Xintong Jiang, a Mathematics and Applied Mathematics student at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), has achieved remarkable success in the 2025 graduation season. She received offers from over 10 of the world’s top universities—including Imperial College London, University of Cambridge, University College London, and Columbia University—and won first prize in the prestigious Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM).
Four years ago, Jiang chose UNNC within 20 days after an online campus tour revealed its modern facilities and student-centered culture. Looking back, she believes it was one of the best decisions she has ever made.
Her research journey began in Year 2 with her first academic presentation, where she learnt to dissect complex papers and build logical frameworks. Later, she joined professor-led research teams, participating in literature reviews, modelling, and coding. The open academic environment and faculty’s international expertise—exemplified by the course Mathematical Medicine and Biology— revealed to her how mathematics intersects with biology, economics, and environmental science.
Her problem-solving skills shone at the ICM. Collaborating with computer science and aerospace engineering peers, Jiang’s team treated contest problems as real-world challenges—a mindset shift that contributed to their global victory. “Top universities seek deep subject insight and transferable skills,” she noted. “These are exactly what UNNC has helped me develop.”
Beyond academics, sport became her anchor for balance. Jiang credited UNNC’s sport facilities for developing her resilience through Tennis, Boxing, Ultimate Frisbee, and Pilates. “Athletics taught me focus, constructive competition, and learning from setbacks.”
She values UNNC’s diverse community where “everyone defines excellence differently—through academics, leadership, or service.”
This fall, Jiang will begin her MPhil in Population Health Sciences at the University of Cambridge, ready to embrace new challenges with the adaptability instilled by her years at UNNC. “UNNC taught me not just knowledge, but how to become a well-rounded individual,” she said.