Faculty Congress 2019 of the School held

December 24, 2019

On December 24, 2019, the Faculty Congress of the School of Political Science & International Relations was held in the solemn national anthem. The meeting approved The Administrative Report of the School of Political Science & International Relations, Tongji University in 2019, The Financial Report of the School of Political Science & International Relations, Tongji University in 2019, Work Priorities for 2020 of the School of Political Science & International Relations, Tongji University, The Post Setting and Workload Allowance Distribution Scheme of the School of Political Science & International Relations, Tongji University, and The Work Report of the Labor Union of the School of Political Science & International Relations, Tongji University in 2019. The meeting reviewed and summarized the work in 2019, and made an overall work plan for 2020. The Party and administrative leaders and all faculty members of the School attended the meeting that was moderated by Song Bo, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the School.

Dean Prof. Men Honghua gave the administrative and financial reports in 2019, and reviewed the progress in the following seven aspects.  

First, the School has continuously improved the quality of talent training through educational reform in the new era. With an emphasis on teaching, it has implemented a range of teaching management regulations, actively aligned with the university in the reform of undergraduate teaching management, developed new training programs, and organized a capable team to participate in the university’s teaching of the situation and policy course. It has seen continuous improvement of the quality of graduation thesis, launched a number of high-quality courses, and steadily advanced the admission work. It has comprehensively improved the admission, management, teaching and training of postgraduates. It has published International Politics, International Political Economy and other key textbooks of the Central Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project where our professors are a chief expert.  

Second, the School has adhered to moral education, inherited excellent culture and deepened connotative development, to improve the level of education. It has implemented the “three all-round education” requirements to further improve the collaborative mechanism for education. It has strengthened the education through practice, culture and service. Thanks to its efforts in improving students’ innovative practice abilities, students have achieved good results in a series of national and regional innovation competitions. It continues to organize a series of reading activities and practical activities to revisit the red road, and hold theme forums to inspire young students’ patriotic enthusiasm.  

Third, the School has built a solid foundation and highlighted the characteristics, with the overall level of discipline development improved rapidly. It has continuously made breakthroughs in discipline development. With the admission of the first batch of doctoral students in political science, and the approval of the post-doctoral research station for the first-class discipline of political science, the School has further consolidated the foundation for its development. The School is responsible for developing the first-class discipline of the social science discipline group of Tongji University. It organized the publication of the Tongji University Social Sciences Series, and hosted and successfully completed the mid-term evaluation of the development of the first-class discipline “European Studies”. It has actively participated in the work meetings of the Political Science Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education, to meet the nation’s needs for discipline and professional development with a sound and forward-looking plan.  

Fourth, the School has strengthened research planning, consolidated key directions, improved research level, and expanded cooperation space. It has additionally undertaken more than 30 projects at and above the provincial and ministerial level, including major research projects in philosophy and social sciences under the Ministry of Education, with more fruitful results achieved. It has hosted or co-hosted a variety of high-end academic activities, including the 3rd Forum on China & World Studies, the 1st “Belt & Road Initiative” Development Forum, the 1st China-Japan Economic Strategic Dialogue, the 4th Shanghai-Busan Cooperation Forum, the International Symposium on China-KOR Relations and Northeast Asian Cooperation, and the 2nd Global Emerging Scholar Summit, further improving the School’s international influence and reputation.  

Fifth, the School has provided decision-making consulting services to meet national strategic needs, while making new breakthroughs in the think tank development. In cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Commerce and other national ministries and commissions, it has undertaken commissioned projects to offer advice and suggestions for national development, and many reports have received positive comments from the central leadership. It has strengthened think tank cooperation, carried out joint research, and jointly released results. It has made sustained efforts to promote special research on the Belt & Road think tank projects, with more than 40 projects approved in the past three years.  

Sixth, the School has deepened foreign exchanges and promoted international cooperation to enhance international academic influence. It has admitted 24 international students, with the proportion of international vs. domestic students ranking second among professional colleges at Tongji. It has organized more than 10 students to participate in the “Florence Summer Class” academic activities, co-hosted international forums for postgraduates, and selected undergraduates and postgraduates to study abroad. It has furthered partnerships with well-known universities in Italy, South Korea, Finland, Spain, France and Japan, etc. It has jointly launched a double master’s degree program with the University of Turin.  

Seventh, the School has further strengthened its institutional development to improve its governance capabilities and level. With a new level of institutional development and better enforcement of institutions, the School has embarked on a healthy and orderly path of governance. It carried out the educational activities themed “remaining true to the original aspiration, keeping in mind the mission”. It has established a communication mechanism for in-depth exchanges between leaders and teachers & students. It has always focused on the development of working practices, and earnestly implemented the policy of “building the School through sound institutions”.

The Party and executive leaders of the School made reports on the work priorities for 2020. In 2020, the School will continue to take the socialist approach to education, keep in mind the mission of cultivating talents with morality, firmly seize the new period of strategic opportunities for the School and its discipline development, and focus on connotative development, thus embarking on a new journey for first-class school and first-class disciplines. Efforts should be made to: (i) fully strengthen the Party’s leadership, make solid progress in the Party building, and uphold the socialist approach to education; (ii) leverage the fifth round of discipline evaluation to adjust and improve the arrangement of Political Science and deepen the connotative development of disciplines; (iii) strengthen the management of undergraduates and postgraduates, and build a new system for cultivating high-level talents; (iv) thoroughly implement the “three all-round education” requirements, and strengthen ideological and political education, to help students grow into talents; (v) focus on research on governance & strategy, and improve decision-making and consulting capabilities through “organized research”, to push the School’s research work to a new height; (vi) coordinate the overall domestic and international situations, strengthen the management of foreign affairs, and deepen the international cooperation, to break new ground in the internationalization strategy; (vii) build a high-level faculty team by combining social recruitment with in-house training and deepening the reform of the incentive mechanism.

On behalf of the Party Committee of the School, Secretary Prof. Xu Hong expressed warm congratulations on the achievements in administrative and labor union work by the School, and expressed heartfelt thanks to Dean Men and his team for their unremitting efforts and the hard work by all faculty members. She appreciated their entrepreneurship and dedication, relied on which the School was able to achieve all-round development and progress. The Party Committee will continue to support the administrative and labor union work in all aspects, to jointly strive for better achievements, she added.

Dean Prof. Men emphasized in his speech that in the past year of 2019, the School has achieved numerous highlights in various areas. On behalf of the leadership team, he expressed sincere gratitude to all faculty members for their understanding, support and dedication. In 2019, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the founding of the School. The past decade saw both the growth of our School and the overall development and rise of our country. The call of the new era has provided us with unprecedented opportunities for the growth and development. In the upcoming 2020, we must seize opportunities to advance the reform and development of the School to deliver satisfactory results. It is hoped that all of us will unite and work together to build a stronger school and a shinier brand.