On 26 and 27 February, SDU-ANU Joint Science College held three sessions successively on students’ academic career planning in Linglong Auditorium to expand their global outlook, deepen their understanding of the articulation model and help them make a good academic development plan. Mr. Arthur Xu, Deputy Head of International Relations and Partnerships, ANU College of Science was invited to speak in person on the “3+1+1” Model. Prof. Chang Xiaomei, Vice Dean, JSC hosted the event. In her opening speech Chang Xiaomei expressed her hopes that the students could strive to accumulate more knowledge and experience and develop a global vision and intercultural communicative competence on this broad international education platform. She also encouraged the students to choose a career path that suits themselves among the diverse options available on the platform to enhance their future employment competitiveness. The 2019 and 2020 cohort student representatives at ANU shared online their experiences and insights of overseas study and life. The 2021, 2022, and 2023 cohort students participated respectively.
Arthur Xu first presented an overview of ANU College of Science focusing on its strength, characteristics and advantages. Then he interpreted the pathways and programmes of the “3+1+1” model, application requirements, scholarships and master programs for the four majors. He hoped that the students would make a good start to their future career by laying a solid foundation at present. Four excellent students studying at ANU introduced different aspects of the university, such as its favourable geographical location and learning environment as well as leisure and club activities. They also compared Chinese universities with Australian ones in terms of curriculum, teaching and testing content and methods. They offered guidance and suggestions to the audience students on their taking the initiative to contact the supervisor and try more to apply for research projects in addition to getting adapted to an English-language teaching environment, selecting courses and building research capacity.
In Q&A session, Arthur Xu and the seniors online patiently answered questions of the students’ common concern in detail including overseas study expenses, accommodation, credit transfer, scholarship, PhD application, choosing a research direction and employment prospects. The participants were actively engaged and raised questions one after another.
Following the event, Arthur Xu also conducted one-on-one consultations with individual students in his office, offering them tailored academic planning advice.
This event has provided the students with wide academic horizons and international development pathways aiming to let them know the world-class educational resources better and set a clearer and achievable academic goal so as to plan well in advance for overseas study and help the 2021 cohort students who are going to ANU this summer for further study to make necessary preparations accordingly as well. What’s more, it has showcased distinctive features and advantages of the internationalised education and will further promote the high-quality and sustainable development of this joint institution between SDU and ANU, which will contribute to the college’s educational goal of nurturing talents with practical skills and global competence.