The University of Leicester (UoL) recently has announced the winners of the Student Opportunities Awards 2019. It is the first time for students from Leicester International Institute (DLI) to apply for the awards this year. Among them, Sun Yuanzhi, a junior undergraduate student, won the Peer Support Award, which makes him the first winner of the award from DLI. In addition, Qin Tianrun, a sophomore, was nominated for the Peer Support Award.

The Student Opportunities Awards is the highest honor of the Annual Student Awards held by UoL for more than 20,000 students. There are 19 awards in total. This year, more than 400 students have signed up for the award. Through comprehensive evaluation, only one person won each award eventually. Among them, Peer Support Award is translated as "Tongji Support Award", which aims to recognize outstanding students who provide help and support to other students through voluntary service and thus have a positive impact on the university or community.

“When a horse knows it has a long way to go, it will push himself forward even if no one urges it”. As a student of the first batch in the institute, Sun Yuanzhi has always been strict with himself. He ranks first in the major for three consecutive years, with a weighted average score of 94.3. He has won national scholarship, merit students and other honorary titles for two consecutive years. At the same time, he has made remarkable achievements in various competitions. Furthermore, he took the initiative to take the responsibility of helping other students. He helped more than 140 students in various forms, such as key knowledge lectures, answering questions before examinations,etc..

Sun's award is not only an affirmation of his unremitting self-improvement and selfless dedication, but also an epitome of deep cooperation between China and the UK. The students of DLI have dual school rolls and enjoy the dual high-quality teaching resources of both sides. Under the close cooperation and support, it is believed that the institute will step out of a new era of international cooperation with distinctive characteristics, international vision and connotative development.