A collection of short essays and images by IFTM students has been just published by the Institute’s Pedagogic Affairs Department. “IFTM Students Anti-Pandemic E-book” tells of the experiences of students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The digital book can be read online by clicking here.
IFTM began preparing the publication in June by asking students for first-hand accounts of the challenges they faced as the COVID-19 pandemic struck during the second semester of academic year 2019/2020. The result is an 85-page e-book with 6 chapters.
The publication adopts the students’ perspective to show a different side to the response to the pandemic. The e-book documents how IFTM staff and students worked hand-in-hand to tackle the issues thrown up by the start of the pandemic, while relying on the support of authorities in Macao and the Central People’s Government.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, IFTM’s leadership has adopted a positive outlook in tackling the challenges of a world facing the coronavirus. At the start of the second semester of academic year 2019/2020, IFTM took swift action, with most teaching and study moved online as a measure to limit crowds and ensure proper social distancing. Students were able to continue their studies, while ensuring the community’s safety.
The e-book also details how travel restrictions imposed around the world impacted some IFTM students. Some undergraduates on 6-month internships or exchange programmes were stranded overseas. IFTM staff remained in close contact with each of them, offering assistance and guidance.
Student Melody Lu Yichang was on exchange at the University of South Carolina in the United States when most international airline fleets were grounded. With face-to-face classes suspended, and the Mainland Chinese student unable to secure a seat on a flight home, Melody needed assistance from the Embassy to get her on a chartered flight.
With confirmation of her seat on a plane home she also received a letter from the Embassy. “Our country was bringing our people back,” she wrote in her piece for the IFTM e-book. Her story highlights how proud she felt of government efforts to repatriate its citizens during such a difficult time.
The stories featured in the e-book show the important role played by all levels of government in helping IFTM and its students cope with the pandemic. Each of the personal accounts reveals how the community at IFTM came together to ensure a successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the pandemic under control in Macao, most IFTM courses resumed face-to-face teaching at the beginning of this semester. In tandem with Macao’s effective response and management of the pandemic, the Institute continues to review and upgrade COVID-19 countermeasures on its campuses, while working ceaselessly to ensure a high-quality educational experience.
