Dean Ni addressing the students
The 2013 JI Town Hall Meeting was held on April 2. Dean Ni, Gang Zheng, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, Scott Yang, Academic Affairs Manager, Qi Wu, Students’ Affair Manager, Wentao Qian, Students’ Affair Deputy Manager, and Michael Chen, Student Counselor met with student representatives to discuss issues regarding JI’s development, curricula, and student life.
Dean Ni first gave a briefing about JI’s development in the past 6 years. He remarked that students’ performance is the major indicator of success for a school’s education program. He reported that among JI’s graduates in the past 3 years, 70% have decided to go abroad for master or Ph.D. degrees, the majority of whom have been admitted by US top universities such as Stanford, MIT, University of Michigan, a world record in terms of admission rate. Those graduates who chose employment have enjoyed higher starting salaries than their counterparts at SJTU. What is the secret of JI graduates’ success? Dean Ni answered that JI’s world-class faculty, high-quality students, innovative academic model and curricula are the contributing factors.
Gang Zheng and Scott Yang answering students’ questions
Then, Dean Ni answered students’ written questions one by one, with emphasis on JI’s future development: JI will continue to recruit top-notch faculty to enhance JI’s teaching and research level; new JI building is under construction and will provide more teaching and research space; JI will expand academic offerings, international exchange programs, and dual degree program. In addition, JI’s International Program Office has been aggressively recruiting international students.
Besides the prepared questions, JI leaders and staff members also allowed students to ask more questions, which encompassed a broad range of topics, including dual-degree programs, curricular system, and student living condition. Dean Ni promised to look into the issues and take measures to better serve the students.
