30 new graduates from AUT-SIT Applied Chemistry programme
Newly graduated Chinese student Nova Yang, who works for a top 500 international company in Shanghai, says her Auckland University of Technology study taught her the benefits of cross-cultural communication and jump-started her career.
Nova was one of 30 Bachelor of Science students recently capped at a graduation ceremony for the joint Applied Chemistry programme run by AUT and the Shanghai Institute of Technology (SIT). She said she was unsure about the joint programme when she began her studies, because it meant she had to spend more time studying compared to other students. “I was too young and naive then. After I graduated and found a job in an international company, I realised the advantages that AUT brought to me and they are now showing in my daily life.”
Addressing the audience on behalf of the graduating students, Nova said her first challenge was establishing good relationships with senior work colleagues. She undertook a case study based on Australia and New Zealand and her team brainstormed ideas. “I have eight colleagues in my team and two of them had an overseas education and a working background in New Zealand,” she said. The cross cultural experiences they shared enabled her to breakthrough in her brand new career.
She sees the opportunity to take more classes and learn in both Chinese and English as a clear benefit of the AUT-SIT partnership. “It is an amazing chance for students to learn more during college life – they have a bilingual education, which is about cross cultural communication. I realise how forward thinking the AUT-SIT cooperative programme is.”
Globalisation has increased the demand for staff with multiple skills, and graduates from the programme are well equipped – academically and practically – for life in the global village. Nova said that after graduating, students had to work in metropolitan cities like Shanghai, but one of the advantages of the joint programme is that she feels well prepared for her career. “I am not afraid about my future in this globalised environment.”
The graduation ceremony, which was held at the Shanghai Institute of Technology, was attended by a number of AUT staff members, including Associate Professor Lindsey White, Associate Dean of International and Enterprise for the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, and AUT’s Pro Vice Chancellor International, Professor Nigel Hemmington.
Associate Professor White congratulated the graduates, who study part of their programme in English. He says the joint programme demonstrates the close co-operation and collegiality that exists between AUT and SIT.