The Sino-British College (SBC), University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (USST) hosted two Graduation Ceremonies on the 21st and 29th July. The celebrations marked the second group of SBC/USST students completing a full UK bachelor's degree taught entirely in English in Shanghai.
The two pioneering UK institutions who launched full degrees at SBC in Shanghai celebrating graduates' success with SBC are the University of Huddersfield offering the Events Management degree and Liverpool John Moores University offering degrees in Mechanical Engineering, and Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Industrial Electronics and Control.
Eligible students also had their USST degrees conferred during these ceremonies.
70 students graduating from SBC in Events Management and 58 in Engineering joined the celebrations with their family and friends.
The Liverpool John Moores University graduation ceremony was held on the morning of the 21st July. The ceremony was chaired by Professor Nigel Weatherill, Vice-Chancellor (President) of the University. Professor Ian Jenkinson, Director of the School of Engineering, Technology and Maritime Operations and Jon Barrett, Director of the Commercial and International Directorate also attended the ceremony.
The University of Huddersfield awards ceremony was held on the 29th July. The ceremony was chaired by Professor Bob Cryan, Vice-Chancellor (President) of Huddersfield University. The ceremony was attended by Professor David Taylor, Director of International Strategy, Ms Nicola Dawson, Course Leader of Events Management and Ms Claudia Bordogna, Lecturer in Stadium and Arena Management.
President Xu Xiaoming of USST attended and conferred the USST degrees to eligible students, and the ceremony was attended by Vice Presidents and other distinguished guests.
Professor Ian Gow OBE, Principal and CEO of SBC, Professor Ma Xiaoting, Vice Dean, Dr Wong Boon Kwei, Director of the School of the Engineering and Colin Wanmer, Director of the School of Business and Communication also joined the academic procession and shared the joy of graduation of their own students with other academic and administrative staff from SBC.
SBC runs a well-established student careers service centre with continuous support from industry corporate partners. To further strengthen the relationship with leading companies and organisations in university-enterprise cooperation, on behalf of the Sino-British College, Professor Ian Gow OBE, Principal and CEO awarded the SBC Certificate of Industrial Partnership to three international companies, including Kingfisher, Messe München International and JFPS at the 29th July ceremony.
OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
58 Engineering graduates successfully passed and 43% of them (25) were awarded First Class honours degrees from the Liverpool John Moores University. This is a quite remarkable achievement.
In Events Management, 70 students graduated, 21 with 2:1 degrees and 1 student was awarded a First Class honours degree. This means that 1/3 of the Events Management students who completed all of their degree study at SBC received First or Upper Second degrees.
In the UK higher education system, to achieve First or Upper Second honours degrees, students have to work extremely hard, especially if the subject is being studied in a second language. Professor Ian Gow, SBC's Principal and CEO said: "Therefore, we are extremely proud of what our students have achieved academically, which is a tribute to both the high quality of teaching as well as of the students, many of whom successfully completed a USST degree at the same time!"
STRONG EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
According to statistics from the SBC Careers Service and Development Centre, 90% of the final year students have received offers either for jobs or for postgraduate study in world-class universities.
By 31st July, 46 students have been offered places for Master's study in China or abroad. Over 80% of them have been accepted (with conditional offers) by highly ranked universities in the UK, including Imperial College London, University College London, the University of Leeds, the University of Sheffield and the University of Edinburgh. Some will also go on to study at excellent universities in countries including the USA, Canada and Australia.
A number of Engineering students have obtained outstanding academic achievements including Zhang Yi from Mechanical Engineering who has recently received a (conditional) offer from University College London and Zhou Xinqiao from Electrical and Electronic Engineering who has been offered a (c0nditional) place at Imperial College London. Both of these two institutions are top research-led universities in the UK and are constantly ranked as leading universities internationally.
Zhou Xinqiao said: "It has been extremely beneficial for me to have studied at SBC with its unique British way of teaching. All the subjects are taught entirely in English by highly qualified international staff, so I feel very comfortable about my future study in the UK. Thanks to SBC, I am fully-prepared for taking the new challenge, not only academically, but also culturally and socially."
Nearly 70% of the graduates who have received job offers will go on to work at multinational Fortune 500 companies or state-owned companies in China who are planning or implementing internationalisation, including Philips, SKF Group and Volkswagen etc. Some of the top students have chosen to turn down offers from world famous companies in order to seek alternative opportunities in other foreign and Chinese companies.
For young graduates who have just completed their Bachelor's degree study, the decision of continuing with further education or seeking employment is always difficult. Guo Xiaolin, an Events Management graduate at SBC is taking time to consider her options carefully. As former President of the SBC SIFE organisation, during her four years at SBC she has participated in many employment skills related competitions and organised various student activities on campus.
At the University of Huddersfield ceremony, Xiaolin was awarded an Upper Second honours degree, so she could accept her offer for the University of Leicester for Master's degree study in Communications as she had originally planned. However, she has turned down the offer and instead chosen to take a role in Internet and digital media at an American advertising agency in Shanghai.
For Xiaolin, the reason why she has made this decision is very simple: "I'd like to get some work experience before going abroad to complete my Master's study so that I can be clearer about what I'm really good at and understand the skills and knowledge required to succeed in the industry."
SMART AND SOCIALLY AWARE
Students at SBC have been taking an active role in charitable causes by organising and fundraising and working closely with various companies and non-profit organisations.
They have volunteered in a wide range of events and activities both on and off campus. In addition, for the students graduating in Events Management, all of them have put on live events for charities and other organisations. Some of the charities include JiuQian Volunteer Centre, Habitat for Humanity China, Mifan Mama and Shanghai Roots & Shoots, and the beneficiaries include a wide range of causes like homeless and migrant children, children with disabilities, and community centres. SBC believes that helping those less privileged than themselves is an important additional key to achieving a 'harmonious Society' for 21st Century China.
"In working with companies and community organisations, students have risen to every challenge they have encountered. We are proud of their resourcefulness and creativity and we are confident they have acquired the skills necessary for success in their careers." said Dr Lindsay Shen, Head of the Division of Events Management at SBC.
This year SBC students have also worked as volunteers for a number of international and local events, including the formal launch event for the British Government's GREAT campaign hosted by the British Consulate General Shanghai in April and the British Chamber 'Coronation-Celebration' charity ball in celebration of the Queen of Britain's Diamond Jubilee in early June.
The enormous efforts made by SBC students in helping people who are less fortunate than themselves have also highly been appreciated by the community. For example, Mr. Peter Harris, Deputy Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce said in his speech at the 2012 SBC Open Day: "SBC students have organised and taken part in activities that support their community. They applied theory and classroom based projects in the real world - in this case in the charity sector – and this gave me a much more meaningful insight into their abilities as people in the wider world than simply reviewing their CV's."
