The Zheijang University – University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJE) welcomed the 2018 freshman class of Chinese national students and their parents to the Haining International Campus last week.
On 23 August 2018, Vice Dean Ye Chen hosted a meeting which provided advice and information to more than 100 parents of new students who will be starting their journeys with the institute this year. Dean Chen welcomed the parents on behalf of the institute, and thanked them for trusting ZJE and their children’s choice of University. She hoped that over the next four years, the parents and institute could work together to support their children’s futures.
Vice Dean Professor Linrong Lu also attended and gave a speech introducing the Institute. His presentation included: the significance of running the international campus; the development history and current situation of ZJE; the training mode of two double-degree majors. Five parents of senior students were also in attendance, with one mother of a second year student sharing her experiences of working with ZJE over the past year.
Although ZJE Dean, Professor Ouyang Hongwei was unable to attend the meeting, he prepared a letter for parents, which Dean Chen shared on his behalf.
He said: “Success should not be taken for granted. ZJE gathers the outstanding elements of Chinese and Western higher education, and promises to spare no effort to provide students with the best quality resources. This process also requires the support and growth of the parents. It is not easy to be parents of college students, alongside the students, they also need to learn to adapt, and learn to be a calm and patient parent.”
Dean Chen shared some experiences from the perspective of being a university student’s parent. She advised parents to try to remember that their children will grow more independent on their journey through university, and that they will have to let them have some freedom and trust that they will make the right decisions. She went on to say that parents will also need to work on themselves and continue to grow to be good examples for their children. She compared parents to being like the line of a kite – often seem invisible – but they are tough and hold the power to help pull an occasionally lost kite back to the main channel.
To finish off the meeting, Dean Lu issued volunteer certificates to the first batch of ZJE parent volunteers, and thanked them for their future help and support for ZJE.
The 2018 International student freshman will be welcomed in a ceremony on the 10th and 11th of September.
