Discovering Educational and Career Opportunities with XJTLU Master’s Study

The inaugural 2015 Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) Master’s Info Day was held last week attracting both current students and new visitors to the University.

Faculty and students from the Department of Accounting, Anhui University of Finance were among the visitors to the XJTLU Master’s Info Day. Faculty member, Mr. Mingxiu Liu stated that they know about XJTLU through the accounting programme and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and said, “Our students have shown great interest in XJTLU’s Master’s programmes and some of them have completed the application-interest form today.”

Year 3 student from Anhui University of Finance, Ms. Anqi Mei, visiting XJTLU for the first time, was impressed by the campus and the variety of Master’s programmes available. She said, “My current experience is in a traditional Chinese university but here at XJTLU the atmosphere is open with more free communication. I was considering a Master’s programme in the UK but after today’s visit, I will strongly consider XJTLU as my Master’s study option.”

Executive President Professor Youmin Xi said, “In order to survive and succeed in this global world, which is full of opportunities and challenges, students need to be trained in leadership and entrepreneurship skills for the future.” He emphasized the English-teaching environment, international Faculty and student-centered teaching at XJTLU that is giving students an international perspective and capabilities to become global citizens.

Professor Xi added, “These international perspectives and competitive capabilities of XJTLU graduates are highly recognised by employers. Added to this are their skills in leadership, entrepreneurship, creativity and cross-cultural communication paving the way for our graduates to be sought after by employers both within China and globally.”

XJTLU now offers 27 international Master degree programmes. These University of Liverpool UK Masters degrees are all taught in English by international Faculty and are 18-month programmes. Chinese applicants are not required to take the MoE postgraduate entrance exam.

Visitors on the day had the opportunity to have consultations with Professors, tutors and current or graduate students regarding the variety of Master’s programmes available at XJTLU.

Vice President, Professor André Brown remarking that XJTLU’s international Master’s degrees are an access to the world, “Our degrees are like a career passport which will lead you to international employment and a rewarding career.”

Director of PhD Programmes and Director of MSc Economics, Professor Ron Schramm, introduced the value of postgraduate research as the path to academia based on his own experience and said, “Education is a great investment and a 4-year PhD programme at XJTLU is an effective choice.”

Head of International Student Recruitment and Support, Ms. Kirsty chaired a panel discussion with three postgraduate programme admissions decision makers revealing the secrets to develop a successful international postgraduate application.

Professor Christoph Zabe, from International Business School Suzhou (IBSS), Professor ZhiJian Wu, Head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences and Ms. Grace He from Postgraduate Admissions introduced several specific details about applications and answered the questions from students about graduate study.

Professor Wu stated that programme directors usually focus on the personal statements and reference letters of applicants and said, “From the personal statement, I intend to know why you want to major in this area and would like to see what you have prepared for the further study.”

From an admissions perspective, Ms. He highlighted the importance of a complete package which will give a good general impression of the applicant. “The attitude towards work, study intention and other abilities of a student states in their application needs to convince us that you can succeed in research.”

Professor Christoph Zabe added that application should be “authentic,” and he emphasized, “Please be genuine, and be yourself, because it is you that matters in the study and research, not someone ideally imagined.”

After the formal discussion, an open question and answer session was carried among all speakers and panel members with the students.

Vice President, Professor André Brown followed the speech remarking that XJTLU’s international degree is an access to the world; “our degree is like a career passport which will lead you to an international employment and a rewarding career.”

Professor Ron Schramm, Director of PhD Programmes and Director of MSc Economics, introduced the value of postgraduate research as the path to academia and to the success of one’s life, “education at this stage is a great investment, while 4 year PhD programme at XJTLU is an effective choice.” With this own experience, he proposed the postgraduate a way to a lifetime of learning.

The recruitment of the applications requires no Chinese MoE postgraduate entrance exam, but an international recruitment path based on applications. Kirsty Mattinson from International Student Recruitment and Support organized a panel discussion with three postgraduate programme admissions decision makers to reveal the secrets to develop a successful international postgraduate application.

Professor Christoph Zabe, from International Business School Suzhou (IBSS), Professor ZhiJian Wu, Head of Department of Mathematical Sciences and Ms. Grace He from Postgraduate Admissions took turns to introduce several matters and attention about applications and answered the questions from students about graduate study.

Professor Wu stated that directors of the programme usually pay special attention to the personal statements and reference letters of an application student, “from the PS, I am intended to know why you want to major in this area and would like to see what you have prepared for the further study.”

From the admissions official’s point of view, Ms. He highlighted the importance of a complete package which will give a good general impression of the applicant, “the working attitude, study intention and many abilities of a student are able to identify in the file, it should have the power to convince us that you can succeed in the research.”

Professor Christoph Zabe supplemented the suggestions with one significant character which received consensus from other tutors, “authentic,” he emphasized, “please be genuine, and be yourself, because it is you that matters in the study and research, not someone ideally imagined.”

After the formal discussion, an open question and answer session was carried among all speakers and panel members with the students. After consulting with Faculty members, Year 2 studen Mr. Jiazhi Zhou, majoring in Information Management Systems at XJTLU, said, “I have consulted with the teachers about the research area that I am interested in and can now start to make preparation for choosing a Master’s programme. Today’s information day has provided a great chance for me to meet tutors, listen to application advice and tips. I am confident that my undergraduate degree at XJTLU will give me a good foundation for graduate study here.”