【From GDUFSers】 GDUFS aka "CPU" — Crazy Presentation University

Editor: Have you ever stood in front of the class, clicking the mouse, looking sight of the PowerPoint, expressing your thoughts with well-prepared words? Students at GDUFS couldn’t be more familiar with the scene above because this is presentation, the indispensable experience of their university life. No matter what major they are in, students are quite likely to go through their first, second and even the thirty-fourth presentation at GDUFS. “CPU” is the nickname of GDUFS, meaning crazy presentation university. How do students at this “CPU” prepare and give presentations? Do their efforts yield any result? The following articles of the series【From GDUFSers】will tell us the real presentation experience of three GDUFSers and their gains.

@Sharon TANG, a 19-year-old English major

Q1: Which lessons are required to have presentations?

As an English major student, we have presentations in almost every lesson. Our courses are mainly based on some certain topics, so we have to do lots of research and reading after class, and presentations show the result of our studies.

Q2: How does a presentation come out?

Generally speaking, it is all about teamwork. In most cases there are various aspects for a topic to study; given that, we usually spilt up into different areas. I remembered that we were once asked to discuss the differences between Chinese and western education. So during the preparation one of us dived in Chinese education pattern, the other in western pattern, and still another recorded the discussion. Each one of us would line out keywords attached with pictures, then in turns we produce the PowerPoint file. To emphasize, the whole presentation, including files and speeches, is entirely based on our discussion result. We believe that in this way the whole presentation may be more connected and completed.

Q3: What did you learn in the presentations?

Everything. Presentation are a complex method urging me to think and express myself. It has provided me not only knowledge about the topic but also the ability to think logically as well as the bravery to make speeches. It has many other advantages, so I personally welcome every presentation even if it takes plenty of time to prepare.

Students are giving their presentation

@PENG Yongkai, a second-year student from the Serbian major

Q1: In which courses you need to do presentations?

I think we do presentation in every course, and that’s how GDUFS got its nickname, right? Every term I will make at least five presentations. As for the presentation made in our major, we are required to present only in Serbian. That’s quite a difficult task. Serbian is unlike English, and it requires strict rules of declension, which confuses me a lot even when I’m writing. So the hardest part in presentation definitely is organizing your expression properly and expressing it as quickly as possible as you can.

Q2: What did you learn from these presentations?

When I finished my presentation of Serbian, I found my expression in Serbian had improved quite a lot. Moreover, because the theme of our Serbian presentation often relates to Chinese culture and customs, I realized the responsibility of being a translator, which is not only about being the bridge of communication, but I myself need to bridge the gap between the two cultures. And that gives me more passion and motivation to learn this language.

Q3: Do you think these presentations sometimes are a burden for students?

I don’t think so. Sometimes presentation can be quite annoying as it takes a lot of time, but when I look back on the process of preparing presentations, I felt nothing but satisfaction. Presentations have really molded me into a more responsible and articulate person, so I am thankful for these presentations.

Part of Serbian presentation

@DU Cheng, a freshman majoring in International Relations

Q1: What do you think of the presentation at GDUFS?

We are required to do presentations in any types of course, such as major courses, English courses and other liberal optional courses. In most cases, we are divided into separate groups and present a PowerPoint with videos and pictures. I have heard that students in GDUFS need to do this like a hundred times, which is why GDUFS is called the “CPU”. But the experience of presentation is quite a wonder to me, a freshman, since I didn’t have such a chance like this in high school.

Q2: What did you learn from the presentations?

Presentations provides us good chance to build up our team spirit, and it encourages us to brainstorm and share ideas. For example, the latest presentation I gave was a group presentation study on the history of modern international relations. The division of our group was clear-cut, each one being charged with specific parts. I got a more profound understanding of the abstract concepts, thanks to the preparation and analysis process of the cause and effect of neutralism in America and appeasement policy in England and France.

After presenting, our teacher gave us remarks on our performance and advice for improvement. Now I am making efforts to express myself in a more logical way.

Students are listening to the feedback from the teacher

Generally speaking, students at GDUFS accept this method despite the hard works it entails. It is agreed that presentations have not only offered knowledge attached to courses, but also urged students to improve their research and speaking abilities as well as logical thinking. In fact, presentations are valuable to students since it will be a required skill in future jobs. Students learn valuable skills when preparing presentations, such as perseverance and co-ordination. The more they performed on the stage, the better they master the skills of argumentation and elocution. So let’s embrace presentations, the strategy of this “Crazy Presentation University” for challenging students, rather than boring them.