On 24 October, three UIC students took part in the province-wide Union Cup Undergraduate English Essay Competition (Final Round). After competing against 179493 undergraduate students from 61 universities across the province, all of the students won prizes. In the Non-English Major category, first prize was won by Lyu Zihan and second prize by He Zicheng (both fourth-year Accounting students), and second prize was won by Ma Xiao (fourth-year English Language and Literature Studies student) in the English Major category. Their coach, Mr Philip Yeung from the English Language Center (ELC), was also presented with an Outstanding Coaching Award, giving UIC four prizes in one competition.

In addition, Qiu Xindi, a sophomore from the English Language and Literature Studies program, and Li Tao, a sophomore from the Media and Communication Studies program, were awarded second and third prize respectively in the Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press (FLTRP) National English Speaking Competition (Provincial Round), which attracted over 600 contestants from 65 higher education institutions.

In celebration, the ELC hosted a tea reception for the winners presided over by President Tang Tao at the Bookstore Coffee Shop on 12 November, along with Associate Vice President (Internationalization) and Dean of Division of Humanities and Social Sciences (DHSS) Prof Adrian Bailey, and Director of ELC Dr Robyn Bray. At the event, all three senior leaders stressed the value of taking part in public competitions and continuously seeking new experiences.

Following their achievements at the provincial level, these students can now look forward to representing UIC on the national stage. Our warmest congratulations to all the prizewinners!