From February 15 to April 19, 2021, 27 students from Ottawa-Shanghai Joint School of Medicine participated in the OPGDI - Winter Tutorial Programme 2021, an Oxford Prospects Programme (Medical Sciences). Praised as a crown jewel, the Tutorial System of the University of Oxford is the core of Oxford undergraduate education. Two or three students in group received targeted tutoring in their subjects of interest from Oxford tutors, thus developing their independent learning and research skills and training their critical thinking.
The Programme covers Ophthalmology, Neuroscience, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Gynaecology and Women’s Health, Oncology, Drug Resistance of Community Pathogenic Microorganism, Research Design and Experimentation, Medical Research Methodology, and Translational Medicine. Guided by tutors, students attended diverse academic courses, seminars, and workshops. The courses, all of which were well designed and taught by renowned professors, academics, and researchers from the University of Oxford, showed the medical development and cutting-edge topics for students, and inspired their interest in and enthusiasm for medical studies, laying a good foundation for the academic and professional development of students.
During this eight-week Prospects Programme, students were mainly guided by tutors and attended theoretical lectures. Each professor offered customized group tutorials according to students’ research interests. Course arrangements varied, but extensive professional reading and regular summaries and presentations were essential. In group tutorials, professors explained the skills of academic writing and presentations through theoretical lectures. During academic guidance, professors answered questions relevant and irrelevant to specialties of students, including the campus life of Oxford students, the current situation of doctors or lab researchers abroad, and academic exchanges under different cultural backgrounds. Students expanded their horizons and benefited from the Programme. Furthermore, they acquired the ability to learn and grow via thinking.
Before the Programme ended, each student completed two 3,000-word academic papers under the guidance of their tutors as a summary of the study in this stage, and the tutors created an evaluation report for each student accordingly.
Student Testimonials:
“The professor’s approaches to teaching demonstrate the scientific researchers’ understanding of a discipline, the questions raised are scientific, and what we normally take for granted becomes vivid and interesting with his explanations.”
“In addition to the courseware of basic knowledge, the professor offered two pertinent articles for us to read before each class, and made a literature introduction in class, explaining relevant experimental ideas and methods. The professor was also very tolerant of our “childish” questions and gave us detailed answers. During weeks of study, I have consolidated my knowledge of endocrinology, acquired ways to comprehend literature contents quickly, understood the frontiers of scientific research and the trends of the times, and got a glimpse into the routine work of academics at the world’s leading university. The lectures were very novel and did not take up too much extracurricular time. I finished the weeks of study easily and happily, but looking back, I still feel it richly rewarding.”
“Our teachers offered us a lot of reading materials, either original books or papers, before each class. We asked questions in class, and then our teachers gave targeted explanations. In the last class, instead of offering reading materials beforehand, the teacher asked us what we wanted to learn more about, and then invited colleagues in related fields to make introductions. This has greatly widened my horizons and provided me with a rewarding experience.”
Written by: Zhao Lingyi, Li Yi
