Queen Mary School 2024 Freshmen British Orientation was Successfully Held!

In the lecture hall of the First Teaching Building, Queen Mary School hosted a unique British orientation session for the freshmen, on the afternoon of September 18, 2024. This event, which followed the Chinese orientation session, demonstrated how highly the school is regarded and how carefully it has planned to assist our new students in becoming accustomed to the Joint Programme model. Prof. Luo Zhijun, the Dean of Queen Mary School, Prof. Mark Maconochie, the Co-director of the Joint Programme, instructors from both the Chinese and British sides, and all new students were present at the event.

The meeting commenced in a warm and enthusiastic atmosphere. Professor Mark Maconochie delivered a passionate welcome address to the students. He said, “At Queen Mary, every new student is a great asset to the school. We understand that the transition from Chinese to British education is a significant challenge to every student. Therefore, we specially arranged this orientation meeting to allow everyone to integrate more quickly and enjoy this unique learning journey."

Subsequently, Professor Mark Maconochie introduced the geographical location, architecture, and academic strength of Queen Mary University of London. He then detailed the Joint Programme's material from aspects such as training programs, teaching arrangements, teacher-student interactions, to disciplinary requirements and overall precautions. He hoped that students would possess a solid theoretical foundation, excellent medical skills, and noble moral character, while also cultivating critical and independent thinking, discovering useful problem-solving techniques, and finding relevant answers during the course of their studies. The address of Professor Mark Maconochie's was lively, humorous, passionate, and coherent. The students actively participated in the interaction and the response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic.

Ms. Edyta Kozlowska subsequently provided a hands-on demonstration detailing the use of QMplus, Queen Mary University of London's premier learning platform. She provided comprehensive and practical guidance for new students, from login to registration to email management, to downloading course materials and accessing course replays. Teacher Edyta explained the various problems that students might encounter during the operation to ensure that each student was proficient in this critical learning tool.

The discussion closed with Professor Mark Maconochie's brief summation, followed by ardent applause from the students. Ms. Edyta Kozlowska answered all the questions from students following the meeting, which contributed to an even more friendly and cooperative environment.

      In addition to giving the freshmen of 2024 a deeper comprehension of Queen Mary School and the Joint Programme, this event also addressed several concerns pertaining to their everyday lives and ensuing academic careers. The hope for this event is that it would assist the students’ adjustment to the British teaching paradigm more efficiently, enable the students to tackle future potential issues with greater aptitude, and to achieve remarkable outcomes under the collaborative leadership of both Chinese and British educators. From what we witnessed on that fine Wednesday afternoon, that hope would seem to have been fulfilled!