Overseas education with local support may reduce career barriers

Educational experts said that cooperating with well-known foreign universities in running schools may be a good way to train talent that fits well into China's growth.

Data shows that the number of returned students reached 480,900 in 2017, up by 11.19 percent from 2016. Between 1978 and 2017, 83.73 percent of overseas Chinese students, totaling 3.132 million, came back after completing their studies, according to the Ministry of Education.

But a report by the Center for China and Globalization said only 32.7 percent of returnees reintegrated into society rapidly, while 54.4 percent gradually integrated and 12.9 percent have been struggling to fit in. More than 60 percent of returnees encountered problems in adapting to China’s domestic job market.

Some experts said the problems come from cultural differences at home and abroad, and others believe the returnees do not understand the domestic market environment and the needs of enterprises.

One possible solution is to have joint education programs with foreign universities and offer customized training for certain professions, said Guo Lei, executive dean of the Pixseed Digital Art Education Base, a talent incubator focusing on digital art fields such as games and animation.

Pixseed has cooperated with Abertay University to offer a five-month Master of Professional Practice in Games Development Orientation Programme (MPPOP), which prepares Chinese students to study at the UK university for one year.

This new educational model allows students to understand the status of the industry from the very beginning and then have a sound career plan. Overseas learning not only provides professional knowledge and customized courses but also work internship opportunities at top gaming companies.