On the sunny afternoon of 21 September 2022 in the environs of the grassy natural beauty of Boars Hill, the faculty and staff of Peking University HSBC Business School – UK Campus warmly welcomed our incoming international students to the new Academic Year 2022/23.
As we slowly move out of the shadows of the Covid-19 pandemic, the arrival of our international students to our UK Campus and watching them fill our lecture hall was a welcoming and heart-warming sight. Taking all the lessons that we have learned during the pandemic, the UK Campus is looking forward to making this Academic Year a more fulfilling and enriching one for our students filled with engaging seminars, networking sessions, and fun-filled activities to ensure that each and every one of our students have a wonderful experience here at the UK Campus.
The Opening Ceremony kicked off to a resounding start with the singing of Peking University’s School Song – Yan Yuan Qing (燕园情). The video was produced by PKU’s international students and the lyrics were sung in the various native languages of our international students. The music arrangement resonated with our own international students as many of the native languages – French, Malay, Russian, Spanish, amongst others – in the song are represented by many of our students in the audience.
Next, the Head of UK Campus Professor Guy Liu warmly welcomed the students to the UK Campus. In his welcome speech, Professor Liu talked about how being Peking University students, they now have in their possession the wonderful opportunities that are in store for them. As PKU students, the students now have access to a wealth of opportunities and a network of PKU alumni which includes the notable politicians, successful business entrepreneurs, Olympic gold medallists, and renowned scientists and Nobel Prize laureates.
Apart from the networking opportunities presented to them as PKU students, our lecturer representative, Dr Arhat Virdi, talked about the intercultural opportunities that is made available to our students as they embark on their study at the UK Campus. Being in a multicultural university town like Oxford City, they have the full advantage of obtaining a unique perspective and intercultural insight which is very valuable in today’s globalised world.
Our business mentor, Dr Baoli Zhao further echoed this sentiment of interacting with people from all walks of life. As an entrepreneur and the founder of a successful company – Allsee Technologies – Dr Zhao encouraged all our students to talk to one another – over coffee or drinks – for that is when ideas happen and companies are founded.
Finally, our student representatives, Oydin Karimova, Héloïse Gaillard, and Amanda Deng shared their personal experiences on what made them choose to study at Peking University and what are their hopes for their studies.
It was certainly wonderful to welcome all of our international students in-person this year and engage in classroom teaching and activities that we all missed during the pandemic. We look forward to a wonderful academic year with our international students and hope that they have an enriching and engaging learning experience ahead of them!
