Student wins Dean’s bursary award to study in China

Melania Manti takes in culture and student life in China as part of study programme prize

Date: 12/06/2015

Dean’s bursary award winner Melania Manti spent three weeks in China studying Chinese Foreign Politics in Shanghai.

After gaining her award for being a committed and active student Melania left London behind to become a student at the East China Normal University. Staying on campus she was able to take in the full student experience and even took part in a Pinyin language class, which is the official phonetic system in China for transcribing the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese characters into the latin alphabet.

Melania said "This has undoubtedly opened my eyes to a new world! I cannot be thankful enough for the opportunity that I have been given. This three weeks programme has been incredibly academically and culturally stimulating and it has provided a unique insight into China culture, which could have been a challenge to imagine had I travelled here on my own.”

When asked if she would recommend this programme, the BA Law with International Relations student said “The programme is firstly an amazing experience of academic exchange, as most of the time is spent within the Chinese university's campus, with other Chinese students: the Chinese classes, together with the academic module classes, constitute an different experience of learning from what we are used to here in the UK. In this sense, it allows students, even if just for a short time, to develop their academic knowledge.”

For more on Melania’s trip take a look at her Blog.

Melania in China