Professor Zou Zhendong of Xiamen University once described his understanding of "the best teacher": "There are three kinds of best teachers. The first kind of teacher is those who can pass a hammer to students. If a student wants to drive a nail, the teacher gives him a hammer - what a good teacher; the second kind is those who can change your fingers. When students need a lot of gold. The teacher can turn their fingers into gold - what a good teacher; the third kind teacher can open a window for the students. When students think they already see all the scenery, and the teacher opens a window for them, through which they suddenly see, ah, there is another world - this is the best teacher.

There is such a teacher in International College. He was once fortunate to study at King’s College London, feeling the love and hatred between the four London schools, and trying to achieve some academic achievements; he was once fortunate to work at Pricewaterhouse Coopers（PwC）, experiencing the fullness and busyness of the career through the world's number one accounting firm, and understanding the rigorous system and structure of large international companies; He once cycled on the Sichuan-Tibet line, through different ways such as self-driving, hiking, riding, cycling, etc, he visited every provincial administrative region except Ningxia, he also visited forty countries and regions, saw the aurora of the Arctic Ocean, and experienced the sunrise and sunset of the Ganges River. He firmly believes: “Only when the teacher’s knowledge and experience are enriched, can students be told about their future possibilities. They can live a rich life spiritually and materially through hard work.” He is the teacher Duan Zhaoxu who is deeply loved by the students. Let's listen to his story together.

Photos taken by Mr Duan during his journey 

 Hello, students. I'm Duan Zhaoxu. Now I have the honor to teach at International College of Xiamen University. As a computer teacher, I think the computer course of International College is very practical. In addition to mastering rich theoretical knowledge, students also need a lot of practice. But when I first came to teach, I could feel that some business students thought that computers were only a minor courses, so they were slack. I tried to tell them some background knowledge in class. For example, when it came to optical fiber, we mentioned its inventor: Gao Kun. By the way, his alma mater, University College London (UCL), which has long ranked the top 10 in the world. Next, we will take students to check the information of the university through the network. In addition to the university campus and academic achievements, we also took a look at the professional application requirements, curriculum arrangements, language requirements, etc. The students became more active when they found that they could learn more about foreign universities in computer class. In order to meet the requirements of these top universities in the world, they began to pay attention to their grades and knowledge points in each course.

 I have always believed that teachers should not just impart textbook knowledge, we should sow a seed in students’ hearts and let them know how possible their future is. As university teachers, they should give students a directional guidance through their own personal experience, let them to understand the famous schools in the world through the Internet in computer classes, and sow the seed in their hearts.

The vast majority of students have never failed to live up to the expectations of teachers and parents. I once took a class of more than 30 people and received five admissions from Adam Smith Business School of University of Glasgow, which is a famous school ranked 73 in QS World University, named after the alumnus of University of Glasgow and the father of economics, Adam Smith. There are also many students applied to UCL, the University of Edinburgh, University of Bristol, etc. There are students of 2017 to 2019 admitted to the University of Sydney, ranked 27^th US News in the world. I still remember these students sitting in my office, doubted that they could ever apply to such a school. I was fortunate to study in the UK and Canada, and I shared my experience with my students in class and hoped to give them some guidance.

Since I started teaching at International College, I taught the students of Business with Accounting (BA) classes almost every year, which may be deliberately arranged by the leaders of the professional team. After all, I have worked at PwC, which is one of the best employment direction of this major. When talking about artificial intelligence, I will remind students of the impact of new technologies on the industry. I will also mention in class that they can apply for internships in the world's four major accounting firms through the Internet. More than 10% of the students from 2017 Business with Accounting classes got internship offers during their sophomore and junior years. We discussed how to make an e-resume for foreign enterprises, how to pass the company's online test by relying on existing knowledge, and how to dress appropriately to attend the company's interview.

 Every year, students ask me, "Mr Duan, can we really get the internship for the final year?" I always tell them with certainty, "As long as you are ready, you can!" I still remembered when I began to teach students of Business with Accounting in 2017, Xiaokang was very active. She got the internship of KPMG first. After the internship, she applied to PwC. Then, she was favored by Haitong Securities while she was doing the project at PwC. Before graduation, she had already worked in the world's top accounting firm and China's top securities company. Xiaozhong from Cushman & Wakefield to Jones Lang LaSalle, she showed me how she worked in the tallest building in Guangzhou, telling me that she’s planning the project of WuyuanBay with colleagues at Jones Lang LaSalle, one of the world's top five real estate consulting companies.

 Experience is the best teacher. The experience of studying in the UK enables me to explain the stories between different schools to students, inspires them to explore these schools; PwC's work experience allows me to give students advice on internship or work to make them more actively face their college life. Because I like traveling, I occasionally explain some travel stories to students.

I always feel that only when I see more can I tell them more. For example, in the course of electronic tabulation, some students are always confused between row and column. So I try to start from the idea that column has meaning of Zhuzi. Zhuzi stand up like columns of data in a table. But the students may not remember, so we expanded to the Greek column, from Doric order to Corinthian order. I know that these students will walk on the streets of Europe and America one day. When they enter those ancient buildings, they can also know the characteristics of the columns supporting these buildings.

International College is to cultivate students with international vision. In addition to firmly mastering textbook knowledge, they will also go abroad to experience a different life. I often tell students stories about sharing bicycles which existed on the streets of London long before they were common in China. However, instead of relying on the Internet and mobile phones, they had to swipe their credit card to ride bicycles. Some people with ideas seized the opportunity of the Internet and made some innovation. By combining shared bicycles with mobile phones and networks, they can open up a new market. I often encourage students to try to see more as long as they can ensure their own safety. Wide range of contacts will bring different ideas and horizons. Maybe you will be the helm of an emerging market in the future.

Study, work and life, as teachers, we always try to tell our students every bit of our knowledge and experience. My teaching career in International College also brings me a lot: "Sometimes I am touched because I explained the knowledge and my experience to them, and they live more wonderful life than us."