In deepening the implementation of the Ministry of Education’s “Quality and Efficiency Enhancement” initiative and Shanghai’s education internationalization strategy, College of International Education of SUES anchors its efforts in the university’s “Engineering + Arts + Management” 3-wings development philosophy. With the core mission of cultivating international talents who “know China, befriend China, and love China”, the College has innovatively built a four-dimensional education system integrating “cultural immersion, practice empowerment, value guidance, and holistic development.” This drives international student education from “language learning” toward “civilizational dialogue” and from “campus integration” to “social contribution.”
Key Innovative Approaches
College of International Education of SUES, centering on the goal of nurturing “knowing, befriending, and loving China”, has established a four-dimensional international student education system comprising cultural immersion, practice empowerment, value guidance, and holistic development, realized through four distinctive pathways:
· PBL + Walking Classroom: Breaking traditional teaching boundaries by using project-based learning to integrate language and culture in real-world social settings;
· Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Workshops + Festive Rituals: Deepening emotional identification through participatory, perceptible, and tangible cultural experiences;
· Peer Role Models + Social Engagement: Encouraging outstanding international students to engage in volunteer services and city promotion, guiding values through contribution;
· Teaching-Research Support + Safety Safeguarding: Strengthening dual guarantees of pedagogical innovation and student safety services to foster a secure and welcoming study-abroad environment.
Program Overview
I. PBL × Walking Classroom: Having Language “Come Alive” in Real Chinese Contexts
Breaking classroom walls, Chinese language instruction is embedded into the fabric of the city and social life. Students visit Shanghai Sports Museum as “Olympic Culture Interpreters”; dive into community wet markets for “Conversations in Daily Life”; and design their own “Slow-Living” Citywalk routes, reading the warmth of Chinese-style modernization through street interviews. The classroom shifts from “lecturing” to “exploring”, and learning evolves from “input” to “creation”.
II. ICH Workshops × Festive Rituals: Making Culture “Warm Up” Through Hand-On Creation
Building an immersive cultural experience circle that is “perceptible, tangible, and transmittable.” Workshops on intangible heritage crafts such as oil-paper umbrella painting, plant imprinting, Song-brocade weaving, and ceramic throwing are offered; traditional festivals like Dragon Boat garden tours, Double Ninth mountain climbing, and Spring Festival greetings are regularly held; and micro-excursions to Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, Songjiang cultural sites, and Bund architectural walks are organized. Culture is no longer just textbook symbols but a warm bond of emotional memory and identity.
III. Peer Role Models × Social Engagement: Making Youth “Shine” Through Service and Contribution
Creating a growth platform that moves from “integration” to “contribution”. Russian student Pertseva Viktoriia served at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, hailed by Youth Daily as a “mobile communication ambassador”; Romanian student Dai Matei-Cristian acts as an “Lingang International Talent Promotion Ambassador,” telling Shanghai’s stories to the world; and an international dragon-boat team composed of students from ten countries rows through waves, embodying the Chinese spirit of “pulling together in the same boat.” They are becoming youthful bridges for people-to-people connectivity between China and the world.
IV. Teaching-Research Innovation × Safety Safeguarding: Making the Education System “Steady” and “Strong”
Consolidating the twin foundations of high-quality development. Deepening reforms in PBL pedagogy, Production-Oriented Approach (POA), and AI-empowered classrooms to promote “integration of learning and application”; collaborating with public security, fire departments, and other agencies to conduct legal lectures, emergency drills, and holiday care activities, balancing “strict management” with “humanistic care” to create a secure, warm, and comfortable international growth environment.
At SUES, international students are not only listeners to China’s stories but also narrators, participants, and co-creators. Powered by the “3-wings” engine, bridged by knowledge-in-action, and colored by genuine affinity, SUES continues to cultivate a steady stream of international youth with global vision, China understanding, and a sense of responsibility—embarking from SUES to the world, carrying deep friendship for China, and becoming shining ambassadors connecting civilizations and passing on friendship.
