Peking University Camp

From 2 – 11 July 2018, the Faculty of Science hosted a group of students and a travelling academic from the College of Environmental Science & Engineering at Peking University for a week-long study tour.

The theme of the program was ‘Environmental Challenges” providing students with an insight into all the great teaching and research that is happening in the area of environmental science at the University of Melbourne.


Students attended lectures, interactive workshops and went on lab tours presented by various schools from within the Faculty of Science. They investigated different types of Environmental challenges, from climate change and air quality to sea level rise and ocean acidification to food security and looked at the related impacts from many different angles.

Students got a taste of living and studying in Melbourne, staying on-campus at Queen’s College and experiencing the highlights of the city during their time off.

The program included:

• Academic Sessions:
  • Development of high-iron rice and wheat to improve global health
  • Air Quality and Climate Change
  • Analytical and Environmental Chemistry
  • The Chemistry of Solar Power
  • Will reefs and atolls drown from sea level rise and ocean acidification
  • Paleoclimate Session
  • Science Communication
• Visit to the Melbourne Zoo

Final Presentations

Students were asked to complete a group presentation on what they had learnt over the program and look at both comparisons between impacts in Australia and China. The students put together some very impressive presentations on the following topics:

• The impacts of climate change on agriculture
• Drinking tap water?
• Can you change the world by changing your diet?
• Possible solutions of iron deficiency through
• Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere

The Peking University students demonstrated excellent Environmental Science knowledge and their insights they provided through their final presentations demonstrated a real passion for having a positive impact on many environmental challenges in the future.