This October Essex’s Vice-Chancellor is visiting China to celebrate the University's strong research and education links in China, and to establish new partnerships in the region. Here we speak to some of our students about what it is like to live and study at Essex.
I love Essex because here you can pursue your dreams freely and rediscover yourself.
MA Interpreting and Translation student, Xiaoming Lu, from Guangdong, China, said how the University has allowed her to rediscover herself and meet amazing people.
Xiaoming said: “I love Essex’s environment. Here I have the freedom to try a lot of new things, meet people from around the world, challenge conventions and push boundaries. It has opened a window for me which has allowed me to see a whole new world and continuously learn and improve.”
Apart from “the University’s beautiful grounds and the lovely campus cat”, Xiaoming also likes the University’s strong academic and research performance. “It is great to study at a university that continues to rank among the best. The staff and professors are always helpful and very enthusiastic about their work. I’ve always received the support I needed, from academic questions to financial issues and healthcare.”
Our campus is growing and so am I. I look forward to a bright future.
Bohua Cui, a Financial Economics student from Shandong province, China, has not only been enjoying his studies but he has dedicated his free time to volunteering and helping others. Bohua has recently completed the Big Essex Award, which recognises the extra-curricular and voluntary activities that our students complete during their time at Essex.
“Volunteering has given me a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment. I gained a lot of skills and I worked with wonderful people and children. It is so great to be able to give something back to the community while learning all these skills,” said Bohua.
The project Bohua worked on was Global Voices, which focuses on engaging children in fun games to help them learn and remember words in different languages.
Zeming Liu, on the left: "I love Essex because here I've made friends from around the world. The staff members are nice and helpful and they feel like family. Coming here was the beginning of my dream. I love Essex.
Finance and Mathematics student Zeming Liu, from Liaocheng City, China has also been making the most of the opportunities students have at Essex. She has been studying Spanish through our Languages for All programme which allows students to learn a language for free alongside their degree.
“I love studying at Essex. It makes me feel like I am at home and it has given me the confidence to explore and discover. Being able to study Spanish, volunteer and try different sports has made my university experience great. I am now even planning to do my Masters degree in Spain and hopefully be proficient in Spanish one day,” said Zeming.
Kechen Lu, studying Financial Economics, is juggling between studying, working and being the Vice-President of the Chinese Society on campus.
“Running a society isn’t easy but it’s very rewarding. It can be hard work but the satisfaction you get out of it is second to none. I’ve improved my CV and it will definitely help me stand out from the crowd. I also work as a Chinese Language Assistant at the University gaining valuable experience, confidence and skills.”
Kechen was previously a frontrunner and he now helps manage our social media channels in China and helps with the translation of documents and news articles.
Why our Chinese students love Essex (in Chinese) from University of Essex on Vimeo.