SDU-ANU Joint Science College held the 2nd Coffee Time Academic and Cultural Exchange activity in the Alumni Tea House on campus on October 27, 2021 on the theme of “Coffee Time with Chinese and Australian Mathematicians”. The guests invited were Prof. Peter Bouwknegt, former Director of ANU Mathematical Sciences Institute and recipient of the 2001 medal of the Australian Mathematical society and Prof. Lv Guangshi, Executive Dean of JSC, “Taishan Scholar” and recipient of two National Natural Science Awards. Besides, Mr. Jay Poria, Manager of International Relations and Partnerships and Mr. Arthur Xu, Regional manager of International Relations and Partnerships from ANU College of Science joined in the event online. Students of the 2019 cohort majoring in Applied Mathematics and Mathematics participated and had talks with the mathematicians on such topics as mathematics research, academic development, advantages of the two universities and Chinese and Australian cultures. The event was co-chaired by Prof. Chang Xiaomei, Vice Dean of JSC and Ms. Zhou Junxia, head of the Academic English Group.
The Students present spoke freely and passionately with the mathematicians of their understanding of mathematics and their plans for personal development. The two professors shared and exchanged views of with the students friendly and patiently their educational and academic experiences, spare time hobbies, the reason why they chose the major, effective learning methods and the required qualities and capabilities for a mathematics major. Peter also introduced briefly the Australian culture and life, and ANU examinations, assessment, academic atmosphere, campus environment and education features. Prof. Lv suggested that the students should maintain their pure enthusiasm for mathematics and follow their pursuit vigorously so that they will achieve more in the field of mathematics.
This event has not only been beneficial for the students to plan for their academic development, but also enabled them to feel the joy and charm of mathematics. Meanwhile, it has enriched the extracurricular activity and provided opportunities for the students to use English flexibly in communication. Furthermore, It has enhanced further the educational cooperation and cross-cultural communication between the two universities.
