Time: Sept. 26, 2021

Source: International Cooperation and Exchange Office & JNU International School 

The Deans' Forum for International Education under the new normal was held at JNU on Sept. 24. Sponsored by the International Students Working Committee of the Guangdong Society of Higher Education, the forum was undertaken by JNU. More than 120 directors of international education and students from over 30 colleges and universities around the country attended.

Wei Zhonglin, president of the Guangdong Society of Higher Education, and JNU President Song Xianzhong spoke at the ceremony. Li Jinjun, director of International Office of the Guangdong Department of Education Province, gave the keynote speech. 

（The Dean's Forum for International Education under the new normal）

As an important center for international education in China, Wei said, JNU had special responsibility and significance in undertaking the forum. Against the completely new backdrop of international students studying in China, he said, the deans should review and sort out the ideas and problems; think about how to make new breakthroughs in crisis; and build a model of education and management for overseas students in China in line with the new era's needs.

Song said the forum provided a good communication platform for exploring the internationalization of higher education in the new era. He said he hoped the experts and scholars could express their opinions freely and make suggestions for further improving the quality and level of service for international students in China.

In the keynote speech Li said Chinese international education should actively support the Belt and Road Initiative and the strategic needs for the construction of the Guangdong-Hongkong-Macao Greater Bay Area; promote quality and efficiency; and strengthen training for strategic international talents, who are in urgent need at the national and local levels, as well as students from nations and regions participating in  the initiative who are aware of and friendly to China. 

At the meeting, front-line experts from Nanjing University, Beijing Institute of Technology, Shandong University and Zhejiang University exchanged ideas about subject research and enrollment work on Chinese foreign education; cultivation of international students and subject construction in the medical field; and online education for international students. 

In the afternoon, the conference was divided into three parallel forums, on challenges and opportunities in the quality of international students' enrollment; assimilated management and integrated education for international students in China; and innovation in online education for international students. Representatives at the conference started a lively discussion based on actual conditions at their schools.

The forum is one of a series of activities observing the 20th anniversary of the establishment of JNU's International School, undertaken by the International School and the International Cooperation and Exchange Office.