Dong Jie is one of the 2015^th graduate students, graduated from Department of intelligence science and technology, School of Information Science and Technology. During school, she published 3 academic paper, and has the highest GPA in the department. She have won National Scholarship for graduate students, FIP Travel Scholarship of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. She won the first-class Scholarship for graduate students of Xiamen university for seven consecutive years. She have won the title of outstanding communist party members and merit student several times.

In January 2015, Dong Jie was elected into the cooperative doctoral training program by Xiamen University and McGill University. In May of the same year, she won financial funding from the government sponsored graduate program to build high-level University by China Scholarship Council, and funding from McGill University. Now she is studying at McGill Medical School for her doctor’s degree.

Choosing and waiting: Finally get seven PhD offer

“My parents are both doctors. Maybe it’s the family atmosphere that have made me deeply interested in medical science. Speaking from a professional perspective, the reason for applying for a doctorate is that I want to have opportunities to engage in Interdisciplinary Research of Medical Science and Computer Science, therefore combine my interest and major. From a personal perspective, studying abroad has always been my dream. I believe all the experiences and breakthrough that comes with it will benefit me for life.”

In the second semester of the second year, Dong Jie prepared the IELTS and the application materials at the same time. She went through every detail from content to typesetting. In her personal statement, she earnestly recount her past education experience and why she chose interdisciplinary research as her research field.

At the same time, Dong Jie proactively get in touch with the supervisors who she admired and got a dozen online interview. In her view, face to face communication is an opportunity to get to know each other. Although there might be questions which she don’t know the answer, she still tried to refer to the knowledge she knows and talked about her opinion. This is also a comprehensive way to test the ability to face and solve the problem. In every interview, she asked herself to be “fully prepared and neither humble nor pushy”

Finally, she filed eight doctorate application according to the quality of her interview and interest. It is a time when her classmates had known where to go after graduation, which made the waiting more excruciating. However she told herself to try her best with everything so that she won’t regret in the future.

After long waiting, she got 7 PhD offers from University of McGill, University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Auckland, Delft University of Technology. In the end, she chose McGill University and get funding from China Scholarship Council and McGill University.

Transform under pressure: to become the better self on the new platform.

McGill University is the oldest higher institution in Canada,and the top Medical Doctoral Universities in Canada. It had enjoyed high reputation for a century.

Currently, Dong Jie is learning and studying at McConnell brain image center of the Montreal neurological institute, McGill University. It is the largest neuro image center in North America and is recognized as one of the top neuro image center in the world. It has seven affiliated core sectors to conduct academic and clinical research activities relating to brain mechanism and brain disease based on different medical imaging technology. At present, Dong Jie is conducting related research of the mechanism of brain visual cortex based on MEG imaging technology in the NeuroSpeed laboratory affiliated to the center.

At first, Dong Jie encountered many difficulties. The loneliness of living alone in a foreign country, the language barrier, and the lack of background knowledge of the completely new research field all put great pressures on her.

 “As a former standout in my little circle, meeting more remarkable people can shake my confidence at the beginning therefore I gradually adjusted my mentality. Now I have passed through that painful transition. The future has just began and I will be brave and persistent as before.”　　

Yearning to serve my motherland: contribute to the development of computer neuroscience

In the 2005 expert review of the China Scholarship Council, only 6 people got the scholarship for PhD study in McGill University, two of which are from Xiamen University and Dong Jie is one of them.

 “I am so proud and happy to be a member of Xiamen University. I like to introduce myself in this way ‘Hello, I’m Dong Jie. I am a first year PhD student. I come from Xiamen University --- the most beautiful university in China’ ”  Speaking to her application experience, she appreciated the high quality teaching resources and living environment provided by her Alma Mater, thanked the platform and opportunities offered by the graduate school and the help she receive from her supervisor and classmates so that she can have the chance to embark on a new path to pursue her dream.

“I am certainly not the best of the thousands of graduate students, and my conditions among other applicants are not very outstanding. I am just an average and  ordinary person of Xiamen University. But I chose to pursue my dream and stick to the path to PhD bravely. Finally I get the chance to come to Canada, to read the major I like in McGill.” She added that “I think this studying experience will be a baptism of a different culture, an inspiration of a different kind of education, and will certainly be an important experience for my mental growth.”

      In the course of academic research, Dong Jie always remind herself of her true dream, that is to study cutting-edge scientific knowledge, broaden her horizon, and achieve great academic results. In addition, she also hopes that she can acquire her PhD degree early and go back to serve her country. Also she wants to promote the development of Computational neuroscience and achieve more internationally influential high quality research results with leading researchers in her Alma Mater.