Summer break has started, so time to relax! However, some students spend their summer a little differently. One of them is Emy Theuws, who got admitted into the Netherlands-Asia Honours Summer School (NAHSS) (https://nahss.nl/en/) and is currently residing at Peking University in Beijing.
NAHSS offers summer school programs in combination with a project for a Dutch organization. Preceding the summer school, all applicants take part in a preparation program including Chinese culture and language courses.
Emy is one of three ATLAS students who got admitted in this prestigious program. She applied for the program to experience what it is like to study and live in China. The program allows her to gain knowledge about the Chinese culture and language. Emy is taking two courses: ‘Silk Road: A History of Cultural and Material Exchanges’ and ‘Chinese Traditional Identity and its Transformation after 1949’. In addition, she visits interesting companies and organizations such as the Dutch Embassy, ING and Lenovo. Next to taking classes and visiting companies, she also works on a NAHSS project with the other Dutch students: “We are researching in what ways active mobility is integrated in the modes of transport of the people in Beijing.”
Emy lives in the dorms at Global Village, next to the university campus. A day in her life looks a bit like this: “In the morning and afternoon we have lectures on campus and in between class, we have free time to work on our project and have lunch on campus. In the evening, we usually go out for dinner as we don’t have a kitchen in the dorms. Our schedule is very busy, but on the weekends we have time to explore the city.”
“The cultural difference with living and studying in the Netherlands is large, but what surprised me the most is the work ethic of Chinese students. Even though summer break has started, the university is filled with students and everyone studies very hard!”
Of course, China is a very large country with many interesting places. The Great Wall and inner Mongolia are still on Emy’s bucket list: “I really want to go to the Chinese desert and sleep in a yurt.” In addition to the opportunity to explore these amazing places, Emy loves the fact that she gets to meet so many interesting people from different backgrounds.
After NAHSS, Emy will stay in Asia and start her semester abroad at the City University of Hong Kong.
University College Twente offers a unique bachelor’s programme, Technology, Liberal, Arts and Sciences, to top students. Visit the University College Twente website for more information about the college and Technology, Liberal, Arts and Sciences website for more information about the bachelor program. Or visit us during the open day, a student-for-a-day or an insight-day.
