Tell us a little bit about your background...
I’m from China and I’m a graduate student from Shandong Normal University.
What made you choose to study Law at Strathclyde?
I majored in Law in China. There are significant differences between China and Britain. Britain is a typical representative of countries in the common law system. It has many good legal systems. On the one hand, I’d like to learn about it. On the other hand, I hope to be an overseas lawyer. Knowing more about foreign law can help my career in the future.
Tell us a little bit about how your scholarship supported your studies...
I achieved the Dean’s International Excellance Award for Humanities and Social Sciences.
What made you want to progress to postgraduate study?
In modern society, if someone wants to get a decent job, it is better to have a good background in education to provide as much knowledge as possible. As I know, many companies prefer to employ someone who has a Masters rather than a Bachelors. And there is also a saying that ’Knowledge is infinite’, I still have a lot that I don’t know. So I want to progress to postgraduate study.
What specialist knowledge or professional skills did you develop on the programme?
The first thing is to improve my language skills. It’s a common thing for international students, especially those who are from non-native English speaking countries interested in. The second is self-study ability. Most of the courses is in the form of seminar. Everyone needs to read the materials and fully prepare before it so that we can join the discussion with the tutor and other classmates. Some topics of the seminar are totally strange to me. So it really develops my self-study ability. The last but not the least is critical thinking. In my previous study, it's mostly the tutor that taught me theory and I never think deeply of it. But on the programme, the tutor encourages us to form a different opinion. It’s beginning to shape critical thinking skill.
What would be your advice for people considering taking this course?
For those students with a non-legal background, it would be better to take the LLM programme, because you can select the course from the whole Law school set up. With this course you can choose courses in each area of your interest. Through this you may find your favorite and then be able to take further study in your future career.
What are you doing now?
Today is the last day of semester, but there are still some unfinished tasks to complete.
What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?
The first time I prepared for a group presentation. It was a cloudy day and I made an appointment with my foreign classmates. I was really nervous because I didn’t speak English fluently. They talked very fast so I couldn’t really keep up with them. But fortunately they were kind. They patiently explained the topic we were taking.
What are your ambitions for the future?
There are limited options in law, including being a judge, a prosecutor or a lawyer. I’d rather be a lawyer.
Any final points or words of wisdom?
Don’t be afraid to give your opinion in class.
