For the first time, 5 students and 3 academic staff attended the 2017 Guangxi University Chinese Camp from 26 November to 2 December. KLCII was the only education institute representing Singapore, reflecting the recognition for KLCII as a key institution for the training of Chinese preschool teachers in Southeast Asia.
The full-time English students from KLCII’s WSQ Professional Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education and teachers were among a total of 436 participants from 11 countries, including China, at the cultural exchange programme. The invitation from Guangxi University specified that candidates had to be excellent in academic performance, passionate about Chinese culture and willing to consider studying in China.
During their stay in China, participants learned about the life of students at Guangxi University and familiarised themselves with the culture in China, including experiencing Nanning as a green metropolis in the era of rapid economic development.
They also had the opportunity to visit and observe the operations of a kindergarten there, which gave our students an international perspective of preschool centres outside Singapore.
On the last day of the programme, one of the students, Ms Goh Min Hui,and Ms Joycelyn Tan Wei Ling gave a presentation on their impression of Guangxi from observations and experiences gathered during the short visit to the Autonomous Region located in South Central China bordering Vietnam.
Asked how she felt about the exchange programme, Ms Joycelyn Tan Wei Ling, one of the students, said it was “an eye-opening one” for her, especially the visit to the kindergarten. “It was enriching to meet many other students from other countries and learning from them,” she added.
Another student, Ms Swathi Jagadesh, said the camp was “very rewarding” as she had gained a lot from the experience, especially the sharing sessions and the exclusive visit to the Guangxi University kindergarten centre.
Guangxi University was founded in 1928 and is among the first 66 universities in the country to be certified by the China Ministry of Education to recruit international students.
It has 27 colleges offering undergraduate, master and doctoral programmes in 11 disciplines, including education, philosophy, business, law, literature, science, medicine, management and art.