CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN HUST |
Challenges and Opportunities in HUST By Jules Harris DANARSON, Ph. D Candidate College of Public Administration, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, P.R. China. As an international student, anyone who is in Huazhong University of Science & Technology should expect to meet a certain level of challenges, be it social or academic. Still, with some preparation, little effort and determination to adjust to new circumstances, one can beet the odds and feel comfortable as soon as they have stepped on the soil of Wuhan city. And the good news is that opportunities are far outweighing the challenges you might face at HUST. The followings are what I can share as a personal experience in this huge and magnificent university to get you prepared for your studies and reap the benefit of any effort you are willing to make at HUST, or more specifically in the College of Public Administration of HUST. Challenges At the social level, culture shock is unavoidable especially when you are outside of the campus. People do not often say “sorry” or “thank you (very much indeed)” when some foreigners would do that in their own cultures. Here are a few examples. Someone you did a favor would not thank you because they just think they can do that by responding in action (by returning good deeds) in the future rather than in words at the present. Often, you will see people eating while walking, taking the bus or elevator where you see yourself as a captive audience of their eating habits with food of an aroma to your liking or not and the noisy sound of it being chewed. This in-action manner of eating is a reflection of how time-conscious the Chinese are, they have no time to lose. Talking about timing, the Chinese are punctual and some of them might even call you 15 minutes before the appointed time for a meeting, which will shock you if are accustomed to being late for appointments. Another thing, if it is your culture to shake hands (when greeting someone) or kiss on the cheeks (after meeting several times), you might get neglected or frustrated before knowing that such physical contacts are not part of Chinese culture. At the academic level, administrative requirements and rules can be demanding to some extent. As a CSC scholarship student, you have to sign up for your scholarship money on a monthly basis or you do not get paid, no proxy is allowed for any reason. As lodging regulation, your Chinese friends are not allowed to enter your apartment or room without an ID card and if they are allowed, time is limited for them to stay there and talk to you. These restrictions are said to be made for your protection, so take it easy! Apart from these, a change of schedule or an up-coming of a new program might be announced at a very last minute, so flexibility is needed in order not to miss an important academic activity like a lecture, seminar or even a thesis defense. Opportunities Despite all the challenges you might encounter, HUST or more precisely, the College of Public Administration (CPA) is a place where you meet and work with a galaxy of experienced, caring, and generous professors who can serve as a source of intellectual and professional opportunities if you know when and how to take them for your own good. The university also has an International Student Office where you find a group of very helpful and responsible administration officials to make your life at the campus easier. Those officials speak excellent English so you do not have to worry of your lack of Chinese language skills, but studies of Chinese is highly recommended when you are settled in. Some other tips you should get to seize the opportunities HUST has to offer are as follows: Study hard, play hard Take what is given in classes and read widely using the materials not only what were recommended by your professors but also what scholars use at the world level, meaning see what others in universities outside of HUST or China are using and get hold of those materials and sources. Then, do and turn in your assignment and projects on time. Team up with students from other countries to learn more and broaden your perspectives. In Latin, they said, “Mens sane in corpore sana,” meaning “A healthy mind in a healthy body.” Being engrossed in intellectual works is of immeasurable importance but keeping fit by exercising is crucial to gain the strength and stamina used to accomplish long-term goals. HUST offers opportunities for different extra-curricular activities with its clubs for tennis, ping pong, golf, running, fitness, martial arts etc... With a help from a Master (Shi Fu) who regularly trains people at the campus, I have practiced Tai Ji Quan for some months now, and I think it has been rewarding. In Wuhan, you will see what you have not seen before; you will eat what you have not eaten. And as you might have read somewhere, “the Chinese serves the best cuisines in the world,” so showing an indication of metabolic activity (the down-breaking of fats, sugar, proteins etc…) in your body by means of exercises are more than essential to avoid any health hazard.
Tai Ji Quan Practice at HUST Take a rest by enriching your mind As scholar in a foreign country, you surely have a chance to meet students, who have not only different culture, but different opinions, and visions than you do. So, be open by listening and being receptive of others’ ideas though you have to be selective in processing. Then, in your spare time, move around the city and visit some universities as a guest speaker. This will not only be a remedy for culture shock but also a useful way to widen your intellectual horizons by means of exchanges, which will translate to a win-win experience for you and the students of the colleges or universities you visit.
At Wuhan City Vocational College as a Guest Speaker Experience the practical side of learning. CPA has some of the most advanced learning facilities you can see in China or in the world. It has the so-called Decision Theater, which is now operational and used by scholars and researchers. Labs for experimentation are also available and accessible in the college. One thing that I will not forget of my passage to CPA is the opportunity offered to us for an educational trip to a near-by region where the Wuhan local government is building what they call “Wuhan Huashan Eco-City.” Urban and District Management (taught by Dr. Huang Dong and Dr. Sun ChunXia) is one of the subjects we have in classes, and we were taken to the construction sites of the city where we learned how an urban planning for environmentally friendly cities are being put to practice. We found the trip more interesting than just being exposed to PPT of many slides.
An Educational Trip to Huashan Eco-City with Professor Huang Dong Create an international network as source of knowledge and professionalism. The high education offered by CPA will prepare you for an academic interaction at an international level, which can happen by means of international conferences or others. This year, for example, I wrote a paper entitled “Perceptions of Policy Outcomes as a Motivational Factor in Promoting Environmental Sanitation: Lessons Learned from the Yibin Local Government, China,” and participated in the 8thround of the annual ICPA (International Conference on Public Administration), held at Osmania University in Hyderabad, India. The conference was/is sponsored by such outstanding universities and organizations as the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), Osmania University, Chinese Public Administration Journal, and co-sponsored by Administrative Staff College of India and Indian Public Administration. It gives you a unique chance to be in contact with well-known professors and practitioners from these universities and other academic and institutional settings around the world. This year’s conference received participants from P.R China, United States, India, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Uganda, South Africa, Turkey, Italy, West Bengal, Malaysia, Romania, Lebanon, Brunei, Liberia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Zimbabwe, Fiji, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR, China Taiwan and Madagascar, where I am from. So, as was said by the organizers themselves, it was “truly international.” SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT
At the 2012 ICPA, Hyderabad, India with my Doctoral Thesis Supervisor, Professor Xu Xiaolin, Dean of CPA, As it is stated on the conference’s website that the “2012 ICPA seeks to provide a forum for distinguished speakers from academia, government and industry to discuss problems and new ideas, share experiences of success and failure in public administration, explore the changes that public administration poses for all aspects of governance, and promote international co-operation in the field of public administration.” These goals were successfully reached. And, to me, it was an inspiring, knowledge-enriching and professionalism-oriented experience. To put it another way, the following lines will express all that I felt about it. If you like honey, attending and participating in the ICPA conference and its panels are like being in a bee haven without being stung. That is, you enjoy the sweetness of hundreds of research findings without paying any price that you have to pay when buying text books or other sources of high caliber. It gives you full and free access to knowledge and professionalism. In addition, you meet the authors of all the works that you might only have had the chance to read on the Internet. Meeting those experienced and skillful researchers gives you the opportunity to create a network of intellectual circle that might be useful for future research and expertise in the field of your choice.
2012 ICPA Conference Panel, Hyderabad, India. What I realize now (that I did not have in mind before the conference) is that, intellectually there is still a long way to go, a long river to cross before I reach the stages where those white-bearded researchers are now, but with a visionary effort and positive thinking, anyone can get to their destination without being drowned on the way. As Paul Arden said, “it’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be.” I’ve always wanted to be better than I am now, so I expect to see some differences in line with Arden’s message, and so do you, I hope. Positive thinking can work, if the fruitful result is not seen now then it’ll come in the future! For more information about the ICPA, go to. From the conference site, you can download all of the ICPA proceedings of this year and the past that can be of great help to you for your studies, research and works. Here I’m talking about ICPA as a good choice for participation, but many other international conferences are opening their doors for participants, so get informed and take part in them. My Last Words Of course, what I have told you are not all about CPA, nor are they all about how to be successful at the high-ranking Chinese university, HUST. However, I do hope that those tips will help you make the decision to come here and have a comfortable stay at the College of Public Administration of Huazhong University of Science & Technology. Good luck!! |
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