庚子年末，盡管街巷里都飄散著充滿年味的空氣，小鸚鵡們卻絲毫不愿蹉跎這寶貴的寒假時光。為了跟上科學(xué)快速發(fā)展的步伐，我們班中的幾位同學(xué)參與了牛津前沿展望計劃。牛津大學(xué)是世界上最著名的高等學(xué)府之一，其教學(xué)與學(xué)術(shù)實力廣為世人所認可。盡管未能到校園親身體驗濃厚的學(xué)術(shù)氛圍，高水平、高深度、高難度的牛津線上課程體驗依舊給同學(xué)們留下了深刻的印象。
While some chose to enjoy their winter vacation in leisure, a few of us opted to enrich ourselves with new profound knowledge by joining an online Medical Programme offered by Oxford Prospects and Global Development Institute. Oxford University has been one of the most prestigious institutions globally, and being able to take part in its education was truly a lifetime’s honour.
三星期的課程，由一次生動的線上導(dǎo)覽開始。盡管我們相隔千里、橫跨數(shù)個時區(qū)，但是仍能從電腦屏幕中感受到來自牛津的老師們滿溢的熱情。而且他們也馬上給了第一個小目標(biāo)，就是在課程中時刻保持好奇和動力。課程設(shè)置富有趣味，根據(jù)不同性質(zhì)可劃分為lectures, seminars, workshops, social tea sessions.
The 3-week courses started-off with a brief introduction held by the staffs of the OPGDI Programme Team, in which we got to know every person joining this program and had a virtual tour around Oxford via a PowerPoint presentation. Even via our monitor screens, the grace of Oxford had us all stunned in awe. Then, the regulations for the courses were also set, which were simple - to be active and curious. The course consisted of 4 main categories: lectures, seminars, workshops and social tea sessions.
Lecture 就是在一小時內(nèi)，把當(dāng)今最前沿的醫(yī)學(xué)領(lǐng)域話題介紹給我們。原先以為全英文的講座非常晦澀難懂，但教授講者們將自己的研究內(nèi)容用生動形象的圖表等方式，讓我們能夠聽懂這些“高大上”的東西。除了教授講者們，教學(xué)助理也是課程中不可或缺的成員，他們會把課堂的筆記都整理好，因此上課時我們要做的就只是思考和聆聽，課后還可以回看整理好的資料進行復(fù)盤。當(dāng)體驗過這樣的課程之后，其實會感嘆要是平日的課堂也能享有如此的資源就好啦！
Lectures were classes delivered by presenters accompanied by PowerPoint presentation. Each of them lasted around 1 hour with a Q&A session at the end for us to ask any questions we wished to know. They were all packed full of contents that were some of the hot topics in today’s medical science field.
Throughout these lectures, we got to know bits and pieces on medicine up-to-date and hear from the wisdom of these giants in their fields. Not a single moment was dull, all of them shed light on various issues that provoked us to think more about the future we were heading towards. Besides the lecturers, academic assistants were also presented to ensure the smooth rundown of each lecture and helped to make detailed notes that were uploaded to the cloud, which came in handy to prepare for the quizzes during the weekends.
Here is a list of all the lectures we had:
1. NHS in the UK
2. Social Determinants of Health
3. Omics Tools and Techniques Used in Translational Research
4. Stems Cells and Promise if Regenerative Medicine
5. Development of Oncological Imaging
6. Macrophage and Anti-microbial Activity
7. Putting Cell under the Microscope
8. Computer-Aided Drug Design
9. Ethics of Biomedical Research
10. Drug Development and Clinical Trials
11. Evolutionary Perspectives on Cancer and Ageing
12. Neurodegenerative Diseases: The Coming Epidemic
13. Ageing of our Population
14. Nanotechnology in Immunotherapy and Vaccines
15. Strengths and Weaknesses of Pharmacoepidemiology
除了有關(guān)學(xué)術(shù)的部分，還有special guset lecture，項目邀請到了陪伴我們成長的一部電視劇--《唐頓莊園》Liz Trubridge女仕和當(dāng)中飾演Atticus Aldridge的演員Matt Barber。借此，我們有機會得知唐頓莊園背后的故事，由場地到服飾再到音樂。唐頓莊園中的細節(jié)，讓人一再回味，一次又一次地感受到當(dāng)時它風(fēng)靡全球的盛況。
Apart from these academic lectures, there was a special guest lecture on the renowned English TV drama Downton Abbey. Liz Trubridge, the executive producer of the show, and Matt Barber, who played the role of Atticus Aldridge, were invited to share with us the stories behind the screen. We even got to interview them personally and found out more about how Downton Abbey came to be, from the venue of filming, music, costumes, and production teams that gave birth to one of the greatest TV series in the UK. The deep culture and art of the UK were delivered to all viewers of the show, bringing us closer as we took this peek into its history and beauty.
當(dāng)然我們不只有安靜聆聽的時候，Seminar 給予了我們更多的討論機會。在Seminar 上，學(xué)生各自分組，學(xué)生成了主導(dǎo)者，由學(xué)生分享交流，老師從旁引導(dǎo)，pre之后同學(xué)之間進行提問和討論。討論當(dāng)中的思維碰撞，以及學(xué)習(xí)接受不同的意見，是課程中最可貴的收獲之一。
For seminars, we were asked to do presentations on topics discussed during the lectures in groups of 2 to 3 people, followed by an open discussion toward the end where professors asked us more questions based on what we had prepared. It was highly challenging and required immense effort as well as good communication skills. Seminar partners needed to work together and helped each other out. We had all engaged in eye-opening discussions, with professors providing guidance and lots of encouragement for us to think more and speak up more. Not only did we get to practise our presentation skills, but we had also learnt to be more open to different opinions and respect each other in these seminars.
學(xué)生是組成校園最重要的一環(huán)，我們也很榮幸能在Workshop 及Social Tea Sessions 中聽到在校學(xué)生以及畢業(yè)生的牛津生活點滴分享。他們分享了許多從學(xué)生角度出發(fā)的觀點，同時介紹了牛津訪問學(xué)生等不同途徑成為牛津一分子的機會。
Topics on workshops were related to what academic life in the UK would be, providing us with advice on how to better our profiles for life beyond undergraduate studies.
Here is a list of all the workshop had:
1. Academic Writing and Presentation Skill
2. Research and Academic Profile Development
3. Mental Health and Peer Support
4. Personal Statement and Graduate Application
5. Post-graduate Career Paths
In social tea sessions, Oxford students and visiting students were invited to share with us what life’s like studying in Oxford. Senior Oxford students were there to give us suggestions on how to make the best out of university life. A Visiting Student Programme, which allowed us to become a life-long Oxford member, was introduced along with tips on how to maximize our possibility for application.
鸚言鸚語
一位學(xué)長講的一句話印象非常深刻“絕對不要做讓您感到如此自在的事情。一旦您做某件事變得很自在，就該轉(zhuǎn)去嘗試新的事物了。”人總是有惰性的，在自己熟悉的領(lǐng)域做著自己覺得舒服的舉動無疑是最安全的、永遠不會出錯、不會出丑、也不必去面臨任何窘迫情形。然而這或許也扼殺了許多本可以嘗試新事物的機會，探索新一番天地的可能性。人不能活得太安逸。這一句話警醒了我對安逸現(xiàn)狀的滿足和懶動。--楊熠
One senior Oxford student gave us a piece of remarkable advice, “to never do the things that make you feel so comfortable doing. Once you get too comfortable doing something, it’s about time to move on and get in touch with new things.” Men are all with laziness, staying in our comfort zone is undoubtedly the safest – never worrying about making mistakes, facing embarrassment by making a fool out of yourself. But being safe can kill our possibilities into new chances. With that said, one should not live in safety. This is a warning to me being complacent with the status quos and laziness.
– Yang Yi
感謝這次的游學(xué)計劃的講師，我在這次的學(xué)習(xí)過程中獲得了許多的靈感，不僅有對未來職業(yè)規(guī)劃方面的，更有研究方向?qū)用娴摹τ谶@些靈感，我不一定有機會一一實現(xiàn)，但我獲得啟發(fā)的過程和思路將為我?guī)砀嗟撵`感。對于一項研究而言，其獨到主題是與其嚴謹?shù)墓ぷ髦匾韵喈?dāng)?shù)牟糠帧Ｎ矣芍愿兄x這次游學(xué)計劃對我的提升。--婁順佳
Thanks to all lecturers of this programme. This learning process has inspired me in both my future career planning and research direction. Though I might not have the chance to do all that I was inspired to, with these inspirations I can move onto a better pathway. As with research, finding a unique topic and strict work are fundamental. I was grateful for how this programme has improved me.
– Lou Shun Jia
牛津展望計劃項目盡管移師線上，但她帶給你的學(xué)術(shù)體驗之精彩絲毫未打折扣。在牛津式的教學(xué)和其發(fā)人深省的討論中，相信沒有一個人會不喜歡這樣的課堂。
As expected, it was no ordinary online course, and despite not being on-site, we still got to experience the Oxford style of teaching and have in-depth discussions with professors and even colleagues. Education has really evolved.
