On-campus presentation was given by summer school participants.
On January 24, 2019, Nagasaki University students who participated in the last year’s summer school hosted at Shandong University in China and Sungkyunkwan University in Korea gave presentation about their experience. Nagasaki University sent nice undergraduate students while Shandong University and Sungkyunkwan University also exchanged many students.
Every participating student (except for one student who was absent due to illness) gave very detailed presentation about what they learned in China or Korea, what kind of activities they joined, how they deepened their understanding toward a different culture and what to expect if any student plans to study abroad. Here are some of their real comments received during the session.
“The summer school helped me get more interested in international exchange and in foreign countries.”
“I certainly gained broader perspective and stronger ability to take action.”
“You can learn about cultural difference as well as civil engineering technologies abroad.”
“You should try without fear of making mistakes.”
“I become painfully aware of how poor my English is.”
“I gained some self-confidence through living in a foreign country where I cannot make myself understood in Japanese.”
Even though the summer school was only two-week long, these comments from the participating students show how it served them as a great experience abroad and how it positively affected their studies. It made them fully aware that their English ability had been much poorer compared to foreign students. Their experience will no doubt motivate them to improve their English and encourage a sense of self-independence, a global perspective and a self-discovery. This presentation session was also very meaningful for any prospective student or junior student who might wish to study abroad in the future.
Compared to 2017 when Korea was the only destination which offered summer school, students in 2018 were able to select their host university between Korea and China and therefore had higher motivation in studying abroad. Trilateral exchange among three universities will be one of the goals in 2019 as Nagasaki University also proceeds to consider the possibility of hosting a summer school. It is our hope as staff of Nagasaki University that through participating in the summer school, many undergraduate students will gain interest in studying abroad and in continuing their studies at our graduate school.
