In order to implement various tasks during the quasi-closed management period, on the morning of April 15, the International Education College took the lead in organizing an online conference on the management of international students. Vice President He Ying, the deans in charge of international student work in each college and relevant personnel from our college attended the conference, which was presided over by Chen Wei, Executive vice dean of our college.
Firstly, Vice President He Ying conveyed the spirit of the recent conference of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission on epidemic prevention and control. At present, the epidemic is still spreading rapidly, and the education system is facing enormous pressure. Although the situation is severe,we must always take epidemic prevention and control as an important task, and thoroughly implement the deployment of the State Council and Shanghai Municipal Government.All universities should unify their understanding according to the deployment requirements and put the prevention and control work into practice in a rigorous manner. We should block the spread of the epidemic by strictly implementing quarantine management. At the same time, more stringent, scientific and sophisticated management measures should be taken to achieve the classification and all efforts should be made to it. Besides, we should strengthen supervision and accountability, focus on the dynamic zero COVID-19 strategy, use confidence and courage, put great effort into solving leaks and blind spots, make good use of the “window period”, strive to achieve the goal ahead of the society, and keep the university safe to win the battle against the epidemic.
Dai Ying, Vice Dean of our college, informed the participants about the overall development of the current international student work and the tips for the next stage. She introduced the relevant work recently completed by our college from four aspects: epidemic prevention information statistics, investigation and visits of students who met with difficulties, psychological health education for international students and mid-term examination integrity education. Regarding the next stage of work, in terms of student management, teaching management, and enrollment work, she proposed that we should focus on the deployment of epidemic prevention work,the epidemic prevention education, the public opinion supervision and control, and the psychological communication with international students.
The deans in charge of teaching in relevant colleges and the class teachers and counselors also gave their suggestions and thoughts on the aspects of strengthening contact with students, dynamically grasping student information and improving students' independent management; focusing on classroom attendance and innovating teaching methods; strengthening the construction of class teachers and counselors to enhance professionalism; and establishing a multi-platform communication and exchange mechanism.
On behalf of the College, Vice Dean Chen Wei thanked the leaders and faculty of the colleges for their opinions and suggestions and looked forward to further optimizing the student management and education model, strengthening information communication and exchange, and actively building a professional platform to enhance the professionalism and comprehensiveness of the international student management and education model with the great cooperation of all parties. In response to the problems existing in the management under the quarantine, he emphasized that it is necessary to continue to focus on the epidemic prevention and control education, strengthen the contact and timely check students' physical and psychological conditions to eliminate hidden dangers; strengthen humanistic care, understand the needs of students, and effectively solve the corresponding problems through coordination at the college and university levels; pay attention to key students and provide guidance, especially those in sensitive areas or with language barriers; actively organize various online activities and communication to relieve students' psychological pressure. He also suggested that more activities should be carried out to increase the connection between students and the university; strengthen the management of students' attendance, grasp the learning status, analyze the shortcomings in teaching management, and improve the standardization of running schools;work together to promote enrollment publicity and broaden student source channels.
Finally, Vice President He Ying made a summary of the conference. She first affirmed the hard work of the participants in the education of international students under the background of the epidemic.Then she pointed out that in the next stage, it is necessary to continue to promote the work around seven points. Clarify work objectives: At the critical period of epidemic prevention and control, it is necessary to implement the general goal of dynamic zero COVID-19 strategy of the Party Central Committee, the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government, unify thoughts and build consensus. We must have firm confidence and the courage to overcome difficulties, block the chain of transmission, and implement policies for epidemic prevention and control. Implement work measures: It is necessary to strictly implement the relevant epidemic prevention and control measures of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and the University Party Committee, adhere to the problem orientation, coordinate together and clarify the main responsibilities. Strengthen humanistic care: It is necessary to carry out humanistic care for teachers and students, establish communication channels and contact mechanisms, stratify problem-solving needs, grasp public opinion and strengthen exchanges. Strengthen personnel management: It is necessary to strengthen the education of epidemic prevention and control regulations for corresponding personnel, refine measures, and timely grasp the information and trends of international students. Strictly clarify epidemic prevention responsibilities: It is necessary to strictly clarify individual and main responsibilities for epidemic prevention and control. Establish a clear and efficient working mechanism: It is necessary to strengthen the communication and linkage between departments, establish an efficient working mechanism, and clarify the scope of responsibility. Strengthen supervision and guidance: The College of International Education should strengthen the guidance on the education of international students in the relevant colleges, and the colleges should strengthen the professional guidance of the head teachers of international students.
The conference not only emphasized the importance of international student management in the context of the epidemic, but also clarified the necessity of establishing a communication mechanism for student management in the online mode, which laid a foundation for deepening the management mode and promoting the high-quality development of international student education.
Written by: Zhang Wen
Photos by: Zhang Ruyi
Reviewed by: Chen Wei