Time Lag and Distance Won’t Separate Danish from his Students

Responding to the call to continue learning despite the suspension of classes, Danish, a foreign teacher at the School of Economics and Trade, began his special teaching in Pakistan, which was 4,000 km away from GDUFS.

Danish

“I like challenges and I will tackle any obstacles.”

Danish told us that the preparation for teaching online was much more complicated than expected. Due to the language barrier, Danish needed to spend a longer time to learn Chinese online teaching platforms. He searched many tutorials on the Internet and asked his teaching assistant for help to take screenshots of the operation pages and translate them one by one. He also familiarized himself with the meaning of each icon over and over again. Meanwhile, the electric power supply was limited in Danish's area, so abnormal electrical conditions occurred sometimes during the online lectures. Once, his class was delayed by 30 minutes due to a regional power failure.

Danish Teaching Online

But these didn’t throw a damper over Danish’s enthusiasm to teach. He made each PPT in a clear way so students could get hold of the knowledge points easily. Besides, eventhough Danish couldn’t see students’faces like he used to in classes, now he chatted with his students in WeChat group and encouraged them to raise any question. “In the online teaching, I will spend more time preparing speeches and organizing the class progress, and at the same time, I need to find all the information that should be presented in a PPT. Since online teaching basically relies on PPTs for output, I’m supposed to research more materials than before.” Danish indicated.

One of the students from the School of Economics and Trade claimed that Danish was a serious and rigorous teacher with a strict sense of time. “He adheres to punctuality, and he always listens to the suggestions from students and teaching assistants to make adjustments accordingly.” One of Danish’s adjustments was his language speed; he changed it soon after receiving students’feedback, so his teaching efficiency had been greatly improved.

With the integration of teaching and researching talent, Danish often worked until midnight.

In addition to teaching skills, Danish was awarded with the title of “Talented in Research”. He has published a number of high-quality SSCI articles on energy and environment economics, and his annual research exceeds the basic workload of the contract. He has also actively anticipated in many national, provincial and university-level scientific research projects such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and has successfully applied for school-level projects on energy innovation and pollution in developing countries.

In 2015, Danish received a Ph.D. scholarship for the cultural exchange program from the China Scholarship Council, which helped him complete his Ph.D. at Beijing Institute of Technology. Danish chose to work in China for love of the country, and became a foreign teacher of the School of Economics and Trade at GDUFS. After joining the staff, he kept learning Chinese by himself through the online platform, and attending Chinese language classes. After teaching for two years, he was awarded "An Outstanding Foreign Teacher at GDUFS", and published a number of academic papers. "China has a very good teaching environment, as well as learning. I have met a lot of excellent tutors and friends here, and improved a lot."

"China is also my second home."

In recent years, Chinese have been incorporated into Pakistan's primary schools’ schedules, which has aroused his interest in China. " Chinese culture has a long history. The Chinese economy is growing fast and its manufacturing is world-renowned. In the meantime, there are a lot of opportunities to learn, so I have always wanted to study in China.” After arriving China, Danish visited many cities. " Xi'an, Lanzhou, Urumqi ... Everywhere I have been to, people would ask me where I come from, and I would say 'Pakistan'. Then they would say, 'Oh, our Iron Brothers!'”. He was excited and told us that in Pakistan there is a famous saying to describe the friendship between China and Pakistan, which is, "higher than the mountains, deeper than the sea and sweeter than honey". He described the relationship as being as close as friends. "We are equal. We respect each other, like friends. If you share with your friends, the friendship will be deeper. "

During the outbreak, the leaders and teachers of the School of Economics and Trade often asked Danish if materials were needed, particularly epidemic prevention and control materials such as masks, which made him feel warm. Danish, in Pakistan, always cared about China's outbreak prevention and control efforts. According to Ms. Lu, Danish forwarded messages about pandemic to her, and was concerned about the situation in China. As for the regulations that GDUFS and the government enforced, he expressed understanding. He also sent praise when the number of confirmed cases in China declined.

Danish's family welcomed a new baby in January this year. He would like to bring his wife and children together to live in China after this special period is over. Nowadays, Danish, from thousands of miles away, reports the daily health conditions to the school. "China is also my second home, " Danish said, who is eager for an early end to the outbreak and the day he returns to the campus.