China Overseas Chinese Network, October 9th, title: Where is the way to study under the epidemic?
How are the international students?
The new crown pneumonia epidemic is raging around the world, completely disrupting the plans and pace of Chinese students studying abroad, and also bringing a lot of uncertainty to prospective students.
How to go on the road to school under the epidemic?
Come see their options...
The second batch of Chinese students went to Britain to resume school and set off on chartered flights.
(Photo courtesy of Chongqing Airport Group)
There are pros and cons to online teaching
Taking into account the many restrictions on epidemic prevention and transportation, overseas universities have launched online courses.
Xiao Xia, an international student staying in Madrid, Spain, said that the King Juan Carlos University where he was studying had closed its campus and arranged teaching online as much as possible to reduce the risk of infection of teachers and students.
In response to some students' concerns about the impact of online classes on their grades, the school also stated that teachers of various subjects will adjust the examination and grading methods according to the teaching content.
Yoyo, who is studying political studies at Waseda University in Japan, said that after online classes, he gets busier because of more homework.
In addition to shopping in the supermarket, she has hardly gone out recently, but the life of avoiding the epidemic at home is very fulfilling: attending classes, writing essays, looking for internships, and using her mobile phone and language to learn her partner's oral English.
Compared with the international students who have settled in a foreign country, freshman Qi'an has more worries.
She believes that online classrooms will affect the quality of teaching, lack the atmosphere to participate in discussions, and cannot provide conditions for the necessary field trips in some subjects.
She said, "The worst (possibility) is the online class last semester, but I still want to be in the UK in October."
Georgetown University announced that it will reduce the tuition fee of undergraduate students who do not return to school by 10%, and return students will reduce the cost of accommodation and food by 20%.
(Photo by "World Journal"/Zhang Yun)
Yuhong, who was admitted to the Paris School of Political Sciences, decided to stay in China because “even if you go to France, there is a high probability that you will still teach online.” Yuhong said that his project lasts for two years, so he can accept distance learning for one semester.
She pointed out that taking online courses also has advantages. You can do internships in China at the same time to maximize your time.
Jingjing, who was studying in Singapore, was also disrupted by the epidemic. The exchange study plan that was originally scheduled to go to Australia in June this year was cancelled. After the beginning of the semester in August, all courses in Singapore were changed to online teaching, and the tutor’s graduation thesis guidance was also changed. For online communication.
Jingjing didn't need to step on campus in the second half of her master's program. She and some classmates in similar situations made the decision to return to China.
Jingjing believes that although leaving the campus early will make you feel regretful about studying abroad, there are more courses in online learning, and the threshold for opening is lower. It is also an opportunity to learn more knowledge and skills.
Delays in enrollment bring variables
In the context of the global spread of the epidemic, delayed enrollment has also become an option for more and more international students.
According to a survey report by QS, a global higher education consulting organization, 48% of Chinese students surveyed plan to postpone their overseas study until the next year.
Song Feng, who originally planned to enroll at the University of Chicago, considered that the epidemic would affect the employment situation in the short term. He worried that it would have an adverse effect on future internships and job search in the United States, so he chose to postpone and wait and see.
Song Feng plans to use the "gap year" to improve himself, learn a language, and find two internships.
Song Feng said frankly that seeing that his classmates have already enrolled and will enter the workplace a year earlier than himself, there will inevitably be some anxiety.
In addition, the status of international students in the "gap year" is more embarrassing. They have already graduated from the original school and have no student status, so it is difficult to find an internship; after a year, they have to leave work and go abroad, making it difficult to get a full-time job.
Guo Zixuan, a Chinese student at New York University, took a semester off early this year because he didn't like online courses.
As the autumn school season is approaching, he and his family are very worried when seeing that the epidemic abroad has not yet stabilized and the US visa policy has changed several times.
Guo Zixuan reluctantly said, "Maybe you may not be able to go back next semester." In order to graduate early, he went back to the computer and started online classes.
Due to the large number of students applying for "gap years" and distance learning, only 25% of Harvard University applied for dormitories during the fall semester.
(Photo by Tang Jiali/World Journal, USA)
Lu Jintang, who was originally a high school student in the United States, returned to China because of the epidemic.
He is still considering studying abroad for university.
“Students who are going to study abroad this year have indeed encountered a lot of difficulties. I hope to find some foreign students and teachers from professional institutions, and everyone sits down and discusses whether students should go abroad under such circumstances,” Lu Jintang said. In my personal opinion, if I am determined to study abroad, I will choose to wait another year."
Teacher Ge, who is engaged in study abroad consultation, said that the specific choice should be based on personal study abroad needs: "If studying abroad is to improve academic qualifications, I would suggest taking online courses first; if students are very concerned about class experience or want to experience foreign cultures, then postpone their admission. There is no problem at all."
Cheng Yan, who is in charge of students’ overseas study planning at a high school in Nanjing, suggested that students make good use of the time between online classes and the gap year, “Try some internships in advance to contact the society, or make some preparations for future research and study. Pressure, on the other hand, also achieves the effect of'sharpening the knife and not cutting wood by mistake'."
The Ministry of Education clears the way to study
In order to effectively help overseas students solve many problems on their way to school, the Ministry of Education of China has recently introduced a series of measures to clear the way for international students and provide more choices for studying:
Under the premise of ensuring education fairness, colleges and universities are allowed to accept overseas students to study in China by signing exchange agreements with overseas cooperative colleges and universities;
Allowing some Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run schools and projects, as well as the Mainland (the motherland) and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan cooperatively-run schools and projects, under the premise of ensuring education fairness, to assess and recruit some overseas students who meet specific conditions, two-way selection, merit-based admission, and offer Domestic study opportunities.
Chinatown in Washington is restarting.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Mengtong
In the fall semester of 2020, NYU Shanghai will welcome approximately 3,100 Chinese students from NYU and NYU Abu Dhabi campuses.
They will start a new semester in Shanghai together with 1,700 students from NYU Shanghai.
Duke Kunshan University in Kunshan, Jiangsu will also accept about 120 Duke University students in the fall semester.
If Chinese students from Cornell University in the United States cannot arrive in the United States on time, they can apply to study at 7 universities including Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Shanghai Jiaotong University.
Students will receive a mixed curriculum of "online + offline", use the facilities and services of the local school, and participate in extracurricular activities with their peers at Cornell University.
At the same time, in order to simplify the procedures for returning overseas students, the Ministry of Education announced that it will cancel the "Certificate of Returned Overseas Students" from November 1, 2020.
Starting October 1, embassies and consulates abroad will no longer accept applications for issuance.
Under the epidemic, the time for overseas students to study abroad has been shortened, and many people worry that this will affect the degree certification.
In response, the Ministry of Education responded that it will not affect the degree of education of overseas students who are unable to return to school on time due to the epidemic prevention and control and take some courses online, and the resultant stay time abroad does not meet the educational system requirements. Factors of certification results.
In the autumn recruitment season, both online and offline efforts have become the norm for fresh graduates.
(Screenshot of Zhongxin Video)
In addition, the Ministry of Education also actively promotes contacts with overseas education departments and universities, and works together to solve the problem of academic obstruction of overseas students, and provides graduates with employment and entrepreneurship support and guidance...
This year, overseas students have experienced many twists and turns, and also encountered a lot of help and touch.
I hope everyone will be safe and healthy no matter where they are, and embrace their dreams.
(Reference: China News, China Overseas Chinese network, European Times, Guangming Daily, Yangcheng Evening News; Author: Zhao Jing bamboo; ID: qiaowangzhongguo)