If you’ve got a high schooler at home, one of the topics that’s constantly on your mind is college. Recently, we came across a website that may spark some interest if your child is planning on continuing their education in China. Campus China is a platform dedicated to promoting scholarships and educational opportunities for international students in China.

Campus China is a government website that serves as a consolidated resource for international students interested in studying in China. The website provides information about scholarships at universities all around the country, as well as information on their academic programs.

For students who have already adapted to life in Beijing, staying in China for university can be a seamless transition. They’ll be able to build on their existing knowledge of the language and culture while gaining a globally recognized degree. It’s important to note that the eligibility and requirements for each scholarship vary. Some may be only available to foreign students who are not currently residing in China, while others, like Renmin University of China’s “Belt and Road” scholarship, is only eligible for students from Belt and Road Initiative countries.

If your child is planning on continuing their education in China after high school, use Campus China as a starting point to research scholarships, universities, and programs that align with your child’s aspirations. It’s a decision that could shape their future in ways you’ve only begun to imagine.

Images: Campus China, Pexels

The British School of Beijing (BSB) Shunyi is set to host the ASIA Business Simulation – Regional Round (High School Division) on Mar 1 and 2. This is an event that promises to be a thrilling experience for young business-minded students.

Organized by Aseeder, the ASIA Business Simulation has a long-standing reputation. Since its inception in 2011, it has attracted over 80,000 students from various schools across China, making it a well-recognized platform for student entrepreneurs.

The simulation offers a comprehensive set of activities. Students will engage in roadshow presentations where they can showcase their business ideas and strategies. A trading challenge awaits, testing their market acumen and decision-making skills. Additionally, business operations are carried out through a smart IT system that mimics an online virtual marketplace. This gives students a hands-on feel of managing different aspects of a business, from product design and marketing to overall company operations and project management, providing a real-world entrepreneurship experience.

For those interested in participating, the registration deadline is Feb 23, 2025. Scan the QR code in the accompanying poster to sign up and be part of this exciting business simulation event.

Images: BSB Shunyi, Pexels

The eighth iteration of the Avenir contest organised by Beijing City International School (BCIS) came to a heady conclusion after 11 teams pitched their business ideas to mentors and judges the weekend of April 20-21. The competition saw the involvement of Beijing’s top international schools including the British School of Beijing (BSB Shunyi) as well as BCIS students. In the end, Team Businesslike Grasshoppers clinched first place in the Senior Division with their pitch of putting together a new drone prototype to safely and efficiently deliver takeout, while Team Eco Apparel took first place in the Junior Division.

Jingkids International spoke with the Junior Division winning teams Eco Apparel’s members Selena Liu and Margaret Yang, second place Team Hare (members Eva Jin, Rita Jiang, Amy Zhai and Helen Xu) as well as Anna Fu from Senior Division runner-up Team VMAX to glean their insights and share their advice to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Q: How does it feel to win Avenir 2024? 

Selena: Among the overwhelming emotions that barged into my mind when winning Avenir, I believe the excitement, motivation, and sense of relief stood out the most. The award was a powerful recognition of our efforts in this journey, and made us feel more encouraged and faithful to continue to this project and pursue entrepreneurial activities in the future. 

Q: What do you think led you to your victory?

Amy: Throughout the entire preparation process, the team was super dedicated to developing our business plan and pitch. Although there are imperfections, the effort and confidence we showed is something that led to our success. Particularly, I am extremely proud of our prototype because, even though it isn’t necessarily “good looking”, the completion of the final prototype made the time and effort we devoted to it worthwhile. I am also incredibly thankful for our two mentors, who gave us numerous helpful feedback and made our pitch more structured and logical.

Margaret: This victory was influenced by a lot of factors, and one of the biggest is the countless times Selena and I practiced our pitch. The week prior to the compeititon, we met up 3 times and practiced the pitch 2-3 times each time and worked on our business plan during those times as well. It is our dedication and teamwork that led to the victory of our team.

Selena: I believe it is the dedication, passion, and knowledge we had towards our project that allowed us to stand out among competing teams. Overall, our team was highly meticulous regarding all aspects in the business – from finance details, marketing strategies, and competitive positioning, we ensured that we had a thorough understanding about our business and had the ability to explain and justify all the choices we made in the process, which directly comes from continuous research and discussion with our mentor. Furthermore, I believe that one of our team’s highlight is the business presentation. We were able to display our authentic samples of our product and showed high passions and confidence towards our product during the pitch, which created a positive impression on our audience and judges.

Q: What are your most valuable lessons from the whole experience?

Rita: The most profound lesson gleaned from this experience is the imperative of harnessing knowledge to effect tangible change in the world. Throughout the journey of developing our business, we learned to prioritize addressing the genuine needs of society rather than only conceptualizing theoretical ideas. This directs us towards designing a product that could genuinely make contribution to society.

Anna: I think an important lesson I learned is having a good mindset. I had a better mentality during this year’s competition than last time because I viewed it more as an opportunity to appreciate and learn from other people’s business ideas, and there wasn’t an immense amount of pressure. I also realized that the purpose of the pitch is simply to showcase the idea that we worked for the past few weeks to others, and it shouldn’t be overly stressed over.

Selena: Thriving to be as resourceful as possible, and never be afraid to ask questions, research, and communication is one of the main takeaways I got from Avenir. During the process, our group encountered many business and financial concepts that were unfamiliar with – such as cashflow statement, runway, profit margin, and equity share – which made us feel anxious at first. Still, we demonstrated strong inquiry skills and proactively reached out to a range of sources we had access to, including our mentors, teachers, business supplier (like GRNTEX) and other relevant field professionals that were willing to share their insights. Learning about novel business concepts and models and directly applying them into our entrepreneurship idea is certainly a challenge. However, through overcoming this challenge, we were able to achieve substantial growth as a business learner, and enhanced our prepardness in the entire competition.

Q: What advice would you give to those who are thinking of participating in next year’s Avenir?

Eva: For those considering participating in next year’s Avenir, I advise to embrace the inevitable nervousness that comes with such an event. It is essential to approach the competition with a mindset of continuous learning and growth. Seek feedback from mentors and teammates, andremain open to making necessary adjustments. Remember that collaboration and effective teamwork are key to achieving success in this competition.

Margaret: I would say to practice your pitch as much as possible with your team and choose a business idea that you are truly passionate about as that would lead to exceptional teamwork and dedication throughout the whole process of preparation and when performing. Try not to get distracted by other team’s performances as that can really affect your confidence, so just try your best for the entire process!

Images: Courtesy of BCIS 

KEEP READING: Avenir Business Competition Sees International Participation for First Time

The EIS Engelchen store stands out on the Sanlitun back street behind the bustling Taikooli mall, thanks largely to its unmissable Barbie-pink storefront. In case you weren’t sure of what the store offers, a giant ice-cream cone next to its name, spelled out in big purple block letters, clues you in. But this is no ordinary ice cream store, for many reasons.

You would be forgiven for not being familiar with the brand name EIS Engelchen. The German name translates to “ice angel” and is known as a B2B (business-to-business) ice cream brand that supplies cafés and restaurants in Germany. This store in Beijing is its first ever direct B2C (business-to-customer) store – an idea brought to fruition by high-schooler-turned-business owner Milly Wang.

Currently an eleventh grader in the international division at Xicheng Experimental School, Milly has a persona that is quite a stark contrast to the look of the store she is responsible for. She greets me with a mild handshake on a Friday afternoon dressed in a fluffy off-white sweater and jeans, her long hair loose and with no make-up on. She came straight from school to the store for our interview and is armed with only her laptop, which she sets on a small round table in a corner. As I look around the fuschia store interior, furnished with details, down to merchandise, that she designed herself, I can’t help but think, “She made all of this happen, and she hasn’t even graduated high school yet.”

Milly is soft-spoken but direct, taking her time to answer my fervent questions, which I toss out with no discernible rhyme or reason, simply to see if I can elicit a greater reaction from her. But she’s settled, comfortable, and sure of herself; after all, she is the boss here. Looking over at the staff behind the ice cream counter, all of whom are older than her, I ask her if she hired them herself and she nods affirmatively. I say that I doubt she has even had a job interview before, so how did she know how to hire someone else? She smartly reveals that she watched an online video from Stanford about how to start a start-up and got tips from there.

I had to ask the obvious: How much of this business was owed to her parents? Milly stated that aside from the start-up loan (interest-free, of course) and helping her to register the business in their name since she’s not yet legal, her parents had little involvement in the whole process. It was Milly who had traveled around the world, from Japan to America, to try various ice cream brands before she discovered “the one” – EIS Engelchen – with its all-natural, fruity taste that’s 100 percent made in Germany.

“It’s not too sweet or complicated, so you don’t have to drink lots of water and you can eat lots of it. Once you eat this ice cream, no others can compare,” Milly swears. When she worked in a shop in Germany, she saw firsthand how many others shared her passion for the ice cream brand, convincing her to import it to Beijing. To preserve its authenticity, the business has the ice cream shipped from Germany every month. “This has been one of the greatest challenges in opening this store,” Milly shares. “I actually rented the space in April but only opened in November because we were waiting for the ice cream to go through customs and all.”

She tells me about how she wanted to open a shop that’s clearly for young people like herself, and since she personally loves to eat ice cream, it made sense to open an ice-cream store. “My generation loves ice cream, whether in summer, or winter,” she muses.

She’s on to something. Since the store opened in late November 2023 in Beijing, customers have flowed steadily in. Milly’s schooling in statistics and math have come in useful for running the business, among other life skills she’s picked up – from how to make coffee to paying the salaries of her employees. But with SATs and AP final exams coming up, she makes fewer trips to the store now. “After high school, I want to go to college, preferably Stanford or Harvard for business,” Milly fancies, “I’d really like to go to Boston. I think I could open another store there.”

EIS Engelchen is located at 43 Sanlitun Nanlu (across the Sanlian Bookstore). We highly recommend getting the chocolate cones and mint chocolate chip ice cream flavor. Milly’s current favorite flavor is strawberry cheesecake.

Images: Courtesy of Milly Wang, EIS Engelchen

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If you were to redo high school, what would you prioritize at the top out of your high school experience? Getting into good universities? Building long-lasting relationships? Having fun?

Yes, they’re all goals of a typical high schooler –yet none of them can be achieved without maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle. If you disagree, think again.

Can you ace all your tests without a stable mentality? Would your friends keep talking to you once you desert your social life? Can you have fun when your everyday life is a wreck?

Becoming a high schooler throws you a tsunami of assignments and shoulders you with high expectations and immense responsibility. Eventually, students may experience an unstable mentality, which perpetuates a nonstop, vicious cycle of stress. Hence, in order to actually experience the high school experience– and even bear fruit out of it–students must be educated and learn how to balance their academic, social, and emotional life. My school promotes well-being such as self-awareness, self-management, social and emotional competence, strong relationships, and purposeful action through Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).

The well-being lessons were first introduced to me in elementary school, during Language Arts classes. A grade counselor would take our class time to discuss ways to focus better on class—yes, they taught us such self-explanatory solutions like “Close your iPad” or “Talk less with your friends during class time”. Of course, most of the other fifth graders and I rolled our eyes whenever a counselor rolled into our classroom. We were all silently preaching for our homeroom teacher to dismiss SEL for extra recess—which never happened, by the way.

But the anti-SEL episodes halted as soon as we transitioned to middle school and were bestowed with oh-so-delightful “Mentoring lessons”.

Almost every day, an assigned grade-level teacher introduced us to topics on well-being while ten of us half-discussed and half-munched on Oreos. In our eyes, Mentoring was that beautiful time for us to put aside academics and just relax or have fun (or at least that’s what it looked like on the surface).

In fact, in the first few months of the year, my mentoring group naturally bonded with each other and our mentor through lots of wholesome activities; we went on over-night trips at the Olympic Park (where we canoed and skated and campfire-ed), made rice-crispies at our school kitchen, and chanted the Kokonut song. Looking back, I realized that the devious intent of all this fun time was for us to talk more freely and engage during well-being lessons. And it was indeed very successful; whenever our mentor gave a presentation on mental health, my friends and I freely shared our experiences—a peer of mine even felt comfortable sharing ways in which we can help her with OCD. But on top of that, I sincerely thank my school for not only providing well-being education but also for pairing me with a trusted adult to freely reach out to. In fact, my friends and I frequently stayed after the lessons to seek guidance on time and stress management.

In high school, the lessons became a bit scary. We had fewer lessons but covered heavier topics like eating disorders, depression, and suicide—yes, topics that scream the dark side of adolescence. Seemingly as our mentors were aware of the heightened alertness in the classroom, they stressed that “what is said in the classroom stays in the classroom” and let students leave when they needed a break. It was so easy to tell that many of us felt uncomfortable and thus were relating silently to the issues. Still, even if no one dared utter a word, we were learning ways to help our peers with real-world problems.

Though I felt highly targeted when discussing depression and highly restrictive diets, I found the mentoring lessons liberating (and I hope my peers felt the same) that we were actually speaking about serious well-being issues that are highly stigmatized and censored.

Yet, I guess it’s just me in my mentoring group and a few in our entire grade who felt something during mental being lessons.

Even if my mentoring peers are comfortable sharing with each other and the mentor, most of them don’t bother to pay attention to the lessons. Rather, many usually make small talk, check their phones, or even study– really. My hypothesis is that students do not bother to engage in the lessons because they are not graded and that SEL delivery fails to capture the students’ minds.

Our school psychologist agrees that our school is so grade-driven to the point where students don’t put effort into non-graded activities. Yet, on the other hand, he believes that the teachers may not be delivering mentoring lessons in the most interesting or professional way possible which seems understandable as some teachers at our school come from backgrounds where mental and social education was shunned until the last few decades or so.

It is indeed upsetting to see my fellow classmates missing out on crucial life-changing lessons provided by our school. Hence, I proposed a club to spread awareness of the value of well-being and promote healthy living at our school. But most importantly, through joint teamwork of students passionate about mental health, I hope to enrich our school’s social and emotional curriculum with students’ perspectives.

What are your thoughts on mental health education in schools? Share them in the comment section below.

Images: Pexels

It’s not uncommon to hear that being an art kid is easy. But high school student Elise Shi doesn’t think that’s true at all.

With aspirations to head into jewelry design, Elise is a student at Dulwich College Beijing who’s just about to begin her college applications to art schools. And unlike many people who choose to head abroad for their summer holidays, the seventeen-year-old is stuck in Beijing, tied down by the very thing that she’s so passionate about.

Elise Shi has been doing art since the age of 10. Her motivation stems from her usage of art as an escape: her childhood environment, being less than healthy, had barred her from going outside and had forced her to take up other entertainment. This included picking up a pencil and beginning to draw. Her previous interests helped feed this newfound hobby, and she found herself wanting to improve her artistic skills to draw her favorite characters and fiction. This, later on, led to her enjoyment of design and was narrowed down to her current passion: jewellery design. This is just her motivation, though, as she believes that art can come from many different places.

This summer is the first time Elise has had an opportunity to leave the country due to COVID restrictions. Yet this art, which has been her hobby, her interest, and her passion for the past few years, is exactly the thing that prevents her from leaving.

She really misses the UK, she says. It’s been 4 and a half years since she’s gone back, and her hometown, North Northfolk in England, is nothing more than a lingering memory for her. But she can’t leave. Travel takes up time, and time is exactly what she lacks: she’s a student just starting her art portfolio, and after juggling the vigorous IB Diploma, she’s running out of time.

The art portfolio is a required component for all students wishing to take art in higher education, consisting of 4 projects that require development and processing. In these, a student needs to show that they’ve done both firsthand and secondhand research, as well as designing and finalising it. Elise admits that’s the most time-consuming part, because art never seems good enough. Unlike a math equation that has one solid answer, that’s not the case for art, which seems to always be in process. This in-process nature is exactly what’s stopped her from leaving, and what keeps her working from Tuesday to Sunday, with her only day off being Monday. Her entire summer, it seems, is utterly dedicated to art projects.

Elise agrees that many people claim that art is easy. She thinks that this may have to do with the abstract nature of it – and while she agrees that there is a simplistic nature to it, “easy” isn’t the truth at all. Art, like many other professions, is a set of skills that need development and endless practice to be good at. Despite its subjective nature, it still requires many other skills, like thinking and imagination; not everyone can express their thoughts in any shape or form.

This diligence is just one of the many sacrifices that an artist has to make. It just proves that art isn’t as simple and laid-back as many people expect it to be. It proves that artists have it hard, just as much or even more than the rest of us: it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes, it requires dedication, perseverance, and an entire summer holiday.

Image: Elise Shi

Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to introduce you to one of the newest Jingkids interns and a dear friend of mine, Hanna – a singer-songwriter, a mega Swiftie, and a goddess who all International School of Beijing (ISB) students worship for her extraordinary academic achievements and overly-kind persona.

Here’s some basic info: Hanna is a Canadian born and raised in Beijing. Some of her favorite memories of the city are 1) biking in the older parts of the city with her mom and 2) helping her grandma pick cherries in Hanna’s backyard.

Hanna transferred to ISB in 5^th grade from a Chinese local school, but I never got to know her until this year as a tablemate in English class and as a writer for our school magazine. And boy, was she the singular teenager – and a manically obsessed Swiftie – I have ever met.

First, Hanna has a WeChat account (TeenVoice) where she posts some of her masterpieces (some racking up more than 300 views) that reflect her passions for music, literature, and social sciences. Her hobbies are closely tied with topics of her passion—that being listening to folk, pop, and indie, writing music, and reading suspense and historical fiction. And here comes the second thing that will drop your jaw: When she says, “writing music,” she means that her album will be out soon. She took up songwriting and music production inspired by her idol Taylor Swift, who Hanna admits she is manically obsessed with. The song that first made me fall for her was All Too Well, the song Hanna sang nonstop in her basement 2 years ago)

We are excited to have Hanna with us as she wishes to use this internship opportunity to connect more with the community around her and bring contentment to others through writing.

Images: Hanna W. and Vidigami

Avenir is the French word for “future,” and that is what the Avenir Business Competition at Beijing City International School (BCIS) seeks to prepare participants for. Established in 2017 by two seniors at BCIS, the business competition was designed to encourage high school students to innovate business plans for sustainable development. Avenir 2023 brought together 14 teams to pitch their best business ideas to a panel of working professionals, and for the first time in its young history, the contest saw the participation of teams from international schools outside of China.

Four teams from Concordian International School in Bangkok, Thailand, were sent to take part in the Junior and Senior division, and both of the Senior division teams emerged victorious after the two-day intensive contest. In second place was MatGPT with their proposed business idea of eco-friendly mycelium packaging solutions for Thai electronic business in order to reduce plastic and Styrofoam. In first place was Sonic Sense, which sought to create a portable horn and traffic cue detector for cyclists with hearing impairments, to better protect them on the road. Jingkids International speaks to the winning team to find out what drives these young entrepreneurs.

1. What inspired the idea for Sonic Sense?

We got our inspiration to create a sonic signaler for deaf bikers during our volunteer experience at Setsatian School for the Deaf in Bangkok. We observed that many students relied on bicycles for short-distance transportation, such as trips to local grocery stores. Recognizing the potential safety risks, we plan to develop an assistive technology to detect horn and other traffic signals, to alert deaf cyclists of their presence, increasing the reliability of navigation.

2. How did it feel to win?

While we are proud of ourselves for the success, we understand that this is only the beginning, and we still have many areas to improve. We feel that the reason our project won is due to the uniqueness of our innovation, directly tackling the theme of social enterprise. Furthermore, our prototype is evidence that our product and technology is realistic and feasible.

3. How will you advance the project now that you’ve won?

With the prize money that we received, we will invest in our product and improve its capabilities. Specifically, we plan to upgrade our microphone to a newer version that can detect a wider range of amplitude, which will lead to greater accuracy in sound detection. After we have developed a stronger Mark IV prototype, we plan to do test runs of our product with testers who have hearing impairment to gather criticism and suggestions that can further improve our product.

The winning teams of each division received RMB 3,500 in prize money, but the real prize may be the real-life, hands-on working experience they receive during the six-week internship opportunity with event sponsor Axon Education – which brings the world’s top educational and research resources to China. Second place winners of each division won RMB 2,000 as well as a three-day internship opportunity with Software Development & Digital Consulting firm axiusSoftware. Jingkids International is also a proud sponsor of Avenir Business Contest and we’re excited to see the contest reach further shores in the “avenir.”

KEEP READING: BSB, Shunyi’s Summer Fayre Is Back! Here’s How To Get Involved

Images: Courtesy of Avenir

This 6-week program gives qualifying students exclusive access to college-accredited courses, as well as a variety of master classes, seminars, and summer study tours to the University of Notre Dame campus and other University of Notre Dame global locations, of which there are 12 in all. Upon completion of all four curricular courses, students not only get college credit from the University of Notre Dame, but will also receive special recognition from University of Notre Dame and DCB.

The University of Notre Dame chose to work with DCB as its pilot partner in K12 international school outside of the US for its similarity in educational philosophy, value, and mission for its student. And most importantly, as Dr Michael Pippenger, Vice President and Associate Provost for Internationalization at the University of Notre Dame, added, “like the University of Notre Dame, Dulwich College Beijing is really interested in creating global leaders for tomorrow and educating people about being a global citizen.”

Dr Pippenger, told Jingkids about the unique benefits of the program when he visited DCB last week, “The students get to be taught by faculty from around the world teaching their expertise from their global location, as well as benefit from a uniquely American style classroom that’s highly based in discussion and seminars, (not to mention) our global network and reach. It’s important for students to be exposed to different ways to learning trans-nationally and cross-culturally.”

Sharing the philosophy of “educating the whole person – mind, body and spirit”, University of Notre Dame chose to work with Dulwich thanks in part to their already-established gateway here in the capital city, and also due to the two institutions’ mutual mission and vision for its students.

As echoed in DCB Head of College Anthony Coles‘ statement, “Global citizenship underpins our mission to ‘Live Worldwise’ and act as a guide for our actions, a focus for the academic programme, and has become a compass for our culture”.

Images: Courtesy of DCB