Chongqing- "I need to be very grateful to the Chinese government and people for being so kind to foreigners that they also provide these vaccines to us." A few days ago, Majid received the COVID-19 vaccine made by Sinopharm. "They are not making any difference between foreigners and their people. That's really admirable. Now I feel very safe because I've got my vaccine." Majid said during an interview with iChongqing recently.

Majid Shaker, 26 years old, came from Iran. In 2020, he finished a Master’s degree at Beijing University of Chemical Technology, and now he’s working in Chongqing Nobel Prize 2D Materials Research Institute. Due to the pandemic, it has been two years since Majid left his hometown. He lives in Chongqing and misses his family in Iran badly, "I hope China can develop more vaccines, and hopefully, the pandemic will finish very quickly." 

Graduated during the pandemic

2020 was the last year of postgraduate for Majid. He still remembers the panic when they heard about COVID-19 for the first time. Many international students left China in a hurry, but he decided to stay. "This government can control and manage almost any disaster." During the COVID crisis, he stayed in China with his classmates and teachers. "We were not allowed to leave the school freely. If we needed to go out and do something in an emergency, we had to apply for permission to leave the school and come back on time." 

Majid recalled his experience and concluded, "Here, people trust their government, so what the government says, they obey it. It's not just for the government. It's for their own good." He believes that only in this kind of trusting environment, people and the government can cooperate. He understood that it's everyone's duty and social morality to obey the regulations such as wearing masks and personal hygiene.

Majid also mentioned the medical aid of the Chinese government to Iran. While many countries were suffering from a lack of vaccines, the Chinese government was generous and providing vaccines to save his countrymen's lives.  This shows the international responsibility of a great country.

Like other college students, Majid attended online courses and completed his degree in accordance with his plan in June 2020. Since then, his life in China has continued in another city, Chongqing, where a career position was waiting for this talented young man.

There are a lot of job vacancies in China

"I believe that the unemployment rate in China is very low because every Chinese person I know has a job." Majid got his job in Chongqing immediately after he left the university. Compared with other countries, he considers finding a job in China is very easy. For example, his classmates had no difficulty in finding employment. They had a range to choose from. Even some of the jobs are guaranteed before their graduation.

"I think this country, especially the government, supports many high-tech companies and industries to develop in different fields. And as a result, there are many vacancies for the new graduates and the people who are seeking jobs." As an R&D engineer, Majid finds China an ideal place to do scientific research in the engineering field, and China has almost any materials and equipment needed. "You don’t need to import or wait for the equipment to come from abroad. You can get anything you need as fast as possible and perform your experiments with high efficiency."

As an R&D engineer, Majid and his fellows are researching the application of 2D materials, such as graphene and graphene oxide, and their applications in different fields, such as batteries and supercapacitor or anti-corrosive coatings and so on. Some of these studies have been patented and have found practical applications.

Majid intends to start his Ph.D. abroad next year, and he has already got some offer letters. After graduation, he said he would come back to China for postdoctoral or research work. "Because the people and the government all cherish the people who are doing scientific research, it's really convenient, and I feel very honored."

(Yang Haochen, as an intern, also contributed to this report and producing the video)