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Ability is the key
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Li Dan
"WE educate our students so that they can do things well, rather than memorize mere textbooks and theories," Ms Xu Xiaozhen, dean of the Applied Foreign Languages Department of Shenzhen Polytechnic, told me from behind her desk.
Ever since it began to recruit students in 1994, the department has always aimed to turn out graduates who can walk directly from classrooms into offices and perform their jobs efficiently.
Never top students back in their high schools, freshmen upon their entrance into Polytechnic are taught to make the best of their three years in the college to become useful members of society.
Students here are eager to prove themselves. Many have acquired a Cambridge Business English Certificate, National Computer Skill Certificate, Tour Guide's Certificate, or driver's licence. Each year, some 30 graduates aim higher and go to the UK to pursue a Bachelor's and then a Master's degree.
In devising its curriculum, the department allows ample time for students to work in their chosen trade. Four hours per week are allocated for practising their commercial skills and each semester students can work for a continuous period in their training base in the Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Development Company and several other HK-based transport companies.
To orient the training programmes better to the needs of society, an expert committee staffed by CEOs and directors of local as well as international corporations gathers each semester to propose reforms in the teaching content and methods.
With obvious pride, Xu praised the members of her teaching staff as "experts in many fields and Jacks of all trades". Two-thirds of the teachers have academic backgrounds in both English and trade or finance, according to Xu. Pan Xiaojian, a young teacher back from the US, lectures accounting in English; Li Yanyu, with a Master's degree in international trade, explains e-commerce.
Unlike other universities, teachers here stay regularly in their offices when there are no courses to be given. "They are busy working via the computer network to explore new ideas in teaching," Xu said. "The practice also facilitates exchanges between teachers and students, as teachers are available when students need them."
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