Travelling to China during my studies at Lancaster University

By Lyea Rivers, July 2024

Lyea standing in front of the pond at Lancaster University College at Beijing Jiaotong University.

I applied for the role of Project Leader as part of the Young Professionals Global Pathway Project at Lancaster University. The role involved working with other students in the Lancaster UK, Ghana and China campuses who were also recruited as Project Leaders. Together we researched sustainability topics including clean water for health, food wastage, support for disabled students, sustainability on campus, etc. We presented our research in the Undergraduate Research Conference and had the opportunity to travel to China to work in-person as a team to present our research and write our journal articles. We also enjoyed team building and learning a new culture. In addition to exploring the Weihai campus, we got to go to the Great Wall, Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, the city, the beach, the food street, restaurants, etc. to learn about China while we were there! In this blog I will share what we did in China during our week together.

How I got the job

I applied for the job through Lancaster University's Employment and Recruitment Service. This website has many student job opportunities. Before applying for the role, I met with my success coach on the Lancaster Success program. Through this program and my coach, I have been able to receive coaching and work towards developing the skills and experience that I want for my future career. I also met with the Grow Your Future team and the Career Services team who helped with career and application advice that was also beneficial to me getting the role.

How to build your skills as a student at Lancaster University

Lancaster University has many opportunities to develop employability skills through students’ access to

  • LinkedIn Learning, for numerous courses including project management, technology, SEO and marketing.
  • The Learning & Development team for support with maths and writing skills.
  • The Careers Portal for courses on business, finance, change management, health and safety, customer service, data protection etc.
  • Career workshops

And so many other learning and development opportunities!

First Day

On the first day, we all travelled from either the UK campus or Ghana campus to Beijing. A few of us travelled together and we met up in the airport and in the hotel. I really enjoyed meeting in-person with everyone as we worked together for a few months via teams, WeChat, emails, online meetings, etc. It was a great start to our trip together!

Lyea stood smiling in the hotel reception.

Second Day

On the second day, we all travelled together from Beijing to Weihai. Once in Weihai, we enjoyed attending the graduation ceremony and seeing so many families and students together celebrating!

Lyea holding flowers after attending a graduation ceremony.

After lunch together, we joined to work together on our report and presentation. Our report included our literature reviews, data collection and analysis, results, discussion, etc. Our presentation was similar to our report and included recommendations for the project and future reject leaders in the future.

Later in the day, we enjoyed a walk to the food street and enjoyed really delicious food together! It was so lovely to get to know each other better, share food and get to know a new culture! We tried so many new meals and my favourite was the skewers!

Third Day

After we worked on our report and presentation for the day, we enjoyed a walk along the beach, and saw sandcastles, locals and tourists, and other beautiful sites along the path.

Lyea standing next to a sandcastle design.

Student Lyea with buildings and sunset in the background.

After sightseeing on the beach walk, we enjoyed a really nice meal together at another restaurant on the food street! The different spices, sauces, etc in Chinese meals made trying new meals so exciting and memorable!

Fourth Day

We worked on creating our vlogs to share with others what we’ve gained from the project leader role and the trip to China including career development, learning new culture, making new friends, etc. We all were so grateful for the opportunity! We also presented our presentation on our research before enjoying a final meal while in Weihai as we returned to Beijing the following day.

Fifth Day

We travelled back to Beijing from Weihai and our adventure for the day was the Great Wall! We traveled by bus and to get up the Great Wall, we had a lovely cable car ride with the most beautiful views! We enjoyed ice cream at the top of the Great Wall together and exploring some of the Great Wall together.

Student Lyea at the Great Wall of China

Student Lyea at the Great Wall of China

A duck meal.

Sixth Day

During our final day together, we enjoyed breakfast together before going to the Summer Palace! It was so huge that we only got through seeing parts of the Summer Palace, but these memories will last forever!

Lyea standing next to a tree in Summer Palace.

Lyea standing in front of the Tiananmen-square in Beijing.

Lyea standing outside a building in Beijing.

Seventh Day

In the early morning, on our seventh day, we travelled back to the UK and Ghana from Beijing with lifelong memories and friendships made over the past week.