A dialogue between Sino-US presidents and colleges opened in the International Exchange Center at Jilin Huaqiao University of Foreign Language (HQUFL). Four Doctors from St. Cloud State University and its Confucius Institute in the United States conducted exchanges and discussions with Presidents from sixteen universities and colleges in Changchun, China.
The meeting was jointly hosted by the Education Department of Jilin Province and HQUFL. Hu Renyou, Director of the International Office of the Education Department of Jilin Province chaired the dialogue. Important leaders from the Higher Education Division of the Education Department, the International Office, and the Training Center of International Chinese Teaching, attended the conference.
Yang Junfeng, Vice Principal, delivered a welcome address on behalf of Ms Qin He, President of HQUFL. He said that HQUFL undertakes important missions to disseminate Chinese culture, promote international communication, and serve both national and local economic development due to its property as a university of foreign languages learning and studies. He added that this meeting offered a good opportunity for cultural exchanges between Sino-US universities and it also laid a foundation for further cooperation between Sino-US universities including St. Cloud State University.
Dr. Robbyn R. Wacker, President of St. Cloud State University in the United States delivered a keynote speech during the meeting. She pointed out that with the changes of economic and social situations, universities and colleges in the US are confronted with a series of challenges such as adjustment of major establishment and lack of financial support. To adapt to such situations, those universities and colleges have to take positive strategies involving expansion of international partners of cooperation, increase of interdisciplinary majors, and promotion of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural capability in research. Over the past five years, fruitful educational achievements of cooperation have been made between the Education Department of Jilin province and the Confucius Institute of St. Cloud State University. Hopefully, international cooperation and communication can be carried out in depth in the future between the Confucius Institute of St. Cloud State University and relevant universities and colleges in Jilin Province.
Following the speech, leaders from both sides exchanged their views on innovative cultivation of students in the new era, support for the local economy through combination of teaching and practice, management and service of international students, increase of curriculum and processing of design, evaluation of academic performance, and prospective cooperations.
The meeting had great significance and profound influence on enhancing cooperation in the field of higher education between Sino-US universities, exchanging ideas on university management, advancing international education communication of universities in Jilin Province, and promoting in-depth cooperation between HQUFL and its counterparts in the United States.
Sino-US Presidents of universities exchanging their views on cultivation of college students
