News & Events

​The School of Design Hosts an Open Discussion With International Students on the 18^th of October

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As the new academic year of 2021/22 commences, the School of Design has sought to further support all international students in the School of Design studying online in order to aid their educational experience. Towards this aim, the Office of External Relations held an online session on the afternoon of 18 October 2021 to solicit opinions and advice from students and to address the students’ most significant concerns.

Attending the discussion were RUAN Xing, Dean and Professor of Architecture, CHE Shegnquan, Associate Dean of External Relations and Professor of Landscape Architecture, HAN Ting, Associate Dean of Education and Professor of Design, WU Chao, Deputy CPC Secretary, three International Program Directors: Dr. DU Qian, from M.Arch, Dr. ZHANG Zhan, from IIDE, Dr. CHEN Dan, from M.LA and representatives from other administrative offices in the School of Design together with around 20 international students from all over the world.

RUAN Xing expressed his warmest welcome to the class of 2021, and asked for everyone’s understanding when faced with the limitations of online studies as well as border restrictions. He mentioned that the three International Professional Master’s Programs are the most important programs we currently run, and that colleagues across the School have been working hard and carefully planning for different scenarios in preparation for this academic year to provide high-quality learning and teaching even though the students are not physically on campus.

In the Q&A section, students were free to express problems faced during this period of remote studies. Asma, a PhD student from Design described her thesis status and challenges she has experienced in finding opportunities for practice and field research. Joan from the M.Arch program stated she greatly appreciated this opportunity to talk with the Dean directly, and raised her concerns on the group report. Nicolo from the Polimi Double Degree Program brought up the opportunity lost for regular communication with Chinese students, as well as difficulty in dealing with the time difference. These issues were all carefully documented, and staff and faculty across the School will periodically work on resolving them.

The Shanghai Jiao Tong School of Design is working during the pandemic to continue to promote excellent teaching and research work with a global benefit. It is always our overriding aim to commit to maintaining the highest possible standards of education and to provide students online with rich resources and support.

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