“I first did an Associate Degree in Applied Social Studies with Urban Studies in Community College at City University Hong Kong. This led me to do the top up course, Applied Social Science at SCOPE, which is in partnership with Sheffield Hallam. Due to my outstanding academic performance I was able to obtain a scholarship to study a semester doing postgraduate credits at Sheffield Hallam.

My first impressions of Sheffield Hallam were that it is modern, especially the library, very much like SCOPE. I particularly like the classes in terms of the mix of international students and small class sizes which encourage communication and group discussions, and lecturers get to know you more which is very different to SCOPE.

The modules that I studied had field trips which encouraged me to explore British culture, and faculty support has been great too.

I have found the support that the International Experience Team provide has been great and the programme of SHU GoGlobal activities has given me experiences of British culture, especially in the events, activities and particularly trips they have provided. I have enjoyed being a Culture Connect mentee during my time here and being matched to a local student as a mentor has helped me a lot in adjusting to local culture.  At SCOPE, I mentored incoming US students in a group mentoring scheme where two local (Hong Kong) students would mentor three US students. I would show them around key landmarks around Hong Kong and talk about the local culture.

I have been fortunate to attend my graduation at Sheffield Hallam, it will be an experience that I will never forget. I was shocked to hear a live violin orchestra performing at the ceremony! I felt that the event was steeped in tradition which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thanks to my academic achievements at SCOPE and SHU, I have been able to pursue a Master of Urban Planning at the University of Sydney in early 2017.

I would say that my semester at Sheffield has given me unforgettable life experiences for my future studies.”