Name: Juan Manuel Cano SanchizBackground: Universities of Córdoba, Huelva, Málaga and Pablo de Olavide (Spain)
Testimonial: USTB is a great place, both to work at and to live in. The university has a strong engineering profile, but the research atmosphere is really multi-disciplinary. Thus, researchers from the social and human sciences (as it is the case with me) can find plenty of support, opportunities and infrastructure to develop their work. What is more, doing my research in a natural science environment actually helps me to grow as a scholar and to produce more innovative and transversal research. From the point of view of living, the campus (located in Haidian district, Beijing) resembles a small town and can satisfy most of one’s everyday demands. In short, I am happy and grateful to be here. At USTB I have found a smart and friendly community that makes my work and my life more exciting and easier.
Name: Majid Khan
Background: Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Testimonial:I joined USTB in June 2020 as a foreign faculty where I enjoyed the essence of a successful professional journey and social life. USTB is a remarkable institution equipped with an outstanding learning environment where teaching methods, a friendly environment, supportive and encouraging leadership and staff have made learning and assimilation pretty smooth. This beautiful institution is one of the world's most renowned universities in metallurgy and material science as well as offers diverse engineering programs in addition to science, humanities, management, law and economics. I am an eye-witness of USTB's efforts for achieving its ultimate goal which involves developing and training students with integrity, innovation, and practicability especially in engineering fields to serve society and industry needs. The research teams and facilities in the Department of Safety Engineering (where currently I work) are among the most influential and prolific groups in China. Here, researchers from various fields including mining engineering, civil engineering, geophysics, geology, and geotechnical engineering have made significant growth by working together. In general, the university encourages globalization by providing research opportunities for the young foreign scientists to perform innovative works and establish multilateral cooperation. With this motive, I believe that USTB can be used as a great learning platform for students and professionals across the globe. Also, an encouragement for people-to-people exchanges, and learning Chinese language as well as culture. In addition to these, USTB is located in an easily accessible place where subway station (located near the USTB's west gate) connects the hinterland/suburbs (Changping district) and several other districts including Chaoyang.
Even though the epidemic situation in the last two years was not optimal, the main perception is that USTB has done particularly well as an institution in terms of supporting its staff and students in the transition to working, teaching and studying online, as well as working from home. Indeed, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the university management and staff understood the long-lasting consequences of this pandemic, and we were provided strong support by the university in various forms which proved its credibility. An example of the USTB's explicit acknowledgement was the fine management of working from home including various online teaching tools to meet the standards of education. In sum, the university provided practical support focused on what its employees and students actually needed during crucial times. Keeping in view the friendly environment, feasibility in research, infrastructure, and basic life facilities, I will keep enjoying my personal and professional life in USTB.
