Following the successful Beijing Institute of Technology's (BIT) winter Chinese online programme, QUB student and staff learners are invited again to attend their summer programme. The following message is an update sent from BIT (20/03) - any recruitment enquiries please contact BIT team. We are only responsible for collecting and submitting the nomination form.
BIT is set to offer an array of on-campus summer programs tailored to your interests in the fields of STEM, management, athletics and Chinese language and culture.
Seven programs are available this summer: 1. Future Decarbonizing Technology and Green Energy（On-campus） 2. Hands-on Learning for Emerging Technologies in Electronics Engineering (On-campus) 3. Emerging Technologies in Materials for Renewable Energy （On-campus） 4. Aesthetics of Traditional Chinese Culture and Classical Chinese Humanities（On-campus） 5. Management and Innovation （On-campus） 6. Chinese Kung fu （On-campus） 7. Chinese Language and Multicultural Practice（On-campus & Online）
We are offering 10 scholarships for each program (70 scholarships in total) for your students!
BIT Scholarship covers Tuition, on-campus accommodation, teaching materials, insurance, culture tours and lab work. Students only need to bear the expenses for international travel and meals during they study in China.
Online program is also totally FREE and NO NUMBER LIMIT.
Duration:
On-campus program: June 30 (check-in)–July 27 (check-out), 2024
Online program: August 5 – August 16, 2024
Nomination from partner university is necessary and sent before April 15th, 2024.
While the 3rd semester Language Centre course enrolment is still underway, we would like to share with you the study tips from Isabella Souza Mclaughlin, who is currently working as Global Marketing and Recruitment Coordinator after her graduation from Queen’s.
I graduated from International Business with Mandarin at Queen’s University Belfast. Studying Mandarin was one of the best experiences I’ve had, and in this blog post, I will share some study tips!
Isabella Souza mclaughlin 苏曼伊 QUB Global Recruitment
Studying languages is incredibly rewarding, but it can be challenging! Familiarising yourself with your learning style is key. It’s important to try different techniques until you find the one that is best for you. Below are the tips that I would like to share:
Flashcards
Flashcards are a great way to practice vocabulary and keep your notes on-the-go. When studying Mandarin, I wrote the Chinese characters, known as 汉字 (hànzì) alongside the English translation on one side, and the 拼音 (pīnyīn) on the other, to focus on recognising characters. However, you may decide to focus on translation and have 汉字 on one side, and English on the other. Digital flashcards are also a convenient option.
Handwriting
I personally find I can memorise information best by writing. Handwriting notes in Mandarin can be time-consuming. However, if you are regularly writing 汉字, not only will you be revising your notes, but also practicing your handwriting. Remembering the stroke order of 汉字 will be a big help in writing faster over time.
The type of equipment you use can also help. I like using notebooks, so erasable pens found their way into my stationery. I like colour and decoration, so I used highlighters, colourful pens, sticky notes and washi tape in creating diagrams and mind-maps to help categorise them into topics, lessons, vocabulary or grammar.
Apps for writing 汉字 are an interactive way to practice. When not in class, I sometimes found myself even using notes apps on my phone to practice handwriting.
Language Class
If you are self-studying Mandarin, I highly recommend joining a class, as the classroom environment can help with speaking practice, meeting new people and help answering tricky questions. These can be in-person or online classes. The Language Centre at Queen’s offers a good range of language courses, including Mandarin Chinese.
I recently had the opportunity to study with the Beijing Institute of Technology on their 2024 Chinese Language and Multicultural Practice Winter Programme. This was an excellent opportunity to study Mandarin Chinese in interactive classes, as well as learn more about Chinese culture through lectures and seminars in Paper Cutting, Chinese Cuisine, Chinese Traditional Music and more. Not only did it give me the opportunity to improve my language skills in listening, speaking and reading, but I also met new people and built my confidence. This was an excellent opportunity to study with a University in China, particularly a partner University of Queen’s and I was also asked to present at the Closing Ceremony which was such an incredible honour.
Take as many notes as possible in class. I liked using my laptop, to which I downloaded a Chinese keyboard, to take notes in class and had a notebook on the side for handwriting. Alternatives such as Google Input Tools are useful as well.
Tandem Language Exchange
The Tandem Language Exchange at Queen’s was one of the best ways I improved my language skills. I met many language exchange partners who helped me significantly in improving my Mandarin, and I was able to share my experience and help them with English or Portuguese. Everyone was really encouraging in helping me develop my language skills and I had the opportunity to make life-long friends.
I scheduled meetings with my language partners regularly, often weekly, to work on new tasks each week. We picked a new topic to cover each week in each other’s target language, where we asked questions regarding culture and learned new vocabulary.
Cultural Experiences
Immersing yourself in the culture of your target language as much as possible is a great way to remain motivated in language learning and develop knowledge.
Cuisine
Belfast has many great Chinese restaurants, so be sure to try Chinese dishes to familiarise yourself with the cuisine. I also enjoy visiting the many great Chinese restaurants when travelling, such as in London.
Local Chinese dishes in BelfastChinese cuisine in London
Try making some Chinese dishes yourself too! A friend of mine from China and fellow graduate of Queen’s, invited me to celebrate Chinese New Year (春节, chūnjié) with her and her friends, where I learned to make jiaozi dumplings (bāo jiǎozi 包饺子) from scratch.
包饺子
Work Experience
During my placement year, despite the challenges of COVID, I was fortunate to get a placement in an international company, working with a team based in China. Not only was I getting experience in the work environment, but I was learning more about Chinese business culture and working with supportive colleagues from China. During that summer, I also took online evening classes in Mandarin Chinese through the Language Centre at Queen’s, to help maintain my language skills and get back into a classroom environment to prepare for my final year of University.
History and Modern Culture
If you enjoy history, try visiting some museums or exhibitions surrounding Chinese culture, reading books, articles, and watching documentaries. I enjoy music and entertainment, so I regularly listen to Chinese artists and watch dramas and films.
Many Chinese dramas are now on streaming services, such as, Netflix and Amazon Prime. If you can, try adding both English and Simplified Chinese subtitles. Watch dramas back a second time with only Simplified Chinese subtitles, you’d be surprised with how much you can pick up! Try watching your current favourite shows in your first language dubbed in Mandarin, as you will already be familiar with the plot, this will be an entertaining way to practice your listening skills.
Cultural Events
Ensure you attend cultural events. Queen’s hosts numerous Chinese cultural events throughout the year, including Spring Festival/CNY (春节, Chūnjié) and Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节, Zhōngqiū jié). This is a great way to learn more about these festivals, enjoy the celebrations and get involved! During my studies, I assisted in maintaining a stand at the Chinese New Year Festival, sharing information about the Chinese Zodiac (十二生肖, shí’èr shēngxiāo).
Social Media
Try using social media apps from the countries of your target language. I use WeChat (微信, Wēixìn) to chat with my friends regularly and find information on Red (小红书, Xiǎohóngshū). If you are a fan of TikTok and YouTube, why not try DouYin (抖音, Dǒuyīn) or Bilibili? Download a Chinese keyboard to your phone to make it easier when using social media apps.
Read Bilingual Literature
Reading is a great way to keep up practice. You’re already reading a lot in your classes and on social media, so why not try some bilingual literature? If, like me, you enjoy cuisine, I recommend ‘Tiny Moons: A Year of Eating in Shanghai’ by Nina Mingya Powles, a collection of essays about food and belonging, that incorporates vocabulary in Mandarin.
Motivation and Advice
A key aspect of learning any language, is focusing on your progress and avoid comparing yourself to others. Everyone learns languages at their own pace. It can be easy to compare yourself to others without considering the things that make your language learning experience unique. You may feel like you are falling behind, when in fact, you are right where you need to be and making incredible progress!
Though this is primarily aimed at studying Mandarin, I hope these study tips will be useful for any other languages.
The 龙 Lóng (or Loong / Chinese Dragon) has just arrived at Queen’s!
What an exciting day to welcome the auspicious 龙 Lóng (or Loong / Chinese Dragon) to Queen’s One Elmwood on Thursday 8th February, regardless of the blustery weather (which was said to be accompanying the Loong)!
Dragon Dance performed by QUB Success Lion Dance Club at One Elmwood social space.
Over 60 staff and student representatives from a range of diverse cultural backgrounds celebrated the launch of Year of The Chinese Dragon programme, jointly organised by the Language Centre, iRISE Staff Network, Student Experience Team, The Graduate School, Chinese Students and Scholars Association, supported by Diversity, Inclusion and Staff Wellbeing Unit, and partially sponsored by the QUB Annual Fund.
Professor Margaret Topping, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement, welcomed the value of contact between different languages and cultures for the benefit of enhanced mutual respect through intercultural exchange.
Professor Margaret Topping, PVC (Global Engagement), delivered a welcome speech to the audience.
We wish that this celebration programme on the Year of The Chinese Dragon, as part of our Celebrating Cultural Diversity at Queen’s scheme, will make a contribution to the multicultural campus development, which sees differences as strength to foster an environment of open-mindedness and acceptance.
The Launch event featured student/alumni performances including guzheng music and classical dance, QUB Staff Wellbeing Choir’s singing of both Chinese and local songs, and the bustling and exciting Dragon Dance inside One Elmwood, followed by an interactive CNY Fair with cultural displays.
Guzheng performance by DENG Wei, QUB graduate in Arts Management
Classical dance performed by XU Xiaowen, MSc candidate in Construction and Project Management
Celebrating with the performers
Chinese songs sung by Staff Wellbeing Choir
Group photo after Dragon Dance at One Elmwood
CNY Fair with God of Fortune and Student Experience Team
The CNY celebration programme includes a three-week-long events and it welcomes all students and staff members to choose their favourate ones to attend in the coming two weeks. For full programme and registration links, please visit CCP2024 Homepage.
More photos will be added to our FB account and if you wish to share yours with us, please attach them via the Comment box below, or click the link for multiple uploading
The Start of Spring (立春) falls on Sunday 4th Feb according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which well announces the arrival of Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) celebration in China and elsewhere.
Spring Festival Gala
On Saturday 3rd Feb, the Chinese Students’ Society presented a fabulous Gala of performances to entertain not only QUB students and staff members, but also their families and local communities, with an intoxicating atmosphere that brought people together, no matter what cultural backgrounds they belong to, for a bustling night at the Mandela Hall, One Elmwood.
Culture Talk
The success of the Spring Festival Gala has extended its inviting arms to welcome more audience to join in a great variety of cultural events that are to come, with a culture talk presented by Dr Ibrar Bhatt and Heng WANG on their research reflections on Chinese Muslim Heritage Literacy, which is scheduled between 3 pm and 4:30 pm on Monday, 05/02, at the Auditorium, McClay Library. The talk will also include a display of notable pieces of traditional art collected during fieldwork. QUB colleagues and students are welcome to attend this joint event organised by the Centre for Language Education Research and The Language Centre.
To attend this event, please register via the link or scanning the QR code.
Online Exhibitions
We are also pleased to announce the start of our online exhibitions – Drawing The Dragon Competition and ArtEast Exhibition from Sunday 04/02. The audience are more than welcome to leave your comments to the artworks and share their thoughts in line with the themes.
More Celebrations
Last but not least, we are would like to remind that there are two more big celebrations lined up for this week – The Festival of Chinese New Year hosted by the Graduate School on Wednesday and CNY Launch Day with Interactive Fair on Thursday in One Elmwood. Places are limited so advance bookings are required.
To celebrate the upcoming Year of the [Chinese] Dragon, commencing on Saturday, February 10, 2024, we extend a warm invitation to participate in our Drawing Competition centered around the theme of of the [Chinese] Dragon (Chinese character: 龙 (simplified) / 龍 (traditional), pronounced as lóng, similar to ‘long’, also coined in English as ‘loong’).
Beyond its legendary significance in Chinese culture and historical representation as an auspicious symbol wielded by imperial power, the Dragon has evolved into a national totem, symbolizing the offspring of the Chinese nation. Its influence has also extended to neighboring countries such as Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and more.
We cordially invite Queen’s students, staff members, their families, and the local communities to participate in this drawing competition, an opportunity to express your imaginative interpretation of this mythical creature through contemporary artistic mediums.
Participants are encouraged to employ diverse drawing styles and mediums (e.g., sketching, oils, watercolor, sculpture, etc.) as long as they effectively convey your perceptions of 龙/龍 within your own cultural context or Chinese culture. We welcome authentic forms and techniques of presentation, excluding AI-related works.
The competition will close on Sunday 4th Feb, and a Drawing the Dragon session for QUB students, organised by the Student Experience Team, will take place on Friday 2nd Feb.
Submissions should consist of one drawing per participant, saved as an electronic copy (JEPG/JPG/PNG format, no exceeding 2MB). Please submit your artwork via the provided submission form, accompanied by a brief bio, including your name, status (e.g., educational/professional background), and a concise description of your illustration.
We look forward to witnessing your creative expressions!
How exciting when you were selected for a panel discussion on your research work and experience as part of your postgraduate degree study at Queen’s?
Today we invite Ruinan PENG (彭瑞楠), MA in Arts Management 2022-2023, from School of Arts, English and Languages, to share her wonderful experience of being invited for the Arts Management Showcase event on 7th November 2023.
What’s it about the Arts Management Showcase event?
The MA Arts Management Showcase is actually part of the annual Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science, which provides a great opportunity to display outstanding Queen’s MA Arts Management students’ research to the professional circles and the public for a wider social impact.
Click here to view the whole programme of ESRC Festival of Social Science 2023
At the event, the convention is that a senior guest speaker would be invited to share his or her research on the culture and arts field, followed by a presentation of selected outstanding postgraduate research work and a round-table discussion with the guest speaker. Therefore, this showcase event is an ideal opportunity to demonstrate Arts Management teaching and research outcomes at Queen’s and communicate with professional researchers in arts management from outside Queen’s.
What was your experience on the day?
As one of the four student speakers, I presented my dissertation (学位论文 xuéwèi lùnwén) which was about curating (策展 cèzhǎn) and audience engagement (观众参与 guānzhòng cānyù) in contemporary art exhibitions (当代艺术展 dāngdài yìshùzhǎn), exploring how curating constructs audiences’ experiences and facilitates audience engagement in contemporary art exhibitions. Alongside me, Dr. Christina Ballico, and my classmates, Holly and Stephanie, presented their research in terms of ‘music city’, ‘arts engagement of the working class (工人阶级 gōngrén jiējí)’, and ‘music education development in Northern Ireland’. Their presentations were interesting and insightful, illustrating a bigger picture and sketching out the details about how to develop an inclusive, equal cultural engagement for cities, artists, and the public. Also, their research methods and case studies expanded my knowledge of conducting arts management both in the academic and professional domains.
There was a Q&A panel and a networking (会后交流 huìhòu jiāoliú) session following the end of the presentation.
Ruinan at the panel discussion | Photo provided by Ruinan PENG
What was your feeling about such an experience?
It was not only a rewarding moment to ‘show off’ my efforts in my independent research but also a lovely reunion with my supervisors, classmates, and friends. Reviewing my experience of studying at Queen’s, I had a strong sense of achievement (成就感 chéngjiùgǎn) and gained many opportunities to improve my language and intercultural skills, and develop my research abilities, thanks to the small-scale class, diverse classmate backgrounds, high-standard course programme, and professional and dedicated teachers. I treated this event as my reward for my study at Queen’s and hope that more Chinese students at Queen’s step onto this showcase stage in the future.
Ruinan at the panel discussion | Photo provided by Ruinan PENG
Author: Ruinan PENG Editors: Lauren McShane and Liang WANG
The Language Centre is organising a Chinese New Year Celebration Information Session to mark the International Volunteer Day (05/12) on Monday 04/12 (13:00-15:00) at the Auditorium, McClay Library. If you are interested in what’s going to happen and how you can get involved, feel free to pop in and join us in the session.
Call for volunteers
As the Year of the Dragon (龙年春节) is arriving in Feb 2024, we are looking for talented students and staff members to volunteer for our Chinese New Year celebration at Queen’s. It could be in the form of a variety of cultural performances, or language/culture-related topics and skills, and is open to both Chinese-speaking and non-Chinese speaking volunteers.
If you would like to express your interest in volunteering for the preparation and delivery of the proposed events, feel free to scan the QR code, or click the Form URL below to submit your interest.
We also look forward to working with you in our future language and cultural events.
Language Centre Course Enrolment
The second enrolment for courses, including Chinese, to start in January 2024 has now been available online. Anyone wishing to learning Chinese can find relevant course timetable and registration information from The Language Centre Homepage.
Queen’s Media and Broadcast PG students (Mengjia QU, Jiaqi LI and Xiaoya WU) working onsite. Photo: Liang WANG
Call for volunteers 常招志愿者
We are looking for talented students and staff members to volunteer for our Chinese language and cultural events at Queen’s. It could be in the form of a variety of cultural performances, or language/culture-related topics and skills, and is open to both Chinese-speaking and non-Chinese speaking volunteers.
We look forward to working with you in our future events.
July is a bustling season for graduation and it is the time to wish the graduates a great success and a bright future. No matter where they go, they are closely linked to Queen’s as a valued alumnus member.In May 2023, Queen’s held a series of activities for Chinese alumni in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou respectively. Many outstanding Queen’s alumni from different parts of China excitedly joined one of the sessions with a welcome-home atmosphere.
On this special occasion, we are glad to invite Lina SHI (史丽娜), aka. Selena in English, an MA graduate in Arts Management from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences in 2018, to share her Queen’s experience and life after graduation. Currently, she is working in the KPMG Beijing Office.
To my memory, this is the second alumni association held in Beijing. Although I missed the first one, I feel honoured to have become one of the four volunteers at the reception this time to introduce the alumni association event to the delegates.
Lina
Volunteer’s view of the Alumni Event in Beijing | Image: Lina SHI
Seeing such activities as a precious opportunity for them to take a break from their busy professional and family lives, Lina was delighted to meet and chat with each other at the Beijing session.
I am delighted to find that Queen’s graduates are now doing well. Whether within national institutions or within foreign and local companies (本土公司 běntǔ gōngsī), Queen’s students contribute their knowledge and abilities to their positions. Undoubtedly, our Queen’s educational experience gave us solid academic standing when it came to job hunting post-graduation (毕业求职 bìyè qiúzhí). As a result, you would find that Queen’s graduates occupied many varied positions in a wide range of fields, including international companies and even Chinese government offices (国家机关 guójiā jīguān).
Social time after the Alumni event | Image: Lina SHI
When asked what the best experience she ever had when studying at Queen’s, Lina attributed her highlights to her intercultural learning experience during her internship:
I would tell any future student that if you choose to study at Queen’s, it would be a wonderful learning journey. Many things and people made the experience feel unforgettable for me. For example, I gained valuable internship (实习 shíxí) experience in Belfast.
As part of the assessments for my major, Arts Management, I needed to independently source an internship in arts management at local arts institutions. To be honest, it was hard for international students at that time. But don’t worry, every classmate finished their arts internship work in the end. It was an extremely helpful experience for my career.
I spent three months working in an arts management internship at Ulster Youth Orchestra (管弦乐队 guǎnxián yuèduì). The Ulster Youth Orchestra exists to enable young people from throughout Northern Ireland to achieve their musical potential through the provision of the highest quality of professional tuition. I worked in UYO’s administrative office, located in Royal Avenue, Belfast. I was very lucky to join the rehearsal for the 25th Anniversary Concert in 2018.
A grand view of the Orchestra performance at the Ulster Hall, Belfast | Image: Lina SHI
Generally, my internship duties (职务 zhí wù) included putting forward arts fundraising applications to the UK and local government, communicating, and preparing rehearsal venues, cooperating with local other arts institutions, recording membership information and managing and archiving sheet music.
My manager and colleagues are very kind with international students like me. On the day of my birthday, Paula, the arts manager of Ulster Youth Orchestra, sent me a card and balloon to celebrate. What’s more, she treated me to a nice dinner with the team when my internship ended. The experience is very beneficial to the work I do in Beijing now.
A Thank-you card to Lina | Image: Lina SHI
We hope that sharing Lina’s experience has given you hope and motivation for choosing Queen’s University Belfast! As QUB’s motto goes, ‘Shape A Better World’, you have been shaped by Queen’s and you are shaping Queen’s and a wider society as well. Hope the better world will be more beautiful with the better you in the future!
Author: Lina SHI Editors: Lauren McShane and Liang WANG
Translating Age – Sharing experiences of being an older woman in a new country
This post is circulated on behalf of Professor Tess Maginess from School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, who are looking for older female participants of diverse cultural backgrounds, including those from the Chinese community to share their experiences of living in Northern Ireland. Any queries related to this project need to be directed to Professor Maginess (see contact information below).
