Qingdao University of Technology (China) The Award Ceremony of the 3rd LBQA Digital Pen Pal Program was successfully held

On August 29, the award ceremony of the 3rd Long Beach-Qingdao Association Digital Pen Pal Program was successfully held. Consulate-General of China in L.A, Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) of Qingdao Municipal Government, LBQA, Qingdao Port, Qingdao University of Technology(QUT), Long Beach Port, California State University Long Beach and students participants attended the closing ceremony. The award and closing ceremony were presided over by Wendy Le, vice president of LBQA and Doctor Mary E. Barton.

This year’s pen pal program was officially started in April and was open to students from the Qingdao University of Technology and California State University, Long Beach. 28 program participants are matched with a foreign pen pal counterpart that shares similar interests, studies and hobbies. During the course of the three months, students have the opportunity to build a friendship and have deep communication by exchanging video calls, texts, and photos and sharing more personal information. They also submitted the final project via PPT and videos. At the award ceremony, LBQA announced the winners of the team group and individual group, 5 students in QUT from the School of Humanities and Foreign Languages, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Business School, and School of Marxism won respectively the first, second and third prize both in the team and individual award. The Consulate General of China in L.A., the FAO of Qingdao Municipal Government, the LBQA, and the universities on both sides all spoke highly of this program.

The students expressed that the pen pal program helped them fully appreciate Chinese and American cultures, improved their understanding of each other’s cities and cultures, and gained sincere friendships. They hoped to continue to communicate after the program and continue the valuable friendship across the ocean.

In 2020, the FAO of Qingdao Municipal Government and the LBQA initiated the Digital Pen Pal Program, and the Office of International Affairs of our university actively organized students to participate in it. The Digital Pen Pal Program has brought the young people of the two cities closer, set a new example for China-US people-to-people exchanges, especially youth exchanges, and played a positive role in enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the two countries. The Office of International Affairs will continue to promote the exchange and cooperation with sister cities and sister schools, continue to facilitate the school for double-first-class construction and improve the level of international education.

List of winners in QUT

No. Name Class Award
1 Fang Xiaorong Finance Management 205 First Prize Team Group
2 Wang Xiaoyi English 202 Second Prize Team Group
3 Yang Menghua MAE Postgraduate 2002 hird Prize Team Group
4 Li Teng English 201 First Prize Individual Group
5 Wang Ning Marxism Postgraduate 2101 First Prize Individual Group