On the afternoon of October 17, in the NO.1 Teaching Building of WHU Department of Information Science, a session targeting undergraduates about studying abroad went on. This session, organized by the Office of International Affairs, along with the other three sessions held in October, was among a series of activities for WHU’s Overseas Exchange Promotion for Undergraduates, which presented the university’s newest policy regarding exchange programs offered by world-class universities and scholarships for undergraduates’ overseas study.
Students listening to Director Zhang’s introduction
Zhang Chen, deputy director in charge of overseas study affairs from Office of International Affairs and two colleagues Wu Yu and Song Wenting attended the session. Zhang Chen welcomed the students and presented five aspects of overseas exchange: required qualification, provided programs, funding policy and ways to discover more opportunities as well as the application process for exchange programs. The selection criteria include required minimum GPA, a proficient foreign language ability requirement, valid passport and visa, and qualified professional capabilities. He also pointed out that the classification of the programs had been recently updated and currently consisted of the semester program, the short-term programs (including winter & summer programs and the third semester program) and overseas study supported by China Sponsorship Council (CSC).
The duration of overseas exchange is required to be more than 2 weeks and less than 2 years (except for international conferences). Generally, the special scholarships are categorized into 4 kinds: Luojia Excellence Scholarship (which covers students’ airfare and living expenses), Luojia Outstanding Scholarship (which is provided for students who have studied abroad for 4 weeks to 1 year, ranging from 5000 yuan to 30000 yuan ), The Third-Term Scholarship (up to 20000 yuan) and The International Internship Scholarship.
Global Exchange Program (GEP)
Wu Yu then shared information about Global Exchange Program (GEP). She mentioned that GEP, under the guidance of CSC, aims to advance the quality of international exchanges. This year, GEP program is cooperated with more world-class universities, including Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, University of California, University of Wisconsin, University of Cambridge, University College London, University of Notre Dame and University of St Andrews.
Song Wenting explaining short-term exchange programs
Later, Song Wenting, informed students of short-term exchange programs held between WHU and other famous foreign universities, including the University of California, Berkeley; Yale University; the London School of Economics and Political Science; Harvard University; University of California, San Diego; University of Alaska and so on. The briefing session also covered two videos sharing exchange experiences of undergraduates who had attended these programs.
Director Zhang answering students' questions
In the Q&A session, speakers patiently answered questions raised by the audience. Students put forward questions about language exam scores and asked for studying abroad tips. The speakers also stressed that WHU had always been encouraging students to broaden their horizons through overseas exchanges and was willing to offer financial support.
For more information about WHU’s overseas exchange programs for undergraduates offered by world famous universities, please refer to http://oir.whu.edu.cn/ (official website of the Office of International Affairs) or follow the official account “WHU-StudyAbroad” on WeChat.
Photo by Tang Wenlan
Edited by Zhou Siyan, Wei Junyi & Hu Sijia.
