From Jan. 20-24, The Postech Times visited Hong Kong and Shanghai in order to explore other well-known universities. While the last issue was about Hong Kong, this issue reports about Shanghai. In Shanghai, The Postech Times visited Fudan University and interviewed Han Gipeum, a M.S. candidate, and an office worker at the Int’l Students Office.                                                            <Editor’s comment>

 

Fudan University is one of the three major universities in China along with Peking University and Tsinghua University. Its strong reputation draws many foreigner students. The number of only Korean students is over 5oo and the number of students from Europe and America has increased. In Fudan University, though there are a few classes delivered in English, the well organized student councils ease students’ lives.

Weak Bilingual Campus
In term of lectures, Fudan University offers the same lectures as a Chinese course and English course. Most international students take English course without a language barrier. In POSTECH almost all lectures have to be delivered in English. If there is at least one international student in the class, it is mandatory for the professors to speak in English; thus, some students dislike having classes with international students. Though International students in Fudan University do not have to mind others, there is a weakness of its educational system. There is lack of interaction between international and Chinese students, and there are only a few English courses. Because there are only a few professors who can fluently speak English, among the total number of lectures, there are 20 lectures done in English. Han said that the reason that foreign professors are few is Sinocentrism. In China, free speech is somewhat restricted and theories become almost sinicizing although Shanghai is city of internationalization. Although many international students enter Fudan University, globalization and the bilingual campus seem to be weak. Fudan University is open to international students, but it does not stress English and bilingual campus.

Customized Help
(Well Organized Student Councils)
Office workers for international students speak English fluently and all announcements are written in Chinese and English. To help international students adjust, there is a “1:1 mentor” system, in which a Chinese student is assigned to each international student.
In Fudan University, students who do not know Chinese have a more difficult experience than HKUST students. Many maps in the university are only written in Chinese. However, student councils of each country with a significant number of international students have helped them. Students from Korea, Japan and Thailand, nations which most international students come from, have strong student councils that help students adjust. They translate almost all important announcements and manage clubs. To interact with each other, members of the Chinese Student Council volunteer with other countries’ students councils. The various student councils also have joint parties on major holidays like Christmas and Halloween. They make their traditional foods and eat together. Students have filled the weakness of the university’s systems by themselves.