The journey of the International Communication major student, Zeyang Wang

Zeyang Wang, a third year student majoring in International Communications, has won the Li Yip Yio Chin Scholarship for 3 consecutive years. He is also the recipient of Tu Hai Ming Scholarship, Provost Scholarship, and Zhejiang Provincial Government Scholarship, etc.

Wang Zeyang is particularly fond of traditional Chinese culture, and developed his keen interest in classical poetry in junior high school. By reading classic poems and literary works, he gained an in-depth understanding of the cultural and emotional expression of ancient literati, and his poetry appreciate gradually evolved. He has also tried his hand at writing poetry to express his thoughts and emotions. Zeyang has participated in various student organisations and societies, including planning and organising traditional festivals through the UNNC Mandarin Corner, climbing with international teachers and students during the Chongyang Festival, and supporting the UNNC International Chinese Competition. He also volunteered at the Nottingham Confucius Institute (Ningbo), assisting international students to learn Chinese and improve their Chinese reading and pronunciation skills.

Working in the UNNC News Agency during his first year gave him the opportunity to experience the recording process of radio dramas. He has participated in the design and writing of the "Don't Say Good Night" radio script, as well as recording and audio editing. During the 2021 summer holidays, Zeyang also went to Hunan Radio and Television Station for an internship, and participated in the preparation of 2020-2021 Pioneer Commendation Conference and supported its onsite implementation. He studied with the producer during the video filming, assisted in the editing, and supported the production of scene notes and scripts.

"I cherish these valuable experiences of practice and exploration in the media field, which supplements my academic studies. When learning professional skills, I often reflect on the application of my theoretical knowledge in the real world. For example, when learning about 'memory studies', I also combined my internship experience at Hunan TV station to have a deeper understanding of these theoretical concepts. During the planning process of the pioneer commendation conference at that time, the TV station invited the pioneer CPC members to talk about their work and life experiences, which reflected how the generation of these CPC members served the masses and realised their social values. After being narrated, recorded and broadcast, this personal memory has become collective memory, known and witnessed by more people”, Zeyang shared. In the process of learning the theoretical knowledge of international communication, Zeyang often reflects, and combines theory with practical experience.

During his second-year summer holidays, Zeyang had a full schedule. He attended the EU Sustainable Development Journalism Summer School organised by the School of International Communications. He learned about the sustainable development goals of the United Nations and the European Union, as well as China's grand blueprint. During this period, he also learned multimedia journalism from the perspective of sustainable development, and co-authored a group report presentation on the theme of "Environmental Protection and Fashion in Parallel", which won high praise from teachers. In addition, he also participated in the Mobile Research Summer School organised by the School of International Communications, where he explored the development context of China Mobile Research and the international strategy of multimedia development under the guidance UNNC academics. As well as this, Zeyang also has several ongoing internships on different platforms to enrich his social practice experience. He serves as a "Content experience officer" on the 36Kr news information platform, sharing his views and opinions.

Zeyang worked as a research assistant in the School of International Communications, assisting his supervising academic in investigating how social media is used by members in sexuality diversity community in contemporary China, performing relevant fieldwork, writing literature reviews and theoretical frameworks, and co-authoring a paper with his teacher. He also went to the Shaanxi Academy of Social Sciences for an internship. He participated in academic conferences and made conference minutes, supplemented relevant research materials, assisted supervisors in sorting out literature, writes literature reviews in related fields, and assisted in the translation of papers. Here, he gained a close-up and deeper understanding of the work, study and research of professionals in the academic field.

When talking about the future, Zeyang said, "I like my degree programme very much. Through my studies, I have come to believe that international communications is more about studying the sociological theory of communications. I have always been very interested in sociology, and I hope that I can do more in-depth study and research in this field.”

Zeyang said of being a scholarship recipient: “It is my great honour to be awarded the Li Yip Yio Chin Scholarship, which is not only a tremendous affirmation of my three years of hard work in high school, but also a strong incentive to me to keep moving on in my four years at UNNC. Meanwhile, I also very much appreciate being awarded the Tu Haiming Scholarship. This is monumental to me in my university studies as it marks that I have ultimately entered the professional field of communications studies and am capable of creating my own works. For me, receiving the scholarship not only represents the fruit of past efforts, but also demonstrates a new opportunity inspiring me to keep up the hard work and forge ahead. With this pride, I will continue to surpass myself and strive to reach new achievements in the future.”

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Published on 08 April 2023

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The journey of the International Communication major student, Zeyang Wang