Outstanding Chinese graduates honored by University of Sydney

Three outstanding Chinese graduates of the University of Sydney were honored on Saturday with the University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor's Achievement Awards for 2018.

The awards, conferred during an alumni celebration in Beijing, recognize the exceptional achievements and leadership of the university's graduates in China.

Zhu Yongsheng, dean of the School of International and Cultural Exchange at Fudan University in Shanghai, Ji Jingshu, founder of EventBank, and Long Peizhi, founder of WeLab, received the awards.

"These awards confirm the significant achievements and success stories among our large Chinese alumni community," said Michael Spence, vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Sydney.

"Our award winners demonstrate the character and values to which we are committed — engagement, diversity, innovation, and leadership that advances knowledge and improves society," Spence said.

Almost half of the international students at the University of Sydney are from China and the country is the largest source of international students, accounting for 21 percent of the total number of students, he said.

"The first nine students from China came to our university in 1979, and now we have thousands of students from China."

In the past, Chinese students came to the university because there was a much better university education in Australia, but now they come because they want to acquire international experience, improve their English and want western-style education, he said.

"The change reflects China's growing confidence as the largest and most powerful country in the Asia-Pacific region over the past 40 years," he said.