The Sino-British College hosted two Welcome Ceremonies on 26th September for all students joining SBC for the new academic year 2011/12. The SBC/USST senior management team, SBC academic and administrative staff, a distinguished visiting speaker and all of our new students attended the ceremonies.
For the 2011/12 intake, 800 students from 26 provinces around China have been offered first year places at SBC. In addition, over 60 international students have been accepted to take the total number to over 100 from about 30 countries.
The record number of domestic applicants this year confirms that SBC is now a popular choice for students who want to receive quality international education in China. The new Business Management programme offered by the University of Sheffield, one of the leading universities in the UK and a top 100 world ranked university has attracted many applicants who achieved tier 1 in the national university entrance exam (Gaokao).
Another key fact is that over 50% of the domestic intake this year have reached at least Tier 2 score in Gaokao. Therefore, not only has SBC expanded the areas for student recruiting, but more importantly, the quality of students is rising rapidly.
Students from overseas are also coming to SBC seeing it as a great opportunity for studying in a UK degree while learning Chinese and experiencing Chinese culture in Shanghai, China’s most modern and dynamic city.
"SBC is committed to providing an international learning environment for students, where we aim to develop our students as independent learners and enhance their multi-cultural awareness and understanding." said by Professor Chen Bin, Vice President of the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.
Professor Ian Gow OBE, Principal of SBC said: "This is a very special year for SBC because this is the first year that we have produced graduates taught entirely in Shanghai and they did very well indeed." Professor Gow believes that with support from the highly qualified academic and administrative team at SBC, new students will be even better than their predecessors.
Mr. Matt Burney, Director of the British Council Shanghai and Consul (Cultural and Education) of the British Consulate General Shanghai was invited to attend the Ceremonies as VIP speaker. Consul Burney said in his speech: "I am delighted that I have been asked to speak at today’s welcoming ceremony and to congratulate you all on embarking on what, I’m sure, will be a life changing decision in selecting to study at the Sino-British College, USST."
Wang Yunzhi (Chinese) and Philip Lange (German) spoke on behalf of all new students. They shared their excitement at the opportunities offered by SBC and also how this was raising their expectations as to how much they looked forward to university life at SBC.
To help new students better prepared academically and socially, a thorough and comprehensive induction programme is now being delivered all this week (the so-called Freshers Week in the UK).
