The Vrije University of Brussels (VUB) is a world-renowned university with a history of nearly 200 years. It is located in Brussels, the world-famous city known as the "Capital of the European Union". Besides, Brussels is also called “the crossroad in Europe”.Ifyou come here, you willhave moreexperience of differentcultural communication.On the afternoon of March 17th, 2022,theHonors College successfully held the "talk to seniors"experiencesharing activity, invitingTongXiaohong, the teacher of VUB, and Zhang Boya, the 2019 graduate oftheHonors College, to share their experience in VUB.

At the beginning of the activity, Mrs.Tong introducedVUB about itsgeographical location, advantageousdisciplines,andeducation system. She also emphasized that VUB hasalong history cooperating with NPU. Afterwards, she further introduced the requirements of applying for Vrije Universiteit Brussel,and thenexplainedthe procedures in detail. Mrs.Tong also welcomed the students ofNPUto study at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and showed VUB’s teaching facilities and living environment.

ZhangBoya, the 2019 graduate of Honors College, studied in VUB before. During her undergraduate study, shehadwon various scholarships for many times, and she performed very well in the international digital and analog competitions and Model United Nationsconference. In 2018, she participated in the “3+2 undergraduate and master joint program”heldjointlyby NPU and VUB, and went to VUB forhermaster's degree.Shefirstly introduced her mental journey of participating in the dual-degree program, and then focused on sharing her own growth and success gained from studying hard and overcoming hardships. After completing her studies in VUB, she worked as a research assistant at ETH Zurich for half a year, and now she is pursuing a PhD in data science and digital health at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland. She said that she has greatly improved hercompetence inindependent learning,conductingexperimentsas well as communicationowing to theexchange program, and she also gained a lot in terms of time management. In the end, ZhangBoyaconcluded with herinspiringmessage to the younger students,encouragingthe students to enrich their experience, broaden their horizons, and enhance their comprehensive abilities.

Then,WeiXiaodong, theInternationalizationSecretary oftheHonors College, briefly introduced her exchange experience at VUB. She expressed her feelingsandachievementsat VUB through some photos. Finally, Mrs.Wei introduced the college's funding policy to the students, and encouraged the students to seize the precious opportunity and striveforoverseas study andjoin theexchange programsactively.

At the end of the event, Wentao Zhang, the secretary oftheCPC Committee ofHC, summarized the sharing session. He encouraged our students to explore this diverse world,andhave a broad understanding of colorful cultures around the world. Most importantly, students should make full use of the platforms provided by schools and colleges, and try to be the international talents.

Editior: Wang Wenqin Photo: Reviewer: Liao Chang, Zhang Wentao