Earlier this summer, a group of seven students, led by Yizhe Dong, a senior lecturer at the University of Aberdeen Business School, travelled to the Southwest University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE) in Chengdu, China to find out.
SWUFE is one of China’s most distinguished centres for the study of finance, economics and management and, as the Chinese government seeks to move economic development in land, cities like Chengdu are experiencing rapid growth. The Business School and SWUFE have established a good relationship with student exchanges and are developing joint programme on finance.
In the two weeks the Aberdeen students received lectures from SWUFE staff and visited Chinese financial institutions. They also took part in Chinese language lessons, traditional Chinese craft lessons and various trips and excursions, including a visit to the region’s most famous inhabitants, the giant pandas.
Here’s just a few of the comments from our students:
Ihasz Kovacs Bernadett, a 2nd year student studying MA (Hons) Economics and Finance, said “All in all I would say this Chinese trip was an eye- opening experience and definitely it taught me a lot about myself, Chinese culture and business practices. The lectures were interesting and I could see some really useful practices of China that could mean the future for Europe as well, for example WeChat, which is basically combines all of our apps. The people that I have met both from abroad and from China are truly amazing and I still keep in touch with them because real friendships were born there. All things considered I would say these two weeks in China was one of the best experience in my whole life and I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this place. One day I definitely would like to go back to explore more of it”.
Emily Lewis, a 2nd Year student study in MA Economic-Finance described how she loved the trip because, “students at SWUFE treated us all with such respect and friendliness throughout. It was a joy to be with them because we not only felt comfortable traveling around with them but we also enjoyed hearing their perspective on Fintech during the lectures. I loved all of the activities and lectures planned. They each allowed us to gain a different taste of how Chengdu life could be. It was quite valuable to know that western ideas and intelligence is in high demand as China seeks to converge with the major markets and escape the emerging markets category.
Frank Liu, International Director of the University of Aberdeen Business School, said: “I am delighted that our students had this opportunity. SWUFE has been an excellent host and partner, and we very much hope that we will build on this relationship.”