Forward thinking students from all over the world are enrolling for Donghua University’s undergraduate degrees. Time Out talks to three of them about what draws them far away from home for Donghua University.

In Shanghai, numerous business masters programmes compete for international students, but Donghua University offers something they don’t – the chance to be one step ahead. Donghua is the only state university in Shanghai with bachelor’s programmes taught in English, offering undergraduates the chance to learn about business, Chinese culture and language when they are barely into their twenties. Donghua University have partnered with Raffles College of Design and Commerce (RCDC) in Sydney part of the Raffles Education group based in Singapore to create their innovative programmes.

Donghua, one of the top universities in Shanghai, offers two English-taught undergraduate programmes for international students: management in business administration and economics in international trade taught by an international faculty. As well as the core courses and electives for each degree stream, all students take Chinese and English language courses and have the option of learning Japanese, Korean or French. Other Chinese-related courses teach Chinese business culture, martial arts, calligraphy and the business application of the Art of the War, a book of military theory written in China in the sixth century BC.

Rene Levermann, 21, from Germany is studying business administration and wants to work in trading between Germany and China. ‘I wanted to do something totally different from my friends at school,’ he says. ‘They were all going to America to learn English or to Spain to learn Spanish, but I wanted to do something different so I came here. And of course to China is the place to be for business in the future.’ But was he nervous about moving to the other side of the world for his four-year university career? ‘I have to say at the beginning I was worried about how I’d fit in but now it’s great to be able to say that my friends are from all over the world,’ he says with a smile.

One of his friends is Cynthia Marcela, 18, from Indonesia, who is studying international trading. She knew from a young age that studying in China was for her. ‘When I was in junior high school I decided to study in China because I wanted to learn the language and culture, and I want to learn about the business market here. After my degree I want to set up my own business in China.’ It is this sense of ambition that bonds the students and their international backgrounds ensure that they benefit from learning from each other as well as the teachers. In the third year of the four year course students have the option of studying abroad in Australia or Singapore, allowing another opportunity for international learning.

As well as learning Chinese, the English-taught degree offers non-native English speaking students the chance to become fluent. Twenty-year-old Swiss Nicolas De Toledo, who is studying International Business, says: ‘I can improve my English at the same time as learning Chinese. Learning both Chinese and English will help my career in the future.’