OQEANOUS Plus ProgramOversea Quality-assured Education in Asian Nations
for Ocean University Students Plus

STP Report (SHOU Jul - Aug 2024)

2025.03.06

Course of Marine Resources and Environment, Graduate School of TUMSAT
1st year of Master's Program
I.H.

I have been interested in studying abroad since I entered this university. When I was an undergraduate, I had planned to stay in Taiwan on a university programme, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and my desire to study abroad remained unfulfilled. I had been interested in OQEANOUS Plus for some time and decided to participate in the STP because it was easy to take on a challenge in such a short period of time, and I wanted to take revenge!

This programme consisted of two parts: online lectures and a field trip to China.

The online lectures were omnibus of classes given by various university professors. Many of the topics were completely different from my own research topics, which was very interesting as it broadened my perspective and allowed me to find related points.

The highlight of this programme was a nine-day field trip in China, where we had face-to-face lectures, tours of facilities and cultural exchanges at Shanghai Ocean University. The most impressive part of the trip was the exchange with students from different countries, including many students from universities in Korea, Thailand and Malaysia, as well as China. It was very stimulating to interact with them, who were full of knowledge and motivation.

I learnt a lot through the STP. In particular, I learnt that being good or bad at a foreign language is not very important when communicating in a foreign language. In fact, I myself am not a good English speaker. But I have realised that it is much more important to have a love of speaking, the enthusiasm to convey something, and the courage to talk to people from different backgrounds. The Chinese students were also very good to me, and I could feel their enthusiasm for Chinese oceanography and further development as I spent time with them. It was a long, short and very meaningful nine days, without any overstatement.