In times of global pandemic in the past two years, students’ overseas exchange trips have been suspended. Following the easing of travel restrictions in overseas countries, students of CityU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) finally travelled abroad this summer to expand their international horizons and meet people from around the world.
During July and August 2022, a total of 39 CLASS students joined the Cultural and Language Immersion (CALI) programme, the Overseas Summer Schools programme or the Institute for World Literature (IWL) via the College. After four weeks of fascinating learning trips at overseas partner institutions, they have returned to Hong Kong safe and sound, and were excited to share their learning experience with other classmates at a debriefing forum held on 26 August 2022.
Photo 1: Students gathered again after returning from overseas summer programmes to share their learning experience with fellow schoolmates. Dr Peppina LEE, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Education and Quality Assurance) of CLASS, welcomed students back from the exchange trips smoothly despite the obstacles and challenges facing in the devastating fifth wave of pandemic. Next, Prof Richard M WALKER, Dean of CLASS, gave the opening remarks to the students by making compliment on their achievements of actively engaging in international exposure. He also expressed gratitude to CityU’s Student Development Services for the support of Outbound Exchange Scholarships to students.
Photo 2: Prof David Damrosch, Founder of IWL, presenting a certificate to Nicola Wan at the end of the IWL programme. This year three CLASS students were selected to participate in the programme of Harvard University’s IWL at Johannes Gutenberg University, Germany. The four-week programme included compulsory seminars and colloquia, as well as plenary lectures by distinguished guest speakers, panel meetings and discussions. One of the participants Nicola WAN Shun-yu, who is a PhD student of the Department of English, found the trip a rewarding one as she was given the precious opportunity to have a real conversation with 2009 Nobel Laureate, Herta MÜLLER, during the plenary talk. The in-depth discussion and exchange of insightful ideas also helped refine her thesis.
Photo 3: Steve Ng had great time with his international friends at leisure time. Among seven students joining the CALI programme at Hertford College, University of Oxford, Steve NG Hao-yuan, a Public and International Affairs student, enjoyed the cultural activities especially punting a lot. He and his teammates learnt useful soft skills such as communication and problem-solving skills during presentation workshops and MV filming project, etc. He also aspired to work in Bloomberg in the future after visiting the Bloomberg Headquarters in the UK.
Other students shared their colourful school life in different Overseas Summer Schools at University of Cambridge (UK), University of Sussex (UK), University of British Columbia (Canada), and University of Vienna (Austria) respectively. All of them were impressed by the spacious campus and vibrant on-site learning experience. Despite the cultural differences, they were happy to develop international friendship with students from different places. They still keep contact with their foreign friends after returning to Hong Kong. Oreo LI Shun-chi, a Linguistics and Translation (LT) student, shared with us his excitement of fulfilling his ambition of studying in the University of Cambridge, one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. He also found it challenging to study courses of Astronomy, Natural Sciences and Landscape Architecture, which are totally different from his major study. Another LT student, Lois POON Tsz-ching, who went to University of British Columbia, Canada, also agreed that making new friends was one of the most rewarding parts of the trip. She had experienced cultural shock at first when Canadians often chitchat with strangers, but she got used to it very soon and enjoyed the conversation with locals.
Photo 4: A group photo taken with Prof Richard Walker (front left) and Prof Henry Chung (front right). 
Photo 5: Oreo Li enjoyed punting a lot on the River Cam. 
Photo 6: Lois Poon captured the beautiful sunset at Wreck Beach in the University of British Columbia.
After the sharing by students, Professor Henry CHUNG, Dean of Students, gave a closing remark to encourage students to pursue life-long learning academically and non-academically. The four-week summer programme may consist only a small part in student’s university life, but it is a life-changing experience which poses positive and far-reaching impact on students. The shimmering and fruitful exchange trips have already transformed students into more confident young adults with global vision, and will leave indelible mark in their youthful memories.
Watch the video below for the highlights of CLASS Internationalisation Summer Activities 2022:
