Student Corner

Fruitful Yangzhou Study Tour Benefits MPI Students

The Student Affairs Office of the Macao Polytechnic Institute (“MPI”) recently organised a study tour to Yangzhou University for more than 20 students of multiple disciplines. By sightseeing historic sites, attending cultural lectures, paying corporate visits and partaking in other learning activities, the students experienced the traditional culture of this famous historic city of Yangzhou and learnt about the management model and development strategies of the local companies. Everyone in this study tour reaped considerable benefits, one way or another, from the journey, which promoted the intellectual and academic exchanges between the students of both universities as well as expanded their horizon and social network.

Yangzhou, a renowned historic city in China, is now one of the core cities in the Yangtze River Delta Economic Belt, and Yangzhou University is a key multidisciplinary institution of higher education in Jiangsu Province. MPI students had the honour of being led by Doctor Jiang Hongqing, the Secretary General of the Overseas Education Committee of the University, in a campus tour featuring its many teaching and research facilities, including the Testing Center, the Joint International Research Laboratory, the Agricultural College and the College of Veterinary Medicine. Under the university’s arrangement, the students visited well-known local companies, for example Yechun Catering Company Limited, and attractions of cultural and historical significance, such as the Yangzhou Museum, the China Block Printing Museum at Yangzhou, the Yangzhou Craft Gallery, the Yangzhou Intangible Culture Heritage Area and the Grand Canal.

During this study tour, Mr. Fung, an MPI student majoring in accounting and financial management, learnt that Yangzhou University has established, in collaboration with local enterprises of the food industry, a research and development centre to further enhance the quality of traditional Chinese delicacies. Seeing this joint venture in operation and its achievements was deeply inspiring, he said. Ms. Kou, a freshman reading music education, said that she was most impressed by the China First Street of Guqin, where experienced Guqin players effortlessly demonstrated the beautiful sound of this ancient Chinese musical instrument in modern showrooms situated in the old-style houses from the last century. Having listened to a mesmerising performance, Ms. Kou conversed with the Guqin master and understood how special the Guqin music scores are. Ms. Szeto, a final-year marketing student, on the other hand expressed her keen interest in the Yangzhou traditional culture of tea drinking and the local art of paper-cutting and was captivated by the breathtaking grandeur of the Yangzhou State Guesthouse, which has received numerous state leaders and diplomatic delegates. From her observation, she believed that a fusion between the traditional Chinese culture and the contemporary way of life is possible, if not already underway, bringing new charm to 21st-century China.

The Student Affairs Office, the organiser of this study tour, stated that Macao Polytechnic Institute has always attached great importance to the professional development and general education of its students and encouraged them to learn not only from books but also from travelling — he that travels far knows much. As such, MPI often organises various study tours for its students to famous universities at home and abroad for immersive learning in new environments and experiencing different cultures, so that the students would develop professionally in an all-round manner and bring with them ingenious ideas and innovative concepts back to Macao, thereby furthering its progression to a more diversified and intelligent city.