In the past summer, a number of Honours College students from Class 2018 joined various summer programs offered by the University of California Berkeley, University of British Columbia, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. They all had amazing and fabulous experiences in different parts of the world. These experiences have not only given them lots of moments of happiness, but also better equipped them with enhanced knowledge on international issues and global perspectives. Here are what the students say:
Hena, University of California Berkeley
“In many times I put on the headphone, with lyrics of ‘Amazing day’ by Coldplay running through me. After all these weeks I can still be amused by every stunning sunset in the States.
In the renowned campus of UC Berkeley, with 6-week experiences, I am not exaggerating that the lectures keep exciting new ideas and views inside of me, and remind me of how many great things can be built within the endless possibility. It’s just super motivated to keep your mind fresh and inspired every day. ”
Kiris, University of British Columbia
“This summer, I joined a three-week program in UBC. That was a new experience for me since I have never studied abroad before or stayed at foreign countries for a long time. I had a great experience in the program.
On the first day as I arrived at Canada, everything was tough for me because I was in an unfamiliar country alone. I had no idea what I should do. But I was glad that I have met a lot of friends. They helped me a lot. With their support, I was able to become familiar with the study program, transportation, and the life there quickly.
This was a valuable chance for people to learn one’s culture in deep through experiencing it. It’s a way for you to learn how to become independent. Also it does not only aim to improve your English, but also to provide you the senses in particular global issues such as environmental issue and try to cultivate you to become a ‘Global Citizen’.”
Aurora, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
“This Innovation program that I joined this summer was organized by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This 25-day programme comprised of two courses: “Start Ups and Innovation: The Israel Model” and “Breakthrough Technologies: Shaping the Future”, including lectures in the university and various field trips.
In the course of “Start Ups and Innovation: The Israel Model”, we have met successful start-up founders and mentors, accomplished executives from leading companies like Google, well-known angel and venture capital investors, innovative R&D staff and experts. While for the other course—“Breakthrough Technologies: Shaping the Future”, it showed us the frontier technology developments in fields such as 3D printing, neuroscience, nano-tach, biomed, genetics, artificial intelligence and autonomous transportation that is about to change our lives and the society in the next five to fifteen years.
Who amazed me were not just people that we visited, among our classmates, there were some founders of startups, I also got to learn a lot from them not only their culture, their passion and their lives, as well. We became pretty good friends along the program. It is a life-changing experience that the people who are fighting at the frontier of changing this world and standing right in front of me talking about the biggest motivation of him to wake up every morning is that he could save millions of people through what he is doing. ”
Irina, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
“This summer I went to Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam to attend two-week summer course European Financial Markets and Institutions.
At the beginning, we learnt some basic knowledge about European Union. In the first week, we went to Brussels where European Headquarters was located. By visiting European Commission, European Parliament, Dutch Embassy, and attending some lectures offered by official staff, we got a clearer concept of how the three most important EU institutions, European Council, European Commitment, and European Parliament cooperate together.
I really enjoyed leisure time in Amsterdam with my friends. Since the day time in summer in European countries were pretty long, it seemed that we had another new day to play around the city after school. The canals, windmills, bicycles, museums, and churches were so attractive and wonderful that we deeply fell in love with this old city. Additionally, Amsterdam was such a tolerant, open, and multicultural city that we felt different kinds of culture. Since red light blocks and hemp trade were legal here, we were lucky to see some fresh and unexpected things.
The words and the camera could not record and capture all the amazing experiences and precious moments this summer. Hope that one day I will go back to that city, that country to create some new memories.”
