My life in China: a tale of unforgettable experiences 1
Living my dreams in China 14
My journey to delightful life and hands-on learning in China 22
Working Experience in China 31
My journey to achieving my goals: Study in China 39
From Africa to Asia: My China’s life experience 50
My experience in Quzhou County at Quzhou Experimental Station 56
The first appearance on Chinese soil—a dream turned into reality 66
My life in China, practical experience at Quzhou 81
Into the unknown: My China Experience 86
My most memorable experience 97
My life history in China 101
Filling the Void! My China Experience 104
Learning Expedition: My Experiences in an Agrarian-Rural Community in China 114
My most wonderful discoveries in China 118
Between the lines of a Mozambican student looking for solutions to Hunger 126
Exquisite tale of my life in China 135
The ultimate Chinese experience—agriculture, language and friendship 143
The summary of my history at China Agricultural University and Quzhou Experimental Station 153
My story in China and Quzhou Experimental Station 158
My unforgettable life in Beijing, China 164
Dream hunter: My successful agricultural experiences in China 167
Preface
Having postgraduate students live at the front line of production and living with villagers in a small courtyard in the village is not simply a short experience of life—they spend most of their three years as postgraduate students here to learn, exercise and grow. While giving lectures, solving production problems and providing services to local farmers, they also completed their research tasks and graduation thesis, and cultivated their spirit of hardship and hard work, as well as their ability to find practical problems, analyze them and solve them. This is the work model of STB pioneered by the team of academician Zhang Fusuo from the College of Resources and Environment of China Agricultural University in 2009 in China. It is a grass roots science and technology service platform established at the front line of rural production, integrating science and technology innovation, talent cultivation and demonstration and promotion, with postgraduates and professors in close contact with the front line of agricultural products all year round, solving the problems of disconnection between agricultural research and production application, poor integration between agricultural talent cultivation and agricultural production, and poor transformation of agricultural technology, and carrying out practical technological innovation at the front line of production.
Now we will further enrich the cultivation model of the STB and extend the talent cultivation model integrating agricultural science and technology innovation, social service and talent cultivation to the cultivation of international and innovative overseas talents. We will use the multidisciplinary teaching and research platform to promote the construction of the mechanism of agricultural talent cultivation, technology demonstration, product production and promotion in African countries. By transplanting the training model of STB into the talent training system of African universities, the students will understand the needs of agricultural production in Africa, adapt to the front-line work of agricultural production in Africa, apply Chinese advanced agricultural technology in Africa and make innovations cultivate high-quality talents who know China, befriend China, love China and are pro-China, serve the agriculture, rural areas and farmers in Africa on a large scale, improve the conditions and level of people’s livelihood, and promote local economic development in Africa.
The book uses international students as narrators to tell their stories in China to people around them and the world who are interested in the “Sino-Africa Science and Technology Backyard”, showing the most realistic pictures and their most sincere feelings. The book also serves as a medium for more people to get to know the model and the “Sino-Africa Science and Technology Backyard”.
This book is written by 22 graduate students from eight African countries (Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, Senegal, and Burkina Faso) in the Sino-Africa STB Project, and edited by Guo Yu and Jiang Shan, student assistants of the Sino-Africa STB Project. This is a book about the experiences and insights of the international students studying in China. It is also written as a case report of international students’ practice in China for Sino-Africa STB Project, which can leave a precious memory for everyone.
This book took a long time from the call for papers to the publication, and was revised and improved many times. It has also received many valuable suggestions from teachers.
Therefore, we would like to express our special thanks to academician Zhang Fusuo, Professor Jiang Rongfeng, Associate Professor Jiao Xiaoqiang, and teachers of the Department of Plant Nutrition. They have given valuable advice in many aspects and spent a lot of their time, both during work and in their spare time, to ensure the smooth and high-quality completion of this book for publication.
Editors