The 2023 International Week and International Cultural Festival of the School of Humanities Successfully Held

From November 13 to 17, 2023, the School of Humanities held the 2023 International Week and International Cultural Festival to strengthen connections with partner universities and promote further collaboration in teaching, research, faculty and student exchange, and to expand its international influence.

On November 13, the school held the opening ceremony of the 2023 International Week and International Cultural Festival. Prof. Datuk Danny Wong Tze Ken, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya, Prof. Luo Peng, Director of SJTU’s International Affairs Division, Ms. Qi Hong, Secretary of the School’s Party Committee, Mr. Huang Jinxian, Vice Secretary of the School’s Party Committee, Ms. Chen Lilin, Vice Secretary of the School’s Party Committee, Prof. Wang Yunxia, Vice Dean of the School, Prof. Cai Wenjing, Vice Dean of the School, Prof. Wang Jun, Assistant for the Dean of the School, and some faculty members and students from SJTU and partner universities attended the ceremony.

Ms. Qi Hong delivered a welcome speech and mentioned that integrated with the International Cultural Festival, this year’s International Week would continue to offer a range of academic and cultural events for faculty and students of SJTU and partner universities. Prof. Luo Peng addressed the ceremony on behalf of SJTU, and expressed that SJTU would continue to establish more platforms to enhance mutual understanding and strengthen collaboration with its partner universities. Prof. Wang Ning, Dean of the School, delivered a speech and stressed that the School of Humanities had always attached great importance to international exchanges and this event would further foster cross-cultural dialogues and exchanges between the school and overseas universities. Associate Prof. Nicola Liberati and Aoi Sumida delivered speeches as the faculty representative and student representative respectively.

Then, a range of activities were held, such as the Exhibition of Worldwide Traditional Clothing, the award ceremony for “The Three-line Poem Competition for International Students”, and a series of wonderful performances presented by international students from the school.

Later, Prof. Datuk Danny Wong Tze Ken, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya, delivered a keynote speech entitled “Doing Chinese Studies and China Studies in Malaysia” and conducted an in-depth discussion with the audience.

On November 15, the school held the “New Technologies and Modes in International Chinese Language Education” Workshop. Ms. Li Shijian, Ms. Duan Mo, and Ms. An Na from the Center for Chinese International Education successively delivered their keynote speeches. Faculty members from various overseas partner universities and institutes shared their ideas on new technologies and new modes in international Chinese education, providing new insight into the development of international Chinese education.

From November 16 to 17, the school held Shanghai Jiao Tong University-Heidelberg University 2023 International Graduate Student Conference. Eleven master and doctoral students from both universities gave speeches on “Flows and Circulations – Agents, Narratives, Institutions: A Transcultural Perspective” respectively and conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions, and one of them was awarded “Sheng-sheng Best Student Paper Award”.

From November 13 to 17, the school held the International Cultural Festival which included an array of exciting activities, such as Exhibition of Worldwide Cultures and Arts, Experience of Chinese Fan Painting and Chinese Calligraphy, Intangible Cultural Heritage Techniques and the Art of Life, Chinese Tea Culture and so on. It attracted many international students and helped deepen their knowledge and understanding of Chinese culture and art.

The 2023 International Week and International Cultural Festival of the School of Humanities has attracted around 300 faculty members and students from well-known universities at home and abroad. In the future, the School of Humanities will continue to host this annual event to provide a platform for its partner universities to enhance understanding and promote exchanges, and to establish further collaboration in more fields.

Written by Zhang Yihan

Photo by International Office and International Student Affairs Office