A group of students from Hong Kong’s Wanxiang College visited St Mary’s University, Twickenham for a two-week residential programme this August.
Now in its third year, the annual course sees over 20 students from the college visit the University for a programme of lectures on a range of topics. This year’s theme was Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Leadership, and saw the students hear from St Mary’s academics in a range of topics from sustainability to education in the UK, and leading scholarly thought behind and practical applications of leadership and entrepreneurship.
St Mary’s, which has a reputation as a centre for excellence in sport, with 11 athletes and alumni competing at London 2017, also opened its facilities to the students. Having played host to a number of Chinese athletes ahead of London 2017, St Mary’s also delivered a session on sports rehabilitation and how the athletes would have prepared for the championships.
Alongside the academic aspects of the programme, the students were also able to experience British culture with a number of day trips to London, Oxford, Cambridge and Windsor. They were also able to explore the local area, visiting Twickenham and Teddington during their free time.
The trip concluded with a certificate presentation and farewell speech by Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement Prof John Brewer.
Speaking of their time at St Mary’s, Prof John Brewer said, “We were delighted to see Wanxiang return to St Mary’s for a third year and I look forward to welcoming them again in the future. St Mary’s is growing its presence and partnerships globally and it brings the University great pleasure to be involved with projects such as this.”