International students create a bridge between cultures at the Beijing Institute of Technology
Beijing Institute of Technology’s international focus drives innovation and impact in research and education
Beijing Institute of Technology
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Young people with cross-cultural backgrounds are bridges of communication and understanding between countries and communities, according to Ahmed Samir Lotfy Khamis, an undergraduate student at the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT). “We are not just the seekers of answers,” he says. “We are part of the answer.”
Khamis, originally from Egypt, is one of more than 4,000 international students from 150 countries studying at BIT. The public university is renowned for its excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and research. This is what drew Khamis to BIT. “A Chinese friend of my mother once told me: ‘If you love computers, the Beijing Institute of Technology is the perfect place for you’,” he remembers. “That sentence strengthened my determination to apply.”
Khamis is a third-year student in the School of Computer Science and Technology. Since arriving at BIT, he has participated in many extracurricular activities. For the last two years, he has volunteered at the Zhongguancun Forum, an international science and technology forum.
Khamis says that his involvement in the forum has profoundly altered his outlook in three ways. First, it transformed him from a guest to a host. “At the beginning, I simply followed procedures and answered questions passively,” he says. “But as I watched guests from China and around the world come and go, I kept hearing questions in different languages – Chinese, English, French and Arabic. Suddenly, I realised I was the bridge connecting them all.” He says Beijing was a place where he, as a speaker of multiple languages with experience in a variety of cultures, could make an impact.
Second, his participation in the forum changed his mind set about the future of technology and how it could assist different communities. “When I saw AI-powered smart agriculture products developed by young people in China, I thought of Egypt’s agricultural needs,” he says. “Technology, in my eyes, was no longer just something novel. It became a source of hope for solving shared challenges faced by humanity.”
The third insight is that individuals with diverse backgrounds have an important role to play in society. “At the forum, guests from different countries discussed how technology could benefit more people,” he says. “Suddenly, I realised that young people like me, with cross-cultural backgrounds, are themselves bridges for communication and understanding.”
Khamis believes that BIT’s international platform “has allowed me to grow through cross-cultural exchange and has given me the confidence and strength to pursue my dreams”. “Its open and inclusive educational philosophy has encouraged me, as an international student, to continually challenge myself, broaden my horizons, and shoulder the responsibilities of youth,” he says.
After graduation, he hopes to stay in Beijing for postgraduate studies, focusing on AI and robotics.