Through the Joint Education Programme partnership between EIT and Zhejiang Yuexiu University (ZYU), six lecturers from ZYU have spent five weeks at EIT’s Hawke’s Bay campus learning first-hand about teaching practices they can take back to their students in China.
The visit was the first to New Zealand for all six lecturers and builds on ongoing exchanges between the two institutions, including a five-week visit by ZYU staff to EIT in 2024. EIT lecturers also regularly travel to China to teach at ZYU, with the two institutions maintaining regular contact throughout the year.
Lecturers from ZYU have spent five weeks at EIT’s Hawke’s Bay campus.
The group included Senior Lecturers in Computing Dr Bita Farhadi, Dr Muhammad Abbas and Dr Salah Uddin; Head of Digital Media Arts Dr Minxuan Yang (Elisa); and Computing/Digital Media Arts Lecturers Yezheng Sheng (Jack) and Zixuan Feng (Fiona).
They were accompanied by Professor Lily Wu, Party Committee Secretary, DSCC and Dr Kaylie Tan, EIT Deputy Dean of the Data Science and Communication College.
During their time at EIT, the lecturers took part in classroom observations, curriculum discussions, professional development and research activities, with a focus on academic quality, teaching and learning, research collaboration and professional development.
Dr Salah Uddin said “We visited different classes and observed their teaching style and their course material. Overall, the whole tour is very beneficial for us.”
Dr Muhammad Abbas said the programme had also given the group a greater understanding of EIT’s academic systems, with seminars covering areas including assessment preparation, examinations and moderation.
The ZYU lecturers were also given the opportunity to present their own research and meet EIT researchers to explore potential future collaborations.
“We found that some researchers had a similar research direction to ours, so we can continue to collaborate,” said Dr Bita Farhadi.
Another aspect that stood out to the lecturers was EIT’s emphasis on practical, hands-on learning.
Muhammad said the group had observed students applying their learning across different areas.
“We observed that for many fields they have practical implementation. The students are actually doing things themselves,” he said.
Bita said this was something the lecturers hoped to take back into their own teaching.
“We shared a lot of experiences. We changed our teaching methods. We joined more hands-on projects for the students, and I’m sure it’s very good for the students.”
For ZYU’s Digital Media Arts lecturers, the visit also provided an opportunity to work closely with EIT staff as Fashion and Screen Production are introduced at ZYU.
Yezheng Sheng (Jack) said the team had held discussions about areas including curriculum development, learning spaces and equipment.
He said EIT staff had been willing to make themselves available for discussions, including meetings outside the scheduled programme.
The academic programme was complemented by opportunities to experience Hawke’s Bay, with the group visiting locations including Te Mata Peak.
Professor Lily Wu said communication between ZYU and EIT was strong and hoped opportunities for students to experience each other’s countries could develop further.
John West, Executive Dean, Commerce and Technology, said: “EIT was once again delighted to host academic staff from ZYU to our Hawke’s Bay Campus in Taradale and our Auckland Campus”.
“Underpinning our relationship is the opportunity for ZYU staff to come to EIT and experience the New Zealand model of tertiary education.
“EIT was delighted to be able to host ZYU colleagues to a variety of activities which has seen them develop an appreciation of Māori culture and New Zealand approaches to teaching and learning.”