Shanghai Zhongqiao Vocational and Technical University (Zhongqiao University) held a grand ceremony for the inauguration of its School of International Education (SIE) on Tuesday 11 April 2023. The event, which was orchestrated with the opening of 2023 Foreign Language Culture Festival in the university library hall on the same day, marks a new phase of its internationalization drive and will add new power to Zhongqiao University for producing more application-oriented talents with international mindsets.
Mr. Yan Jianjun, Chairman of Zhongqiao University, and Prof. Huo Jiazhen, President of Zhongqiao University, attended the ceremony. Also present were the management team, experts, scholars, staff members, students, and last but not least, Miss Yan Hui, SIE’s newly-appointed Dean.
Prof. Huo highlighted the importance of the founding of SIE in his congratulatory speech on behalf of Zhongqiao University, emphasizing that SIE’s establishment is not only a result of Zhongqiao University’s strategic necessity but also an answer to the calling for meeting urgent needs of vocational and technical education in the new era.
Seeing it as one of the most important decisions by the management team, Huo stressed that Zhongqiao University will capitalize on SIE’s debut to perfect top-level design, institute better regimes, spool quality talents for the purpose of elevating Zhongqiao University’s international exchanges and cooperation. He believes that SIE will play a unique role in contributing new ideas and new experiences to international education.
Shortly after Prof. Huo’s remarks, Miss Yan, Dean of SIE, briefed the audience on SIE’s objectives, education philosophy, and also the preparatory work that has been done so far. In illustrating SIE’s education philosophy, Miss Yan made the full use of the ceremony’s background board painting, making clear that SIE’s education should always not only be based on Western knowledge and advanced concepts but also be firmly rooted in tradition and regional culture, which guarantees that Chinese culture will work as indispensable fabrics in SIE’s education. The original paint, crafted by Mr. Zheng Beinan, a master in landscape painting of its Shanghai School, was accomplished with “Shen-Yuan” techniques by depicting local Jinshan countryside scenery and yet by presenting itself from the perspective of Western landscape painting in 19th century, making a perfect example to serve Miss Yan’s purpose.
Despite the tremendous new challenges under new circumstances, Miss Yan pledged to remain true to SIE’s original aspiration of cultivating talents with virtuous characters, a fundamental task for all institutions of higher learning. To this end, the first thing first for SIE is to pace itself in a "Festina Lente" way, the motto of the ancient Roman emperor Augustus, which means “fast whenever possible to pioneer new frontiers but slow whenever necessary to conserve strength”, as interpreted by Prof. Jiang Dandan and Dr. Fabian Heubel, two sinologists.
SIE also needs to focus on constant quality improvements to strengthen its comprehensive competitiveness, stressed Miss Yan. This will mainly be achieved through connotation and characteristics development, and through sharpening the international vision and global awareness of its faculty and students. In doing so, SIE will be able to offer more supports and services to Zhongqiao University for the realization of its strategic objectives, producing more quality technological talents with operational skills and international vision.
In extolling SIE’s launch, Mr. Yan, Zhongqiao University’s Chairman, pointed out that strengthening international exchanges and cultivating high-quality and high-skilled talents with international vision are major practical tasks put forward to Zhongqiao University by social and economic development. SIE’s establishment, said Mr. Yan, is of great significance since this which will surely help further enrich Zhongqiao University’s own disciplines construction, expand international exchange channels, increase its international influence, better serve the national strategy, and accelerate the materialization of its vision of "China's leading vocational and technical university with international renown".
Concluding his prepared remarks, Mr. Yan put forward three requirements to SIE for its future development. The first is that SIE must concentrate on its own construction by way of striking a good balance between peer learning, inheriting, and innovating. Secondly, SIE must strive to build a first-class faculty with reasonable structure, rigorous learning and innovative passion. And lastly, SIE must center on cultivating internationally-oriented quality talents. Mr. Yan urged that SIE carries forward Zhongqiao University’s innovative spirits and plays an active role in turning Zhongqiao University into an institution that is deeply rooted in China and yet leads the world as a pioneer in vocational education field, an institution that not only fully satisfies the needs of undergraduate vocational education but also greatly promotes the full development of Zhongqiao University.
During the ceremony, Miss Yan announced the list of Distinguished Experts for SIE, and subsequently issued the Appointment Letters to Prof. Zhang Weiliang, Prof. Douwe van den Oever, Dr. Zhao Hui, and Mr. Hou Yuhao, some of the Distinguished Experts who were also present. These Distinguished Experts, who are outstanding scholars in their own field, will undoubtedly provide strong and continuous support for SIE’s high-quality leapfrogging development in the future.
