Group photo
Fourteen newly-employed foreign experts attended the training session
SISU president Li Yansong talking with foreign experts
Foreign Experts enjoying the training session
Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) held a training session on Sep. 12, 2019 to welcome newly-employed international experts to join.
20 newly-employed international experts from 14 countries joined SISU this year . About half of them have got a doctor degree in their own research fields. Mostly majoring in foreign languages and literatures, they will do research and teach students at SISU, said Zhang Yun, chief of SISU’s international Experts Section.
SISU president Li Yansong thanked the experts for choosing SISU and emphasized at the training session that the contribution made by international experts is vital to SISU’s development. He also said he hoped them to participate in the school’s coming 70th anniversary.
Considering Sep. 13 was Mid Autumn Festival when Chinese people reunite with their families, Li said, “Although you are far from home, we will celebrate together in this brand new family.”
Zhang Hongling, director of SISU’s Office of International Cooperation and Exchange introduced SISU. She suggeested them take part in the upcoming SISU Global Village, a new activity platform for international experts, will bring more events like academic salons.
Wang Tao, officer of Shanghai Exit and Entry Administration Bureau, gave a detailed introduction of China’s entry and exit policies and employment regulations to the experts at the training session. He also gave some notes of do’s and don’ts for international experts working in China.
Guidebooks for International Faculty were offered to help international experts adapt to the new life. To better integrate them into the university, SISU also set up the International Faculty Club and the Global Café. At these platforms, international experts can consult policies and communicate with each other.
“SISU has provided accommodation and a Chinese language course. And I have my colleagues who are helping me all the time,” said Jennifer Brehmer, a newly recruited Swedish expert, “I'm a teacher and a student at the same time. It is a very valuable experience.”
“The one thing that I really like about SISU is how it values, empowers and trusts its teaching staff. Trust is critical when you rely on others to deliver your agenda and reach your goals,” said Carlos de Cueto Nogueras, a Spanish professor who has been working in SISU for years.
With the arrival of 20 new international experts, this semester, SISU’s international faculty has been greatly enlarged: Now SISU has 88 international experts. The university recruited more international experts in 2019 than in previous years. “We promote area studies by encouraging schools and departments to include more outstanding international experts in their teaching and academic development,” Zhang Yun said, “that is a way to consolidate SISU's position as one of China's top universities.”
