The Sino-British College (SBC), University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (USST) hosted two Graduation Ceremonies on the 19th July and 2nd August respectively. The celebrations marked the fourth cohort 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 celebrating graduates’ success with SBC are the University of Huddersfield, offering the Events Management degree, and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), offering degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Industrial Electronics and Control.
Eligible students also had their USST degrees conferred during these ceremonies.
A total of 81 students graduating from SBC in Events Management and 76 in Engineering joined the celebrations with their family and friends. Another 12 Chinese students who completed courses at Huddersfield were also awarded degree certificates at the ceremony.
The Liverpool John Moores University graduation ceremony was held on the morning of the 19th July. The ceremony was chaired by Professor Peter Byers, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) of the University. Professor Ian Jenkinson, Director of the School of Engineering, Technology and Maritime Operations and Professor Xun Chen, Leader of Advanced Manufacturing Technology Research Laboratory, General Engineering Research Institute also attended the ceremony.
The University of Huddersfield awards ceremony was held on the 2nd August. The ceremony was chaired by Professor Tim Thornton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching & Learning) of Huddersfield University. The ceremony was also attended by Professor Colin Bamford, Associate Dean of the Business School, Dr Adam Dennett and David Cockayne, Lectures at the Department of Logistics & Hospitality Management.
The Honorary Doctorate degree upon Professor Gow has also been the first honorary degree ever conferred at SBC. In his speech, Professor Gow said: “Today’s new graduands need to acknowledge how lucky we all are to have a university education and need always remember that we should give back, to our families, to our communities and to our country.”
OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL GRADUATES
After having studied at SBC for three years, 14 international students from 9 countries and regions were awarded undergraduate degrees in Engineering and Events Management at the graduation ceremonies. This marks the second group of international students who have successfully completed the full UK Bachelor’s degrees at SBC in Shanghai.
SBC offers a gateway to British higher education and is committed to enhancing internationalisation as a major strategy for future development. In addition to its already international syllabus and academic team, another vital element is internationalisation of the student body. Currently SBC has enrolled more than 150 international students from 42 countries all over the world. This has had a great impact on student life at SBC, all in a positive way, especially by encouraging more English speaking student activities and class room discussions and by promoting cultural diversity on campus.
Michael Kurnia (Indonesian) and Wang Jialin, two top Engineering graduates with First Class Honours received SBC Founders Awards (Terry Jeves Award for top male student and Jean Krasocki Award for the top female student and).
Philip Lange, a German student graduating in Events Management with top academic performance, was awarded Outstanding Academic Achievement award by Huddersfield and the Founders Award (The Tim Crick Award) by SBC. He said: “Whatever we decide to do in the future, we will all agree that SBC was the right place to nourish our minds in this important phase in our lives. SBC has prepared us for greater challenges to come.”
STRONG EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
According to statistics from the SBC Careers Service and Development Centre, more than 90% of the final year students to date have received offers either for jobs or for postgraduate study in world-class universities.
As of the 31st July, 75 of our students have been offered places for Master’s study in China or abroad. Over 70% of these have been accepted (with conditional offers) by highly ranked universities in the UK, including University College London, University of Leeds, 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 graduates with outstanding academic achievements will go on to work at multinational companies, including Luo Sujian from Manufacturing System Engineering who has recently been offered a position as Management Trainee at the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Centre (PATAC), General Motor.
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, all students graduating in Events Management have put on live events for charities and other organisations. These events have included the Shanghai Centre Family Fun Day, the Opening Ceremony of Shanghai Design Centre, the USST Cultural Park Music and Cultural Festival, the CNY Annual Dinner and the SBC Students’ Union football final, as well as many others within the business and social community of Shanghai. SBC believes that helping those less privileged than themselves is an important additional key to achieving a ‘harmonious Society’ for 21st Century China.
