On the afternoon of March 6, 2023, the International Education College of Shanghai Business School held a meeting on the education of international students at the 1501 conference room in Xuhui campus. The Deans in charge of international student education from each second-level college, as well as the class advisors/counselors for international students in each second-level college, along with relevant personnel from the International Education College attended the meeting, which was presided over by Vice Dean Chen Wei.
Firstly, Vice Dean Dai Ying reported on the recent situation of international student affairs, including institutional development, academic and administrative work, student management, and enrollment efforts. This includes the revision of the “Management Measures for the Enrollment of International Students (including those in the 2+2 top-up program)” and “Management Measures for Foreign Undergraduates Transferring Majors”, as well as the completion of course withdrawals and selections. In addition, they have organized online student activities and winter holiday relief activities, actively expanded enrollment channels and resources, and attracted potential students.
After that, Vice Dean Dai Ying provided several important reminders regarding the next stage of work deployment. In terms of student management, attention should be paid to the physical and mental conditions of international students. It is important to dynamically grasp their information and provide positive ideological guidance. Strengthening promotion and guidance efforts is necessary, including guiding international students to firmly and consciously practice the concept of “Health First” during class meetings and collective activities. In terms of teaching management, each second-level college needs to effectively implement hybrid online and offline teaching models, strengthen teacher-student interaction, and inspect facilities and equipment before classes. Additionally, the acceptance of the 2022 Shanghai Business School English-taught demonstrative course for international students has been fully launched. As for enrollment work, the enrollment of international students for the year 2023 has officially begun and will be carried out in an orderly manner with active cooperation from each second-level college.
Afterwards, the academic deans responsible for international student affairs in each second-level college provided relevant opinions and suggestions on offline teaching, graduate thesis inspections, professional internships, and international student management. After sufficient discussion and communication, a preliminary consensus has been reached regarding the plan for this semester’s work.
Finally, Vice Dean Chen Wei made a brief summary of the exchange: he proposed that the management model for international students this semester should be carried out in a “2+2” approach. Specifically, this approach will be driven by improving the educational management system and support service system for international students, while admissions work and international exchange cooperation will serve as two wings, achieving “concurrent development of both wings, driven by dual wheels,” to realize the internationalization and high-quality development of the university. Regarding specific work, he emphasized that each professional counselor needs to understand and respect the cultural, behavioral, and ideological differences of international students in their student work, gradually realizing a convergence of management models between Chinese and international students. For professional internships, the International Education College will actively explore and expand practical resources in cooperation with various second-level colleges, accelerating the formulation of procedures for connecting with potential cooperating enterprises. In terms of graduation thesis, the International Education College will issue requirements and writing templates for them, and collaborate with the Personnel Office and Academic Affairs Office to refine and implement tasks such as thesis supervisor allocation and thesis checking. To address issues such as limited faculty resources in each college, further optimization of talent development plans for international students is needed. Meanwhile, it’s necessary to promote the construction of all-English demonstration courses, and accelerate the flow of high-quality courses across colleges and the sharing of teaching resources.
The meeting has clarified and outlined the focus of this year’s management work for international students, laying a solid foundation for the smooth implementation of various tasks in the new semester. To actively respond to new requirements and challenges in the current situation, the International Education College will work closely with all second-level colleges to straighten out the institutional mechanisms, methods and ideologies, thereby overcoming difficulties, innovating and developing, strengthening the construction of teaching capacity, and shaping the international reputation of education for international students.
Written by: Zeng Shiyin
Photos by: Ni Haoran
Reviewed by: Chen Wei
