Chinese students blossoming in Canada

Chinese students and their parents visit the campus of University of Ottawa.

Qi Mengjiao, a fourth year biomedical engineering PhD student at Polytechnique Montreal, described the French-speaking city as a friendly and welcoming place for people all over the world.

"Maybe people are concerned about French but from my experience, French is not a real problem. If people realize you can't speak French, they offer to translate into English automatically. One benefit here is that we can switch between the two languages. I really like it here," said Qi.

Qi has big plans for the future. One is to graduate as soon as possible and return to China and help out in development and act as a bridge between the homeland and Canada.

Jin Feifei is an international student who benefited from the Stay in Nova Scotia Program, which connects final year international students directly to the labour market and helps them build valuable employment skills, workplace knowledge and professional connections.

For Jin, who is from the western part of China and has the English name of Victoria, the program gives her the chance to stay Nova Scotia during her final year of earning an MBA from Quebec University.

"It is a wonderful program that connects mentor and mentee. We match together those professionals already working in the industry," said Jin, who is now running a restaurant with her partner.

Charles Xu, a PhD student in biology at McGill University, studied in the US, Sweden, Netherlands and France before coming to Canada. He said Montreal is a diverse city and a blend of Francophone and Anglophone culture. "No one takes complete ownership, thus leaving some room for other cultures."

"We get amazing students from China," said Matin Bressani, director of McGill's school of architecture. "They have the capacity to work very hard and being hardworking is part of Chinese discipline."

He said Chinese students who have strong academic backgrounds, but typically seem not outspoken, have become extremely sophisticated academically.

"Chinese students have demonstrated incredible works and they already have subtle and substantial understanding of designs and concepts and develop ideas," said Bressani.

For cities like Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City, the multi-cultural and bilingual universities are seen as an advantage and asset to international students, according to Jacques Freemont, president of the University of Ottawa, a bilingual school.

"It is like the image Canada has abroad," he said. "We are able to be comfortable with Continental Europeans, Americans and Chinese. This is a special and peaceful place."

Despite the safe and supportive environment, Chinese students still face a lot of challenges in Canada, including language barriers, culture shock and differences in the educational system.