. At the same time, the university is also considering a series of other measures, including the feasibility of changing the schedule to provide as much offline teaching, support and social activities as possible.
Neway admits that this is not the beginning of the new school year most people envision in early 2020, and the situation will be different. But they will strive to maintain the same high quality and attractiveness, and will work hard to help all students achieve their learning goals and progress so that they will eventually achieve their career and life goals.
"Storm" struck the university and closed down is an accident
Previously, many British media reported that 13 universities in the UK were facing bankruptcy. According to this, Neway revealed that the outbreak is indeed affecting various parts of British higher education and research-intensive professional institutions, because these institutions have a large number of international students, and Many students come from disadvantaged families.
She said that in the worst case, some universities may not be able to resist the "storm" and will face financial crisis. However, any student or their parents should be assured that although many universities may face challenges such as canceling courses and temporarily closing campuses, university failures rarely occur, and all registered universities have developed student protection plans for this situation.
In addition, there is still a lot of work to be done on the government side, and British university organizations will continue to work with them to ensure that detailed measures are developed to meet the large-scale multiple pressures facing the education industry.
What is the enrollment situation in autumn? Observation of study abroad institutions
"This year's form of studying abroad has a confusing feeling." Li Yi, a consultant with the UK Department of Kai Tak Education Group, said in an interview with reporters that due to the epidemic situation and policies, many people's plans to study in the UK have changed, and the overall enrollment in autumn has changed a lot. There are cases where some students apply to the school to postpone or give up studying abroad, but most international students are still eager to go to school to start their studies on the ground.
Worried about the overseas epidemic situation this year, the number of applicants for studying abroad has decreased significantly
"When 2020-level international students choose a country to study in, there has been a significant change compared to previous years." Li Yi said that, for example, US policy has blocked some international student visa applications, thus giving up the plan to study in the United States and urgently applying to British universities.
In addition, the "2020 White Paper for Studying in China" jointly released by a number of study abroad institutions recently shows that the more obvious change this year is that the UK surpassed the United States for the first time and has become the "preferred destination" for Chinese students. The UK's strong advantages of reopening the PSW visa and short schooling system have led to an increase in the proportion of groups inclined to study in the UK.
Despite this, the number of Chinese students applying for studying abroad is still greatly reduced this year. Chen Sizhu, the manager of the British department of the Jinjilie Studying Abroad Service Center, said that the number of applications for studying abroad this year has dropped by 70% to 80% compared with previous years. Regardless of the application major and the country of study, all study abroad industries experienced a decline in performance.
"The difficulty in studying abroad this year mainly comes from the concerns of students and parents about the serious overseas epidemic." Chen Sizhu said that now the study abroad institutions are cooperating with overseas colleges and universities to launch a series of preparatory study abroad courses to facilitate students of different majors to understand the formal courses in advance. Students who plan to go abroad for one year or in the future will provide pre-school tutoring.
Application for extension of admission is more troublesome and it is recommended that students enroll normally
"This year's study abroad trend has been affected, and students' study abroad plans have also undergone some changes." Lu Fang, a consultant to New England's promising overseas study department, said that in the course setting of British universities, all language classes for 2020 international students are changed to online courses. , Formal courses are conducted online and offline. Therefore, some students choose to apply for extension of admission to the school, but some universities in the United Kingdom made it clear that they do not accept extension applications.
"It is recommended that students should still consider normal admission." Lu Fang pointed out that there are a large number of students applying for extension or cancellation of study abroad this year. The number of international students may double in 2021, which will make the application of British universities next year greatly increase in difficulty. "
In addition, the difficulty of applying to British schools this year is unknown. According to the usual experience, some students who were born in famous undergraduate schools in China and have excellent grades have not received the admission notice. "This year a 211 college student with an average score of 90 was rejected by King’s College London, and a student with a double non-university institution with an average score of 90 received an admission letter from King’s College London."
Li Yi said that students who were admitted in previous years with a high probability were rejected this year, while the students in the school generally got "surprise". Although this situation did not appear on a large scale this year, it was rare in the past.
"Welcome Chinese students to continue to apply to study in the UK. British universities can not only provide high-quality educational resources, but also allow students to experience a truly diverse international environment." On July 3, when British Ambassador Wu Baina accepted an exclusive interview, Send the above invitation to Chinese students. From July 6, the UK visa application centers in Wuhan and Xi'an reopened. At this point, all 15 visa application centers in the UK have restarted operation. The picture shows on July 3, citizens go through the visa procedures at the British Visa Application Center in Beijing.
No results for IELTS cancellation? Language courses can be applied to universities
Under the epidemic, the language test seems to be more difficult. "Some international students who originally applied to UK universities will relax their language test preparations during the epidemic, resulting in insufficient grades and failing to enroll normally." Li Yi pointed out that there were some students who were in a state of higher education during the epidemic, which is a major factor affecting admission.
"There is another situation this year. Due to the cancellation of the IELTS test in China, some students have no language performance, so they are forced to postpone or give up." Lu Fang said.
In this regard, Chen Sizhu said that for students who do not pass the language score or have not yet achieved language scores, they can apply for language courses to British universities.
"Affected by the epidemic, British universities have extended the time for applications for unconditional admission (CAS) and language courses. For example, some schools close unconditional admission applications at the end of July or early August, because the epidemic can now be extended to the end of August or early September." Chen Sizhu said In some UK universities, the deadline for applying for language classes is also flexible. "For example, language classes start on July 10th, and July 7th and 8th are all available."
How do international students stand out when looking for work? Expert Tips
Getting an offer is the beginning of studying abroad, and employment is the home of studying abroad. But who can think of it is so difficult to study and find employment now! For students studying in the UK, what kind of job market will they face next year?
China's job market is under pressure under the epidemic
According to the data in the "China Employment Market Prosperity Report", the CIER index (employment prosperity index) fell to the lowest level since 2014 due to multiple factors such as the epidemic situation, the peak job-hopping season in spring and the job search season for graduates in the first quarter of 2020 A value of 1.43 shows that the job market pressure is still there.
Among them, the employment situation in the education and training industry is the best, and the intermediary service industry is the second. The employment boom in the insurance, professional services, consulting, Internet, e-commerce, electronic technology, real estate, construction, engineering, hotel, catering and other industries is still Relatively good. The employment situation in energy, minerals, printing, packaging, power, water conservancy and other industries is still relatively poor, and competition is fierce.
Challenges and opportunities for employment of UK international students
"This year, the recruitment of international students has been adjusted and contracted by the overall market, but the growth in certain industries is still strong, such as online education, technology Internet, logistics and transportation." Li Haoji, head of overseas recruitment business, said that many Chinese companies are currently There is still a strong demand for technical talents with a background in studying abroad. Some industry leaders also have the business to go overseas. Therefore, it is hoped that returnees will still have confidence in employment, lock in growth industries, and exert their own advantages.
Li Haojiong believes that for British students, they will mainly face a challenge.
First of all, most students who study in the UK choose the graduate program. The academic system of British graduate students is generally only one year. This kind of employment rhythm is somewhat special. In accordance with established practice, British students enter the school in September or October every year, and at the same time as they start their studies, they must also prepare for autumn recruitment, so some people will also focus on the second year of spring recruitment.
However, some school employment centers provide a series of online career development projects in order to better support students to catch up with the “post-autumn recruitment”.
At the same time, the 2021 students will have the opportunity to get a PSW visa reinstated in the UK, which means that students can also consider working in the UK for two years after graduation.
How to prepare for admission to the UK this year?
It is the right time for students who entered the UK colleges and universities this year to start preparing for employment in the coming year.
International students should find the target according to the development trend of the industry and their own strengths. For example, the current demand for recruitment in the new infrastructure industry, health industry, and medical industry is relatively strong, and it is an industry that has been vigorously supported and developed. In the future, there are many employment opportunities. Students can choose a study abroad program according to their own interests. In addition, companies currently favor talents with data skills, and students deserve serious consideration.
Secondly, we should pay attention to information collection in the process of studying abroad, and actively understand the new changes in the job market, so as to know each other. Of course, it is even more necessary to take the initiative in the job search process. For example, accumulate internship experience in advance, understand the recruitment plan of the intended company, and so on, to make sufficient preparations for job search.
Li Haojiong believes that undergraduate students should sort out their career plans early and fully participate in internships at home and abroad. Graduate students need to balance their job search preparation and learning progress. Some students choose to take online courses in China after the start of this year. They can take advantage of reasonable time difference and find suitable internship opportunities while online courses, creating advantages for connecting next year's job search. (Chen Sirui, Chen Guanzhi, Wan Yi, Zhang Mengmeng)