Foreign students believe Chinese degrees are advantageous

2017-07-18 IJOBINCHINA awccijob

As the quality of higher education in China improves, more international students are attracted to prestigious Chinese universities. Photo: IC

One year after Pierre Do from France finished his master's in his home country, he chose to come to Tsinghua University, one of the most prestigious universities in China, to pursue a PhD. After studying in China for over a year, Do has no regrets. He sees his learning experience at Tsinghua University as one of a kind.

"It's a very good place to study, to enrich myself, and to develop the networks that will benefit my future prospects," he said.

Prestigious Chinese universities are gaining recognition around the world. The latest ranking by Times Higher Education (THE), one of the most authoritative organizations to rank universities around the world, reflects this trend.

THE published its first Asia-Pacific ranking of prestigious schools recently, and 52 Chinese mainland universities made the list. Peking University ranked the highest in second place, followed by Tsinghua University in fourth, reports from the Xinhua News Agency said on July 5.

According to THE, almost a quarter of the universities that made the list were Chinese mainland or Hong Kong-based.

THE rankings editor, Phil Baty, said the data revealed that China was home to the region's top universities for teaching and research.

Gaining International Recognition

According to THE, its world university rankings are the only global performance tables that judge research-intensive universities across all their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook.

"Overall, the ranking provides a picture of the countries and universities that are set to become world-leading higher education players over the coming years. There is no doubt that several of these will be within the Asia-Pacific," Baty said in the Xinhua report.

"Peking University achieved the highest score for teaching environment out of all the institutions on the table, while Tsinghua University leads when it comes to its research environment. This is a fantastic achievement."

After seeing the ranking, Do said he was not surprised to see many Chinese universities listed.

"Many of the majors at some Chinese universities are quite well-known in the Western world now," Do said.

"Tsinghua University's hydraulics major is very good both in China and in the world. My professor back in France recommended the school to me, so it was really my top choice. I'm just surprised that Peking University ranks higher than Tsinghua. I believe in the field of engineering, Tsinghua University is the best in China."

Zhou Dong, the founder of China's University and College Admission System (CUCAS), a Beijing-based institution that provides information on Chinese universities for international students who intend to study in China, said that the ranking of Chinese universities is improving rapidly in recent years.

Quacquarelli Symonds, a UK-based organization that specializes in education, included 88 Chinese universities on its global top 400 universities list in 2016, and the number increased by about 30 percent to 114 in 2017, according to Zhou.

He said another authoritative ranking body, the U.S. News & World Report, listed 57 Chinese universities on its global 1,000 universities list in 2016 and that the number has since increased to 87.

As the quality of higher education in China improves, more international students are attracted to prestigious Chinese universities. Photo: IC

Attracting International Students

The ranking shows that the comprehensive strength of Chinese universities is improving and that their international competitiveness is improving as well.

"With that improvement, Chinese universities have attracted more international students in recent years," Zhou said.

In 2016, 210,000 international students came to China to pursue a degree, an increase of 13.6 percent compared to 2015, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Education. The number does not include people who came to China for short-term study, such as language studies or exchange programs.

According to an October 2015 report from US-based educational research organization the Institute of International Education, by 2015, China had already become the third largest host country for globally mobile students after the US and the UK for three straight years.

The report also revealed that in 2014 there were 4.5 million international students around the world. The US received 20 percent of them, the UK received 11 percent, and China received 8 percent.

"Compared to 2012, more international students are coming to study the science, agricultural and engineering majors in 2016 rather than just Chinese language," said Zhou, adding that based on the information from his platform "the number has increased by over 100 percent."

According to a report released by the China Education Association for International Exchange in 2016, 93 percent of Chinese universities have made plans for an internationalization process that includes enrolling more international students, hiring more foreign professors, and publishing more papers in international academic journals.

"If China can match its rising reputation and increasingly stimulating research environment with top quality research in leading journals, then there is no doubt it will rise even further up the ranking in future years," Baty said in the Xinhua News article.

The Perks Of Studying In China

One of the main reasons Do chose to pursue his education in China is that he believes studying in China could be a career advantage.

"China's economy is quite dynamic, and there are many job opportunities, unlike in France where there isn't much going on right now," Do said.

"[Also,] to work in China, I need to learn Chinese, get used to the culture and possibly build some connections which could help me find a job in the future. Studying in China could help me with that."

Do said when choosing a university, he considers whether the location of the university has a dynamic economy.

"For me, the location of the university is the most important, even more important than the university itself," he said.

Giulia from Italy, who is pursuing a master's degree in economics at Peking University also thinks that studying in China brings her more career opportunities.

Her shrewd decision has already started to pay off.

Even though she still has one year left before graduation, she already has several job offers back in Italy because of her Chinese education.

The job offers are mainly from governmental institutions and companies that have frequent contact with China. They desperately need people that can speak good Chinese and understand the Chinese economy and culture, according to Giulia.

"One of them was a big shipping company. They have lots of business with China, and they were impressed with my education in China," she said. "They even told me I could start working right away even though I haven't graduated as yet."

Chen Zhiwen, the chief editor at education and news portal eol.cn, said, "Most students' purpose for receiving an education is to find a good job in the future, not just whether the school has a good environment to do research and write papers."

He said that China's rapid economic development and its increased cooperation with countries around the world make studying in the country an asset that could bring many job opportunities.

Upping the Ante

The quality of education one can acquire at a Chinese university is also improving. Chen said that he spoke with many professors at Western universities and that many of them said that the students in China are exceeding their peers in Western countries in their ability to publish papers and conduct academic and field research.

"With the country getting richer, China has more money to invest in education. So, schools can improve their educational and research facilities and hire famous professors from Western countries," Chen said.

Chinese universities have hired many Western professors who have won academic awards to be regular lecturers, which also helps to improve the quality of education and international outlook of the institutions, Chen said.

"The school environment is very dynamic. There are all sorts of programs and events related to different majors being organized all the time for us to participate in," Do said.

"There are also so many important guest lecturers coming in all the time to give speeches. I feel like my university is the center of the world."

For Zhou, improving the quality of education at Chinese institutions will not only boost their international ranking but also attract more international students, which again push the school forward.

"[Also,] the rapid development of the Chinese economy will bring more opportunities for students in China and add to their competitiveness," said Zhou.

"If Chinese universities want to be even more competitive in the world, I think the universities need to be more international, for example, have more exchange programs with universities in the US and the UK. It would make Chinese universities more well-known among Western students," Do suggested.

According to him, it would also be helpful for Chinese universities "to organize more activities to help international students in China learn Chinese, integrate into Chinese culture and know the country better."

Source: Global Times/GuideinChina