Baikal School of BRICS Students Share Impressions on Internship at Shanghai University
INRTU Baikal School of BRICS students interned at Shanghai University for half a year. The students improved their knowledge of their future specialties, strengthened their English and prepared for the HSK qualification exam in Chinese.
Founded in 1922, Shanghai University (SHU) has about 40,000 students. The university consists of three campuses around Shanghai. INRTU students Artem Petukhov, Vladimir Zhulikov, Margarita Pimchenko and Valeria Kuznetsova studied at the Jiading campus. International colleges and science parks of Shanghai University are located on this site.
INRTU students were granted included training by the results of the competition. Before the trip, the candidates passed an exam confirming their knowledge of English at a level not lower than B1.According to future linguist Vladimir Zhulikov, they studied at SILC Business School. It was founded in partnership with the University of Technology Sydney. Thanks to the joint work of Australian and Chinese colleagues, they managed to create a multicultural environment at the university.
"There are many foreign students, including those from Asia, Europe and Latin America. This diversity allows for a deep immersion in an international atmosphere. The learning process at SHU is somewhat different from studying in Russia. China adopts a percentage system of knowledge assessment. You can get up to 30% by the end of the semester with excellent attendance and homework.
We studied for three months from the beginning of spring. Each of us had to choose the disciplines corresponding to the INRTU curriculum. I took subjects related to modern technologies in linguistics, management, and business administration. I also took a course on Chinese history and culture. Plenty of time was devoted to the Chinese language. I can definitely say that I am now ready to take the HSK-4 exam. After graduation in Irkutsk, I plan to return to Shanghai University as a Master's student," said Vladimir.
"We stayed in a cozy and clean dormitory. Speaking of which, the payment for accommodation, not including meals, depends on the type of room, but it averages about 40 yuan a day. One lunch in a cafe costs about 23 yuan. To save money, it's better to choose a four-bed room and cook by yourself," he added.
The Chinese university offered the students a scholarship of about 200 000 rubles per semester. This was enough to cover the tuition costs. A one-way air ticket on the Irkutsk-Beijing-Shanghai route cost about 25 000 rubles.
INRTU students traveled in their free time. They explored ancient architecture in Shanghai's suburbs. They traveled to Suzhou, a city with a 2,500-year history, by high-speed train.
Following the results of the internship, the students shared their impressions on INRTU website. The reviews contain a lot of useful information about expenses in China, solving visa issues, using Chinese payment systems, etc. For example, Valeria Kuznetsova told in detail about how to make purchases using the local messenger WeChat, how to activate the Alipay e-wallet.
Student Margarita Pimchenko also left a positive review on the site:
"During the internship I managed to visit plenty of beautiful places, get to know people from different countries. The major benefit for me was Chinese language practice. Also during the trip soft skills were improved: stress resistance, adaptability, communication skills, ability to speak in front of the public".
For detailed information about the institution, visit SHU website. Also, a virtual tourof the campuses is available for everyone.
