The Baosteel Education Award is funded by the state-owned enterprise Baosteel and is one of the most well-known education awards that universities participate in in China. In October 2022, in line with the Baosteel Education Award Implementation rules, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) selected two winners for the Baosteel Excellent Student Award – Qinran Li from the Nottingham University Business School China (NUBS China) and Sixuan Zhang from Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS). 

 Qinran Li studies financial accounting and management (FAM) in NUBS (China). She has outstanding achievements and strong experience through internships and business related competitions. Li believes that the NUBS (China) curriculum is very scientific, and students' understanding of theoretical knowledge is strengthened by a long way during their studies. She said: "My interest in finance started from Benjamin Graham's ‘The Intelligent Investor’, I found that the stock market is often unpredictable and deeply influenced by investor sentiment. After studying business finance, it confirmed my ideas, so I am more interested in financial knowledge. When I learned the principles of economics, I knew the internal relationship between price and demand, and then I wondered whether the stock price was also affected by the demand of investors. It seems that the trend of stock price fluctuation can be analysed by the relationship between supply and demand, but this relationship is very vague and conceptualised to me. I later learned in classes on valuation how supply and demand impacts stock price. Benjamin Graham's book was a start for me, and in FAM I strengthened my knowledge of this area of study. I had a strong curiosity about finance and was determined to develop in this field." 

To explore her interests, Li first joined a consulting company as an intern. Through search engines, consulting company reports, annual reports and other information sources, she carried out analysis of overall market size, trends and driving factors for her clients. During the second year holidays, Li had an internship at the securities department of a listed control system company, mainly responsible for the disclosure of announcements, investors and corporate consultation. Li said that she had a deeper understanding of enterprise operation through contact with equity structure, trademark law, affiliated transaction and other businesses. After accumulating further financial knowledge, Li applied for an internship in the internal audit department of an accounting firm. She participated in two audit projects, using the financial management system to find target data, and using PivotTable to check relevant data for processing. In August this year, Li Qinran came to a top domestic securities company as an industry research intern, assisting in the completion of the company cover report. She analysed the company's revenue, research and development through publicly disclosed financial information such as annual reports and prospectuses. "I think studying at UNNC and the internship experience complement each other in improving my professional skills," she says. “During the internship, I found that accounting is not only about rules, but also about subjective initiative to gain insight from data. With the increasing availability of technology, modern finance practitioners need more flexibility in the changing environments, such as having data analysis skills and being able to combine them with financial expertise."

Li believes that UNNC not only has advantages in teaching quality, but also has a strong learning atmosphere. For example, students often exchange the latest academic information. She said, "In my second year, at the suggestion of my classmate, I participated in the business case competition run by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. My team analysed the company’s situation and proposed solutions to the existing problems. I also participated in the X-Culture program, where I worked with teams of students and professionals from different countries to identify new markets and design marketing plans for a video company. It's a very complete business argument. The team members were very creative and the thought collision was very interesting.

Talking about her major, Sixuan Zhang said: "International Studies (IS) covers both China and the west, it has extensive knowledge of the past and present. IS’s teachers are excellent and come from all over the world. From diplomacy to development politics, from the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution and Age of Discovery, our teachers not only teach us theory knowledge of political science and history, but also encourage us to go out and see the world and to meet people in different countries and culture to experience the characteristics of our studies."Zhang regards the summer school as a good opportunity to broaden horizons and experience different disciplines. During the summer of her freshman year, she attended Peking University’s summer school. "It was my first experience with international law and I became extremely interested in this subject. Summer school not only allowed me to explore new fields of knowledge, but I also formed a deep friendship with the professor, whom I was able to ask many questions of during my third year when I completed an exchange to LUISS, Italy" said Zhang. In LUISS, Zhang achieved full marks in all her academic courses and went to many cities to experience different historical civilisations. She said: "At UNNC I had learned about Roman and other western classical histories, but when I really saw the Roman pantheon, the Colosseum and the Vatican's St Peter's old buildings, I could absorb more knowledge and understanding of the culture. It is not only a city, a nation, but it is the cradle of western civilisation. This process is very helpful for me to understand the evolution of ancient, modern and contemporary history. The exchange also made me become more autonomous and independent. I went to Barcelona alone, booking my flight a day in advance, to witness the lighting of the Sagrada Familia. Every time I think of this brave decision, a kind of strength comes into my heart, which encourages me when I make important decisions and try new things, in order to make the most of opportunities and not miss out."

Zhang has strong internship experience. She once assisted the leaders in the Foreign Affairs Office of Shanxi Provincial People's Government in their investigations and visits. She also served as a political science compiler and an interview reporter for a WeChat official account called ‘Political’. In June 2022, she went to Beijing to intern in the public relations and media department at the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG). She participated in the preparation of the CCG Annual Meeting and the 8th China and Globalisation Forum as well as the 2022 China International Trade in Services event. She interacted with more than 50 mainstream media outlets, organised more than 30 guest speakers, and wrote bilingual press releases. In addition, Zhang is also the Deputy Secretary of FHSS’s Second Party Branch. She actively participated in public welfare activities, demonstrating the role of party members. She once initiated a public welfare project with her classmates, and planned and successfully held Ningbo Avanti Music Festival, where all ticket income was donated to empower Xinjiang women. As the initiator of "Building an Elderly-Friendly Digital Society" project, she led the team to conduct field investigations in nursing homes and communities in Ningbo and provided smart phone volunteer services. She was also the fundraising ambassador of Guangzhou Star Charity Organization in 2020. She personally raised RMB 1,252 to send 126 high-quality children's books to children in rural areas and named a mobile book. She said: "I still remember the opening ceremony, when President Yang Fujia repeatedly mentioned "liberal arts". In my opinion, liberal arts are not only for my own all-round development to study hard and to participate in extracurricular activities, but also to help others as much as possible."