On May 9, students of the South Campus at Shenzhen Senior High School (SZSHS) took part in a career day visit to the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). Faculty members of SUSTech assisted students in conducting scientific experiments and gave them a feeling of what the daily life of a professor entails. This is also part of the professional experience courses offered by the Office of Students Affairs at SUSTech and the SZSHS.

How does the object move on the air-cushion rail? How to measure the focal length of convex and concave lenses? These were questions that were posed by students to the professors at SUSTech. Two students from the South Campus of SZSHS experienced the wit of physics experiments under the guidance of faculty staff from SUSTech. Students also observed the working environment of the faculty members by visiting different colleges, scientific research centers, and exhibitions of educational achievements on campus.

Chair Professor Jiaqing HE, Head of the Department of Physics at SUSTech, spoke with the students and noted that the faculty staff works extremely hard every day. They have many responsibilities such as undertaking scientific research, experiments, projects, issue papers, and other tasks. There also need to repeat the continuous cycle of class and lesson preparation year after year by feeding their knowledge and expertise to their students and hope their contribution to society will create a better world for tomorrow.

The College of Science at SUSTech has launched the “Two Seeds” program, in which faculty staff will serve as course lecturers. Students from elementary and middle school will be invited to visit the University or the faculty staff will go to the schools so that children can experience basic education in the field of science. It is hoped that it will cultivate the learning interest of more students and lay the foundation for training talents.

“When I entered SUSTech, I was attracted by the strong atmosphere of scientific research. I was deeply impressed by the knowledge and teachings of Academician YANG and Professor HE, and the hands-on approach of other faculty staff who taught us how to conduct experiments. I learned that practical ability and theoretical knowledge are both just as important. Only with a combination of both, can I better understand what I have learned. The trip to SUSTech made it more clear about what I wanted to do,” said Juyue YUN, a second-year junior student of SZSHS.

“As a parent, I’m very happy that the school has arranged for students to have a career experience at SUSTech. This will help the children to carefully consider and choose their future careers from an early age” said the parent of student Xinyuan LI.

Hancheng CHEN, Vice Principal of SZSHS, said that the high school has always regarded the establishment of moral education as the fundamental mission and guideline of school education. The professional experience curriculum, introduced under the guidance of the school’s education policy, aims to help students understand the basic social norms and professional ethics. It wants to promote occupations and establish awareness and respect for different professions.

This vocational experience class is part of a series of activities of the labor education month in the South Campus of SZSHS. After that, the school will also organize for students to experience other professions by visiting organizations such as China Merchants Bank, Skyworth Technology, Shenzhen Eye Hospital, and law firms. It will provide students with a platform to experience a wide range of different industries and occupations to make them more aware of the different roles within these organizations and help them to decide their future career path.