Beijing Institute of Technology provides students with a fully immersive cultural and social life
At Beijing Institute of Technology, the international student experience is holistic, including multicultural events as well as classroom-based study
Beijing Institute of Technology
Life at university is about more than course material and lecture theatres. It’s a chance for students to explore the wider world, meet new people and encounter unique experiences. For international students, having adequate Chinese language skills is important to ensure they can fully immerse themselves in their new home and get the most out of their time at university.
Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) offers international students the chance to enrol on its Chinese Language and Multicultural Practice Programme, which combines linguistic and cultural elements. In addition to a foundational course on the Chinese language, the programme consists of courses on domestic food, folk customs, kung fu and calligraphy.
BIT’s commitment to enriching student life beyond the classroom is also demonstrated through the Office of International Students’ BIT International Summer Programme, which lasts between two and eight weeks and allows Chinese and foreign students to study together, creating an international atmosphere for cross-national, cross-cultural, cross-school and cross-professional student exchanges.
Over the years, the Summer Programme has attracted hundreds of international students from partner institutions in the UK, Germany, France, the US, Australia, Japan, South Korea and beyond. In the summer of 2019, the programme consisted of several courses, focusing on science and technology innovation, a BIT academic credit project, and Chinese cultural experience.
The Chinese Cultural Experience programme focused on elementary Chinese language learning and traditional Chinese cultural experiences. Throughout the programme, students learned to use Chinese for simple communication, engaged with traditional cultural practices such as calligraphy, Kung Fu, painting and tea art, visited historical sites such as the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace, and also visited the World Horticultural Exposition. The Summer Programme at BIT emphasises how much students can learn at the university away from their study desks.
In addition to the BIT International Summer Programme, last year BIT held the 2024 Summer International Cultural Festival at its Zhongguancun campus. Students from more than 130 countries took part in the event, which involved singing, dancing, martial arts, folklore displays and food tasting.
International students at BIT are encouraged to take advantage of the university’s location at the heart of Beijing, one of the world’s major metropolises. Over the years, field trips have been organised to the Capital Museum, the Great Wall of China and Yuyuantan Park. Students have also taken part in events such as Beijing’s expatriate basketball tournament, the Freshman Games and the multicultural celebration and student showcase represented by the International Cultural Festival.
One of the biggest events in the country’s cultural calendar was 2019’s National Day, which marked 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. National Day also represented an opportunity for BIT’s international students to learn away from the classroom. Marching in the global unity section of the mass parade, BIT students played their part in a national celebration that was important to the country and their own education, representing a culturally immersive experience that simply couldn’t be replicated on campus.