Summer School in China Takes Five from Bournemouth

25 July 2007

BU's Lewis Mullen, Chris Bayliss and Lewis Boughtwood

This year’s summer break will take on a distinctly Far Eastern focus for five BU students who will travel to China for a unique summer school experience.

Just 200 government-funded places were available for the three-week trip to Beijing Normal University, where the students will learn about Chinese culture and participate in language lessons.

The five from Bournemouth are Chris Bayliss (Business Studies); Lewis Boughtwood (Electronics); Sam Evans (TV Production); Daniel Jones (Law and Tax) and Lewis Mullen (Product Design).

We’re actively involved in China, with a number of projects progressing in the country via the Media School and Business School.

There are over 200 Chinese students currently studying at BU and the area has one of the most active Chinese Students and Scholars Associations in the country.

The students from Bournemouth going to China will have opportunities to discover traditional Chinese culture with an opportunity to take in the Beijing Opera. Other Chinese arts, including acrobatics, calligraphy and Tai Chi, are also built into the programme.

Participants will visit local companies and in some cases, job shadow and attend talks by Chinese and British entrepreneurs to gain an insight into the business world. There will also be opportunities to think about how they may wish to engage with China in the future.

Lewis Mullen, originally from Billericay in Essex, is particularly interested in the cultural and economic aspects of the trip. “The history of China and the fact that it’s growing so quickly is fascinating, and the opportunity to learn some Chinese over the three weeks is a huge bonus.”

Chris Bayless, from Fleet in Hampshire, sees this as a once in a lifetime opportunity and plans to travel around China beyond his participation in the summer school. “I’ve always wanted to go and explore the country,” says Chris. “It’s amazing that China is at a turning point and this could be our last chance to see some of its more traditional aspects before things change entirely.”

Apart from expressing a love of Chinese food, Lewis Boughtwood, from Salisbury in Wiltshire, is interested in making connections in China, which he feels could be good for his long-term career prospects.