GTIIT started teaching its first batch of students in October 2017. In the first year we have delivered many courses taught by the finest  teachers of the Israeli Institute of Technology, the Technion. Today, we bring an impression of Dr. Tzipora Rakedzon, who teaches course in English and have received extremely positive evaluations from the students.

Both this summer and last summer, I taught at the new Guangdong Technion Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT). Last summer, my first time ever in China, I taught new freshman a course in preparatory scientific English. My experience was so positive, and therefore, I was very excited and honored to be invited back this summer to teach Technical English Communication to sophomore engineering students. I can say that both the atmosphere at the university, the faculty, and the students are welcoming and impressive.

Academically, the students were serious and eager to improve their English and communication skills. Moreover, the facilities and classrooms were also modern and technologically equipped, making my work much easier. In the preparatory course, students always came prepared to class and arrived on time. They worked hard and made a great effort in reading technical texts and learning the basics of formal writing. In addition, they created and gave presentations, and were eager to implement feedback that would help them improve. Students were challenged by learning in a completely English based classroom, and they learned much about the need to be communicative in class and ask questions.

In class, students also expressed interest about Israel, where I come from; in turn, I also learned so much about Chinese culture through their presentations in the preparatory course, some of which were scientific topics, and some of which were more culture-based. They learned about Israeli start-up culture, as well as lighter topics such as Israeli food. I learned about topics like local food, the Chinese school system, and popular Chinese culture and media. 

In the Technical Communication course, students were exposed to important basics of both business and technical communication. They prepared presentations for new technological products, as well as for scientific research. To do so effectively, they eagerly learned about the importance of scientific organization of ideas, as well as effective body language.

Overall, I find the students to be both serious and friendly, and the classroom atmosphere is fruitful and positive.