Shanghai International Studies University (SISU)’s new students got a taste of university ritual on September 11th during the annual SISU Freshman Orientation Week in Songjiang Campus. Coming from all over the world, 1,570 new undergraduates and 1,266 new postgraduates participated in a range of activates on the registration day.

‘A Sense of Belonging’

Early in the morning, SISU freshmen marched in procession to the university library for registration, cheered on by the student volunteers from different schools and departments.

In the hall, volunteers and staff handed the freshmen a variety of documents and souvenirs ranging from lapel pins to postcards, from T-shirts to orientation leaflets.

A uniquely-designed campus map attracts the attention of many new students with hand-drawn buildings, routes and graphics to help them know more about the university and get settled into campus life.

Better Communication, Closer Relationship

For the first time, the convocation ceremonies of new undergraduates and postgraduates are held on the same day as reforms took place in SISU, thus making students have a better understanding of themselves in the community and plug into the vast academic network of knowledge and people within the university.

This year, SISU launched two new language programs, Polish and Kazakh, to cultivate professionals in Eastern European and Central Asian studies.

Meanwhile, SISU’s Honors College established a new pilot class for multilingual studies on international organizations to further “Multilingual+” Initiative, in addition to the current two pilot classes for multilingual translation/interpreting and area studies.

‘Pursue the Beauty of Language’

The number of postgraduate students at SISU is increasing these years with disciplines from masters to doctoral levels. This year, SISU’s School of English Studies enrolled more postgraduates than undergraduates, reflecting the changing structure of higher education.

Two freshmen from Tibet Autonomous Region said, “SISU has been our dream university since we are middle school students, we are looking forward to studying new languages and cultures.”

Jin Haiyang, a new postgraduate student, said he got a bachelor degree of engineering, but for the next three years he will be dedicated to diplomacy at SISU. The reason why he jumped from science to liberal arts is his enthusiasm for intercultural studies to “pursue the beauty of language”.

‘If I were a Freshman’

On the registration day, Professor Zhang Xingang, former president of the City University of Hong Kong, visited SISU and delivered a speech to SISU new students with the theme of “If I were a Freshman”.

During the speech, Zhang shared his insights with all freshmen about the essence of education, languages and cultural diversity. In the Q&A section, Zhang emphasized the difference between knowledge and information and expected the new SISU students to explore deeply and acquire knowledge, thus bringing their best selves to their time at the university.

Original Article From: http://en.shisu.edu.cn/resources/news/

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