President Zheng Qinghua and his team at Tongji visited the School of Foreign Languages for investigation on the morning of March 10th, 2023. The group attended an exhibition showcasing the school’s accomplishments in implementing the 14th Five-Year Plan and later toured the teaching and research facilities. Accompanying the visit were Liu Run, assistant to the president; Zheng Chunrong, party secretary of the School of Foreign Languages; Dean Wu Yun; and Vice Deans Wang Beilei, Shen Qi, and Hu Qi. Huang Lihe and Li Shubei, deputy party secretaries, and Li Fang, chairman of the labor union, were also present.
President Zheng Qinghua and his entourage initiated their visit at the Tongwen Building, where party secretary Zheng Chunrong reported on the school party committee’s initiatives to implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the school’s achievements since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and its action plan for quality development. The group then proceeded to the Huiwen Building to observe the construction progress of the AI Plus Intelligent Language Experimental Center. Additionally, they visited the Center for Sino-Foreign Cultural Exchange, Tongji University High-Level Internationalization Cultivation Innovation and Practice Base under the Ministry of Education and China-Europe Global Competency Training Center for High-Quality Engineering Talents.
During the subsequent symposium, Dean Wu Yun delivered a detailed report on the school’s basic situation, achievements, challenges, and future actions in talent cultivation, scientific research, social service, and international cooperation. The report presented included three dimensions: historical context, current status, and development plan of the foreign language discipline.
In his closing speech, President Zheng Qinghua commended the school’s achievements in discipline construction and its efforts to enhance the overall quality of public foreign language teaching across the university. He also expressed high expectations for the school’s future development plan. President Zheng emphasized the importance of nurturing a faculty team that balances teaching and educating with academic research. He called for continued improvement in the sense of mission and innovative teaching and research capabilities of all teachers, especially those responsible for teaching public courses, to meet the new demands for teachers in the new era. Furthermore, he urged promoting interdisciplinary and cross-school integration, leveraging information technology to infuse new vitality into teaching, research, and discipline development, and enhancing international exchanges and the integration of industry and education. The objective is to identify points of breakthrough for empowering Foreign Language Plus education, enabling ongoing enhancement of Tongji’s foreign language services and contributions to the nation’s global outreach and strategic goals.