On Sunday (26/04) University of Cambridge academics took part in the ‘Virtual University Fair China 2020’, hosting a webinar which aimed to demystify the Cambridge admissions process for prospective Chinese students.

The event, sponsored by the Ambright Institute of Educational and Scientific Research, was organised in response to recent cancellations of campus visits, overseas research trips and physical open days due to Covid-19.

The Cambridge webinar presented an overview of the University and its colleges, the application and admission processes, and courses open to applicants from mainland China. Participants also learnt about university life in Cambridge and the Oxbridge supervision system.

Professor David Cardwell, the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor, and Dr Sam Lucy, director of admissions for Cambridge colleges, spoke directly to prospective applicants across China.

The webinar is one of many in a major non-profit series which promotes various universities across the UK and Ireland.

“The scale of [Virtual University Fair China 2020] goes way beyond that of any online forum with which the University has engaged in its overseas recruitment in the past, and offers a potential watershed in widening participation in mainland China in the future,” said Dr Lucy.

Dr Lucy also spoke of the benefits of a virtual approach, stating it offered the potential of “reducing [the University’s] carbon footprint and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of communicating on a wide scale” which also has “significant potential benefit of the Virtual University Fair”.

President of the Ambright Institute, Sean Zhang, stated that the fair aims to “benefit universities and students”, and thanked Dr. Lucy and Professor Cardwell for participating “despite the disruption the Covid-19 pandemic has caused Cambridge”.