On Monday 11th September 2023, with support from EasyTransfer, the British Chamber of Commerce in China (BritCham China) hosted Transitions: Supporting Students to Succeed at UK Universities. The event was attended by 130+ representatives from international schools, universities and education agents across the educational sector, who joined us for this special afternoon of knowledge sharing, discussions, and networking.
The event kicked off with opening remarks from Rachel Tsang, Managing Director of the British Chamber of Commerce in China (BritCham China), and Nick Thomas, Minister (Culture and Education) at the British Embassy China and Director, China, at the British Council. Both Rachel and Nick shared insights from their own educational journeys, noting the enhanced opportunities that an international education affords students.
David Stringer-Lamarre, Senior Advisor at EasyTransfer and Managing Director of Fortis Consulting London, echoed these sentiments, explaining the importance of understanding differences between international cultures in order to build strong partnerships between nations.
The Insights session gave international school counsellors, education agent staff and university recruitment representatives all the information they needed to help students prepare for life at university – whether that be information on how to apply for a student visa, or the best way of paying tuition fees and living costs.
Our session speakers, Sylvia Li, Head of Business Pursuits, China Exams of British Council IELTS, Bevan Graham, Head of Secondary of The British School of Beijing, Shunyi, Tony Gao, President and Co-founder of EasyTransfer, Jaymee Gonzales, Visa Outreach Officer – North and Central China, and Mongolia of UK Visas and Immigration UK Home Office, and Cindi Zhang, Chief Representative and Head of Government Affairs of British Airways Greater China. Their varied insights painted a full picture of the international student trends and experiences for the event attendees.
Julian Fisher, Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China (BritCham China), then led an insightful panel discussion exploring how international school university counsellors can best support students on their journey to higher education.
Upon invitation from Guohao Sun, Partner of Global Operations of EasyTransfer and Board Member of Western Academy of Beijing, the panel discussed the differences between university education in the UK versus other popular destinations, shared best practices for preparing applications to universities, and explained how to ensure success in the sometimes challenging move to tertiary education.
Thank you to Michelle Chow-Liu, Head of High School Counseling of Western Academy of Beijing and President of the International Association for College Admission Counseling (International ACAC), Percy Jiang, Director of College Counseling of Keystone Academy, Beijing and Shiny Wang, Vice Principal and Director of College Counseling of Tsinghua University High School International for their candid insights.
Following the panel, attendees got the chance to network with their fellow educational professionals. With participants coming from a diverse pool of educational agents, secondary schools, programme directors and university representatives, the event was a chance to forge new connections that could assist in helping students to succeed in the move to university.
University representatives from University of Warwick, De Montfort University, University of Dundee, Coventry University, Heriot-Watt University, Teesside University, Loughborough University, University of Sunderland, University of Bradford, University of Reading, University of Bristol, University College Birmingham, University of Southampton, University of Central Lancashire and Beijing Institute of Technology Joint Programme, University of Strathclyde, Bangor University, University of the West of England, The University of Huddersfield, Queen Mary University of London, University of East London, Newcastle University, University of Essex, Cambridge Education Group, Study Group, University of West London, University of Westminster, Northumbria University, University of Portsmouth, Middlesex University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, University of Glasgow, University of Leeds, Queen's University Belfast and Swansea University attended and supported the event.
Secondary school representatives from The British School of Beijing, Shunyi, Western Academy of Beijing, Keystone Academy, Beijing, The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China (RDFZ ICC), YCIS Beijing 北京耀中国际学校 Yew Chung International School of Beijing, Canadian International School of Beijing (@CISBeijing), International School of Beijing, Beijing International Bilingual Academy , Dulwich College Beijing, Harrow Beijing, Dehong International Chinese School Beijing, Beijing City International School, Beijing World Youth Academy, JPED Academy 达罗捷派学院, Beijing Royal School, International Chinese Language Center of EduChina Group, BIBS - Beanstalk International Bilingual School - 青苗国际双语学校, AidiSchool（北京爱迪学校）, Mingde Academy, RDFZ Chaoyang Branch School, Moonshot Academy 探月学院, Tsinghua International School, Beijing Chaoyang KaiWen Academy 北京市朝阳区凯文学校 朝阳凯文 CKWA and Beijing Foreign Studies University International Curriculum Centre attended and supported the event.
Education representatives from Venture Education 问创, NCUK - The University Consortium, Elite Scholars of China, Insight & Discovery 因思国际教育, Beijing International Studies University Programme, 51Liuxue 无忧留学, Uoffer Global, TopSchools 顶思教育, NAUS 锐志国际教育, Beijing Institute of Technology, Xueweigui 学为贵, Shinyway International, New Oriental Vision Overseas Consulting Co., Ltd., Central University of Finance and Economics, University of Jinan, Global Education Alliance (GEA), JJL Overseas Education Consulting & Service Co., Ltd, NIESL, New Channel International Education Group, Soochow University (CN), TASA Education and Sofia University attended and supported the event.
Many thanks to the British Chamber of Commerce in China (BritCham China) for hosting the event, EasyTransfer is very pleased to support this event and become a member of BritCham China.
