The 2022 International Week of the School of Humanities Successfully Held

From November 14 to 18, 2022, the School of Humanities held the 2022 International Week 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 14, the school held the opening ceremony of the 2022 International Week. Ms. Guo Liang, Deputy Director of SJTU’s International Affairs Division, Ms. Qi Hong, Secretary of the School’s Party Committee, Prof. Wang Ning, Dean of the School, Prof. Cai Wenjing, Vice Dean of the School, Prof. Wang Yunxia, Vice Dean of the School, Ms. Mo Xiaoling, Director of the School’s International Office, Associate Prof. Shi Donglai, some faculty members and students from SJTU and partner universities attended the ceremony.

Ms. Guo Liang delivered a welcome speech. She stressed SJTU’s dedication to intensive educational and research exchanges with overseas universities through various kinds of collaborations. She mentioned that the 2021 International Week had been a complete success, and she was pleased to witness the opening of the 2022 International Week. She added that SJTU would continue to build a platform for partner universities to enhance communication and collaboration. 

Ms. Qi Hong also addressed the ceremony. She highlighted the school’s commitment to innovation, openness and inclusiveness by promoting dialogues among different civilizations in the era of globalization. She mentioned that the 2022 International Week further demonstrated the school’s central strategies of the internationalization and believed that this annual event would be continuously hosted to deepen friendship with partner universities.

Then, the school held the award ceremony for “The Three-line Poem Competition for International Students”. Prizes were awarded to 18 international students from SJTU and partner universities.

Later, Matthew Reynolds, Professor of English and Comparative Criticism and Chair of the Oxford Comparative Criticism and Translation Research Centre (OCCT) at the University of Oxford, delivered a keynote speech entitled “Prismatic Translation” and conducted an in-depth discussion with the audience. 

On November 16, the school held “Getting to know China” Art Experiences for international students. Prof. Wang Jun, Director of the School’s International Chinese Education Center, delivered a welcome speech. He hoped that through this event, international students present could get a better understanding of China and Chinese culture. Later, a range of cultural activities including Tea Art and Tea Tasting, Lecture on Chinese Calligraphy and Chinese Calligraphy Writing, and Chinese Folk Music Performance were held. 

On November 17, the school held “Research and Practice in Calligraphy and Cultural Integration Teaching of HSK Basic Chinese Characters” Workshop. Prof. Chen Ke, Deputy Director of SJTU’s International Affairs Division, delivered a welcome speech. He stressed that SJTU had been making efforts to promote collaboration in education with other universities, and would continue to support the School of Humanities in the field of international Chinese education. Prof. Zhou Bin from the School made a keynote speech on his new book A Creative Course in Calligraphy for HSK Basic Chinese Characters, and faculty members from four partner universities and institutes also shared their views on international Chinese education.

From November 17 to 18, the school held Shanghai Jiao Tong University-Heidelberg University International Graduate Student Conference, which was co-organized by the Center for Asian and Transcultural Studies and the Confucius Institute at Heidelberg University. Twelve master and doctoral students from both universities gave speeches on “Tradition and Modernity from a Cross-Cultural Perspective” respectively and conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions, and two of them were awarded “Sheng-sheng Best Student Paper Award”.

The 2022 International Week has attracted hundreds of faculties and students from top universities in five continents. In the future, the School of Humanities will continue to host this annual event so as to provide a platform for its partner universities to enhance understanding and promote exchanges, and to establish further collaboration in more fields. 

Photo by Mo Xiaoling, Li Xiaoxuan, Hu Haiying and Zhang Yihan