“Australia is not that far from home. The flight time from China to Townsville is not too long, there is only a two-hour time difference and the environment is relaxed.”

Originally from China, Dalun Ding enrolled in a Bachelor of Business at the JCU Singapore campus before he transferred to JCU in Australia. Dalun enjoyed his Singapore experience but he wanted to improve his English, so he moved to Australia to continue his studies.

“My English is not so good. In China you study English at school, but it is not enough for every day. In Singapore, there are many Chinese people, so I couldn’t practice my English. There are not many Chinese people in Townsville so I speak English more often. Studying at JCU has made my English much more useful.”

Dalun enjoys his studies and the new knowledge he is learning. He lives on-campus and plays basketball with other students at the college courts. During his holidays he travelled to Cairns with a group of JCU tourism students and enjoyed the train trip to Kuranda and Skyrail where you can see 7.5 kilometres of pristine rainforest from the air.

“I think it is a good idea for Chinese students to study at JCU. Living here is so different from our traditional Chinese way of life. The culture and food are not the same but that’s okay as I like to try different things.”  

Dalun has found it easy to seek assistance from his JCU lecturers when he needs support with his course work or assignments.

“The JCU lecturers are more flexible than my teachers in China. They are very helpful.”

When he finishes his degree, Dalun wants to study a Master of Business and work in either Australia or China.