HKBU Global and China Studies

📚GCST3005 Summer Sojourn II 📚

Summer Sojourn II is an exciting new overseas trip exclusively for Global and China Studies students 👩‍🎓. Its aim is to provide students with firsthand experience and knowledge about multiple themes related to globalization🌎, social and ecological standards 🐈, and business and politics in places beyond China 🗺️. Following Summer Sojourn I in Beijing, students can expand their understanding of how China's influence is spread throughout the world 🌏.

For example, in Summer Sojourn II 2023, students will visit Eastern and Western Europe, including Germany 🇩🇪 , Poland 🇵🇱 , Belgium 🇧🇪 , and the Czech Republic 🇨🇿 , for three weeks. Heidelberg University and Krakow University of Economics are the two major hosting institutions 🏫. Students will interact with local scholars, activists, and ordinary people in Europe 🌏, joining a wide variety of activities such as cultural exchanges, group dinners, guided research trips or tours, and other leisure events 🚌. Students will also collaborate with local students to identify and evaluate one of their chosen global issues 📚, presenting their final work to institution partners and HKBU instructors.

Further details about Summer Sojourn II will be updated on Instagram. Stay tuned to learn more!☀️📚🥳

📚GCST2017 Summer Sojourn I📚

Summer Sojourn I is one of the most exciting experiential learning opportunities for Global and China Studies students 🌎. This 5-week immersive study tour takes place at Tsinghua University in Beijing 🇨🇳, typically from late May to late June.

During Summer Sojourn I, students receive intensive Putonghua training from Tsinghua University🏫, allowing them to practice their language skills in their daily lives 🗣️. Seminars on current issues in China Studies are arranged by different departments, featuring prominent contemporary Chinese scholars 👨‍🏫. Students also have the opportunity to visit landmarks in Beijing 🕋, enriching their cultural experience 🌞. To apply what they have learned, students work in groups to conduct research projects supervised by Tsinghua teachers 👨‍🏫 .

Summer Sojourn I has earned a stellar reputation among [Global and] China Studies students over the past three decades 🕰️, thanks to its immersive learning experience and engaging curriculum. We are excited to welcome even more students to participate in Summer Sojourn I in the future, and we are confident that they will find it to be a valuable and unforgettable experience🥳.

🎓𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 🎓

Congratulations on reaching this momentous occasion! After years of hard work and dedication, you have finally completed your degree in Bachelor of Social Sciences in China Studies (Economics / Geography / History / Sociology), and we could not be more proud of your achievements.

As we approach the 64th Commencement on June 1st, 2023, we want to invite all of our final year students to come together and celebrate this momentous occasion. We encourage you, after the commencement, to come to the China Studies Workshop, AAB902B, as well as your own concentration departments, to take photos and commemorate this special day.

You are also being invited to tag in your photos and share your experiences with us on social media.

🔖Sharing from Awardees of GCS’ Scholarships🔖

The GCS Programme has several scholarships that are exclusive to GCS students!☺️ Here comes another sharing by one of the awardees, Year 3 GCS student Zhao Zifeng.🥳 How can he become the awardee of Simon Suen Foundation Scholarship in Chinese Cultural Studies? Let’s have a chat with Anson and get some inspirations from him. 🤍

1. How can this scholarship help you? 🏆

The scholarship has helped me pursue my dreams💭. It always takes a big start-up capital to get your dreams off the ground, and for me, I could only get that from a long-term part-time job. With the support from the scholarship, I can reduce the hours of part-time work, so that I can devote more energy to my interests and studies📚.

2. What makes you competent for this scholarship？📚

In addition to considering academic performance, having a variety of learning experiences made me eligible. In my spare time, I have internships and volunteer work in different places, such as museums 🖼️. This is also one of my interests. I think the original intention of this scholarship is to hope that in addition to focusing on learning📝, students can also explore their own different development paths and prepare for the near future💭.

3. Share some tips for students. 📚

It is very important to learn how to balance your studies and life🔖. When you feel tired, you should stop and rest💤. University life should be spent in a leisurely and pleasant environment. Take control of your college life and spend your time where it counts📑.

🔖Student’s Exchange Sharing🔖

HKBU provides exchange opportunities for students every year, many GCS students joined this program last semester. 🔅🌈Here comes an exchange sharing from Year 3 GCS student Hu Zhixin. 🌏 She had a wonderful journey in Denmark🇩🇰 . Let’t have a chat with Zhixin and know more about her wonderful experience. 😚

1. What courses did you take in the University? What are the courses about? 📚

I was assigned to the Faculty of Business and Social Science in the host university📖. For non-EU students, we were required to take courses that account for 30 credits in total. I took four courses📑, including the history of the Scandinavian Welfare State , Communicating Sustainability in and around Organization, Globalization and Sociology. I was impressed by the social welfare system in Nordic countries, and how Nordic countries work with sustainability for the UN’s sustainable development goals 🌿.

2. Except the Exchange country, which countries have you been to? 🧳

Apart from Denmark, I have been to some Northern and Western European countries🇪🇺. I visited Iceland during the Autumn Break. From blue ice cave to black-sand beach, from waterfall to spring 🇮🇸. These landscapes in the high north tell stories of escaping the ordinary ⛰️.

3. What is the most memorable thing during your exchange?💛

I was selected as the representative to attend the Aarhus Symposium 2022. Aarhus Symposium is an extraordinary event with the purpose of connecting leaders of today with leaders of tomorrow 👨‍🎓👩‍🎓. It provides the students with the utmost opportunity to discuss and reflect upon the highly relevant issues within the corporate world 🌎.

4. What are the favourable memories with your foreign schoolmates? 🎈
During Art Week, I met Ryoko (Japan🇯🇵) and Johanne (Belgium🇧🇪) outside the H.C. Andersen Museum. Coincidentally, both of them were in their gap year. Ryoko worked as a teaching assistant on Japanese culture in the NGO for her research project, while Johanne tried to choose her major in university and found her interest in literature📗. We shared a lot of experiences in the sky garden of the H.C. Andersen Museum. Inspired by their stories, I have reacquaintance with the gap year 💭.

🔖Student's Exchange Sharing🔖

HKBU provides exchange opportunities for students every year. Here comes an exchange sharing from Year 3 GCS student Chen Liangjia. 🌏 She had a wonderful journey in the United Kingdom🇬🇧. Let't have a chat with Langjia and know more about her unforgettable experience. 📷

1. What courses did you take in the University? What are the courses about? 📚

I took four courses at the University of Leeds, Anthropology and Business, International Economic Environment, Japanese Aid Assistance a Globalizing World. Quantitative Social Research📖. The anthropology course offered me the chance to better understand myself and the human society📔. The professor of this course was very humorous, and liked her British joke very much. The course Japanese Aid Assistance a Globalizing World alerted me to the ideology and technique of Japanese development assistance and its role in the whole picture of Japanese involvement in international society in the post-World War Il period🗺️.

2. Except the Exchange country, which countries have you been to? 🧳

Apart from the UK, I had been to the Netherlands in 2020. It is a very comfortable country! But this time, due to the visa issue, I could not travel to other European countries, so I am taking this opportunity to explore UK🇬🇧 . It is a very beautiful country. I have been to many cities and towns in the UK, including London, oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, York, Sheffield, and towns like Knaresborough and Harrogate. But my favorite one is always Leeds. Leeds is a very well-designed city🏙️; I feel encouraged and warm whenever I think of those people I know living and studying there. The emotional connection makes Leeds a different city for me in the UK 🔅.

3. What is the most memorable thing during your exchange? 💛

It is really hard to tell which one was the most memorable! I remember in one of my anthropology classes, the professor asked us to "dress up" the following week (later, I knew "dress up" in the UK discourse is Wearing something different🤣). So in next week's class, everyone Were Wearing something with their unique stories behind them🔖. And through this very interactive class activity, we further explored the behavior and psychology in our human society.

I travelled to other cities in UK in the weekend, but sometimes it could be quite an adventure due to the rail strike. Apart from these, there Were so many small but touching moments during my exchange in Leeds that I will treasure forever. 💛

4. What are the valuable memories with your foreign schoolmates? 🎈

The University was very diverse and inclusive, and I met schoolmates from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. In the indoor rock-climbing class, I met friends from the UK, Bulgaria, Indonesia, and Japan🌏. We later climbed and took the gym course together. In addition, I really enjoyed the discussion atmosphere here in Leeds, people could have very different views on one question posted by the professor🧑‍🏫, and it was sometimes obvious to see the influence of culture on a person's perception and behavior🔅. On the Weekend, I usually cooked with my foreign schoolmates🧑🏻‍🍳👩🏻‍🍳. I was impressed with the scene that We cooperated and made Chinese dumplings together🥟.

🔖Student’s Exchange Sharing🔖

HKBU provides exchange opportunities for students every year, many GCS students joined this program last semester. 🌞💛 Here comes an exchange sharing from Year 3 GCS student Yau Cho Yin. 🌏 She had a wonderful journey in Norway.🇳🇴 Let’t have a chat with Joey and know more about her unforgettable experience. 📷

What courses did you take in the University? What are the courses about? 📚

I have studied Norwegian history in University of Bergen. I really love what I have learnt in Norway, these course offered a lot of field trips for us to join in order to learn more about their history. 🇳🇴For example, in the Hanseatic Museum, there are colorful wooden houses to tell the days of the Hanseatic League. I enjoyed the UIB museum. As I am a student from UIB, I do not have to pay for the entrance ticket. There were so many specimens inside the museum, even including whales, how amazing it was.🌟

Except the Exchange country, which countries have you been to? 🧳

Except Norway, I have been to 14 more countries in Europe. 🌏The two most memorable countries are Sweden and Finland. I have been to Kiruna in Sweden and it’s the first time that I walked on the one-meter-deep snow and made a snow angel. And for Finland, I went to the Santa Claus village and ice breaking boat. It was so unbelievable! 🎅🏻

What is the most memorable thing during your exchange?💛

The most memorable thing will be the five-day road trip with my roommate and three of my foreign friends. 👭One of them are my flatmate from Germany, and she’s the driver of the trip, she brought us to 3 cities in Northern Norway, including Ålesund, Åndalsnes and Geiranger. We passed through the most beautiful road and drove through the ice mountain and waterfall. It’s also the first time that I lived in the Nordic style log house facing the Grand Canyon and lived in the huge red barn facing the grassland. I enjoyed this trip so much!🔆

What are the valuable memories with your foreign schoolmates?

Definitely the meal that we cooked together with my flatmate from my university. 👩🏻‍🍳We shared our representing food from our own country and I made Mapo Tofu for them, they enjoyed a lot although it's a bit too spicy for them. It's interesting to make this dish with vegen meat, it's the first time for me to do so since nearly all of my female flatmates are vegen or vegetarian. 🥒 I never knew that there are so many people who are vegans and vegetarians before my exchange, it's an interesting observation. 🤩

【Event Review】

How does a nongovernmental organisation like St. James' Settlement (SJS) help the Wan Chai local community confront challenges arising from rapid development and globalisation? In the morning of 18 March, we visited their Career Sparkle office. We got to see their Career Live centre, which uses innovative, experiential learning to provide career guidance to the youth. In the afternoon, we visited the Blue House cluster, a community-led heritage revitalisation project that SJS is also involved in. During the guided tour, the neighbourhood volunteers shared with us stories about the tragic fate of the Wedding Card Street, the internationally-recognised success in preserving the Blue House, and the fascinating history behind Pak Tai Temple.

🔖Sharing from Awardees of GCS’ Scholarships🔖

The GCS Programme has several scholarships that are exclusive to GCS students!☺️ Here comes another sharing by one of the awardees, Year 3 GCS student Wong Wun Tung.🥳 How can she become the awardee of Madam Chow Leung Oi Scholarship? Let’s have a chat with Connie and get some inspirations from her. 🤍

1. How can this scholarship help you? 🏆

This scholarship provide financial support for me. Successfully receiving this scholarship has loosened my financial burdens and I can spend more time focusing on my study rather than doing many part-time jobs. Equally important, this scholarship encourage me to step out of my confort zone and study abroad for overseas learning.

2. What makes you competent for this scholarship? 💪🏻

Just being a student with good academic results is not enough, active participation in programme-related activities is also important. Being the programme promotion assistant for GCS and the helper in HKBU information day improve my competitiveness, and therefore, I can stand out among my schoolmates.

3. Share some tips for students💡

I think having good time management is the most essential element to improving yourself. I understand it is really hard to strike a perfect balance between your study and the fruitful university life. However, being self-disciplined and well-planned is helpful for you to face pressure especially during the end of the semester. Remember, don't be a deadline fighter _(:з」∠)_

🔖Sharing from Awardees of GCS’ Scholarships🔖

The GCS Programme has several scholarships that are exclusive to GCS students!☺️ Here comes a sharing by one of the awardees, Year 3 GCS student Ko Ka Yi.🥳 How can she become the awardee of Madam Chow Leung Oi Scholarship? Let’s have a chat with Kitty and get some inspirations from her. 🤍

1. How can this scholarship help you? 🏆

Due to my family's financial difficulties, I have to work part-time to pay for school. I had to struggle with my studies at the same time, which made it a tough year for me. By granting me the scholarship, it has lightened my financial burden and provided support to enrich my learning experience.

2. What makes you competent for this scholarship? 💪🏻

This scholarship requires students to have academic merit, but in addition to academic performance, I actively participated in course-related activities. For example, I was the member of the GCS Society and the peer mentor and so on. I think my hard work and active participation made me stand out among the nominees.

3. Share some tips for students💡

Keeping a positive attitude and having good time management go a long way in studying. Be self-disciplined and stick to deadlines for each task so you can have more time to relax. This helps me maintain a positive attitude to cope with stress. Last but not least, find a good teammate 😉

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# GCST1005 Approaches in Global Studies

💭Showcase of Students’ Good Works-4💭
🔖The phenomenon of wealth polarization in Hong Kong🔖
By students: Anaelle Mahe DELEON, Clothilde Jeanne MAZURIER, Justine LALLEMAND

𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐧 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐨𝐧𝐠”:
I genuinely love the excellent photo composition, well thought-out remarks, and creative captions in this photo essay. Here, Mahe, Clothilde, and Justine have collated eye-catching snapshots of the everyday “contrasts” and “confrontations”, showing us what a polarised society may look like in Hong Kong.