Three graduate from Chinese universities

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Three recent graduates from the Solomon Islands who studied in China are setting their hopes and goals on bringing their expertise and skills back home to contribute to the country’s development.

The trio, which includes two bachelor’s degree holders and a master’s degree graduate, have successfully attained their respective qualifications and are returning home to contribute to the workforce.

Raymond Gwali, who studied at Huaqiao University in China’s southern province of Fujian and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in International Economics and Trade, expressed his satisfaction with his achievements despite the challenges he encountered.

“The academic environment was highly competitive, with demanding coursework and research expectations, especially since my program was taught in Chinese. Being away from family and friends for an extended period was emotionally taxing, but I gradually adapted by immersing myself in Chinese culture and meeting new people,” Gwali shared.

“With the skills, experience and knowledge I have gained, I aim to contribute to the development of the Solomon Islands, particularly in areas related to my field of study, that is International Economics and Trade,” he said.

Studying International Economics and Trade in one of the world’s leading economies gave Raymond insights into global best practices and how to develop policies that promote sustainable development and drive innovation. He looks forward to returning home to share this knowledge and contribute to the country’s international trade system.

Bently Tahioa, who graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology in Harbin province with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, echoed similar sentiments.

“Civil engineering courses are no walk in the park and having to learn everything in Mandarin only made it harder.

“Earning my bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering was challenging due to the language barrier. All my courses were taught in Chinese, making it difficult initially to grasp lectures, technical content, and interact effectively with classmates and teachers.”

However, overcoming these barriers made him more resilient and determined. Bently is determined to contribute to the development of Solomon Islands’ infrastructure and other areas within his expertise.

He expressed his commitment to promoting sustainable growth by contributing to building infrastructure that is resilient to the country’s environmental challenges.

“I want to contribute to public health and the preservation of our natural ecosystems by enhancing sanitation and environmental protection through modern waste management techniques, ensuring communities have access to proper sanitation systems,” he added.

Apart from the two bachelor’s graduates, Peter Damien Tura, who earned a Master’s degree in Auditing from Nanjing Audit University in Jiangsu province, highlighted one of his biggest challenges as data collection for his thesis project.

“Writing my thesis was challenging due to difficulties in collecting data from the Solomon Islands,” he noted.

Tura, who received a special award for excellence in his Master’s program, sees his degree as a valuable addition to his qualifications. “I learned how China demonstrates the governance framework’s role in establishing strong leadership and driving the audit recommendations implementation. The Chinese government’s primary focus on accountability, monitoring systems and lucid directions to the public institutions will themselves be the indicators of the response made by the concerned entities to audit recommendations”, he stated.

“The very interesting thing I also learned is only in China they have one special audit called the Economic Accountability Audit. This audit focuses on all leaders of China from Executive, Legislators and public institutions down to county-level leaders. They will carry out economic accountability audits of leading parties and government officials to promote the regulated operation of power. The focus of economic accountability audits lies on responsibility, implementation, development and compliance.

“In this way, I gained an auditing experience, of seeing how China was successful in the poverty alleviation program at the county or rural level. By promoting the establishment of a modern public finance system and continuously deepening audits of budget implementation in a more unified system”

Tura who formerly worked at the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) as a Banking and Reconciliation officer added that he will return home and continued his job at the nation’s top bank. When asked how they overcome and cope with challenges they faced in studies, the trio stated that they did it by putting God first foremost. Moreover, by opening themselves up to the new environment they are learning in and meeting new people who turned friends in university whom they share classes, passion for learning in class, learning and understanding Chinese rich history, people and culture. Since the establishment of Solomon Islands and People’s Republic of China relations in 2019, hundreds of Solomon Islands students have been sponsored by the Chinese government to study in universities across China and more people-to-people exchanges have been witnessed in this first 5 years of this relationship. Studying in fields ranging from civil engineering, clinical medicine, Computer Science, International Business, other related STEM and social sciences, these students have taken to heart to study hard and return home with acquired skills and expertise to contribute to Solomon Islands’ socioeconomic development. With more Solomon Islanders becoming aware of study opportunities provided in China, and the increasing number of scholarships available to Solomon Islanders, the number of students coming to study in China is growing every year. END///

 Solomon Islands Students Association in China (SISAC) Media Desk.