Another year and another class of graduating students will say goodbye to their alma mater and start a new journey. The four years spent at UIC is some of the best years of their life. How many stories and sceneries have been treasured along the way? How much hard work has paid off? The following is the story of Year 4 Media Arts and Design student Li Jiazhi and Government and International Relations student Li Jiahui.
Born together, growing up together and studying together at UIC, the identical twin sisters Li Jiazhi and Li Jiahui, who have been in the same schools for 19 years, have received the admission letters from master’s programmes of famous universities such as University College London. However, they are going to “split up” for this part of the journey.
After graduation, the older twin Li Jiazhi will study a MA in Art and Design in Education at the Institute of Education of University College London, while the younger sister Li Jiahui is planning to study a Master of Public Policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
The sisters with similar looks but different personalities found their development at UIC.
Li Jiazhi (right), Li Jiahui (left) and President of UIC Prof Tang Tao
Developing different characters
Li Jiazhi and Li Jiahui attended Guangzhou Middle School (formerly Guangzhou No. 47 Middle School), and they both had a special liking for UIC when choosing universities, but because the sisters had different personalities and interests, they chose Media Arts and Design Programme (MAD) and Government and International Relations Programme (GIR) respectively.
Li Jiahui explained that UIC is an inclusive university with a wide range of programmes to choose from, rich general education as well as Whole Person Education courses, which allowed the Li twins to dig deeper into different interests.
During the four years at UIC, the two sisters became peer mentors, received scholarships, and grew together. In the eyes of Li Jiazhi, her sister Li Jiahui became more daring and attentive, and has developed stronger social skills; in the eyes of Li Jiahui, her older sister is more self-disciplined and determined.
Li Jiazhi (right) and Li Jiahui (left) both received scholarships
Li Jiazhi explained that every course of UIC consists of different tasks. She liked to use the Planner issued by the College every academic year to keep track of her deadlines for various projects, and then proceed in an orderly manner. She mentioned how there were occasional delays during her four years but she hardly stayed up late to do homework.
Through strict implementation of the daily plan, Li Jiazhi successfully passed the IELTS test during the holiday and achieved a total score of 7 and an 8.5 in reading. She also used a planner to do fitness plan, insisted on controlling diet and exercising, and successfully lost nearly 10 kilograms in four years during her time at the College.
Li Jiazhi (left) and Li Jiahui (right)
Li Jiahui went into detail to explain how she is not as self-disciplined as her sister, but she could continue to try various practical activities at UIC. She has become more confident and courageous, and she is also full of momentum to push forward with what I want to try.
For four years, Li Jiahui was passionate about participating in activities and competitions organised by interest clubs and the College. When clubs were recruiting new students in their freshman year, Li Jiahui did not get accepted by the clubs she liked, but she quickly cheered herself up. When she was a sophomore, she participated in the interview and training of the resident student tutor and was finally admitted. In her senior year, Li Jiahui applied to become a peer mentor, led the freshmen to visit the ancient buildings in Tangjiawan, and learned a lot about the restoration and attribution of ancient buildings as well as the renovation policies. Later on, her supervisor wrote this experience in the recommendation letter of Li Jiahui’s further study application and mentioned that it is quite relevant to the filed that Li Jiahui studies.
After Jiahui was admitted by the master programme in Urban Development Planning by the University of London College, she learned that the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has a master’s programme in public policy. As she has always been interested in this major, she applied immediately and received the offer. Jiahui explained that the spirit of ‘going forward’ is also what she obtained at UIC.
Lit by the classroom
In the four years of study, Li Jiahui likes the most the classes of Dr Edoardo Monaco, the Programme Director of GIR. Once, the teacher talked about the concept of supply chains in international trade and introduced the Rana Plaza Collapse in Bangladesh, 2013. This incident made Li Jiahui think, and she used this as the research topic of her Final Year Project (FYP). Li Jiahui said that learning at UIC has broadened her horizons, allowing her to know more about international affairs around the world, and the survival conditions, economic and social status of different races and groups.
On the other hand, one of the courses that Li Jiazhi was most impressed by was the free elective course about urban environmental art and museum design management. In the course, Li Jiazhi and her classmates planned a virtual interactive campus museum called "IMuseum". The creativity and artistry of this project were well received by teachers and students. Li Jiazhi was inspired by this project and chose to study more about museums in her FYP. Through case studies and interviews, she compared the Shanghai Museum and the Guangdong Museum by their exhibitions, projects, resources, measures and cooperation.
"IMuseum" virtual interactive campus museum
Many interesting things happening here at UIC have left the sisters with laughter. For example, some classmates often get them mixed up, and even the Learning Resource Centre’s face recognition system mistook them with each other.
During the four years at UIC, the sisters have acquired professional knowledge, developed their hobbies, and found their way forward. Although the sisters are about to be separated when pursuing their dreams in the future, they will continue to carry the good memories that UIC has given them, encourage each other and grow together.
From MPRO
Reporter: Covee Wang
Editors: Samuel Burgess, Deen He
