An academic from the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University has been recognised for his high-quality teaching on a module that sees students develop their own mobile app.

Dr Dawei Liu was awarded an XJTLU Annual Innovative Teaching Award for his teaching of a Year Four module on mobile computing.

The module teaches basic app development knowledge, placing emphasis on problem-based learning. It includes a semester-long group project and several lab experiments, which culminate in students developing and finishing a real app.

In an annual student feedback questionnaire the module emerged as one of the most popular amongst XJTLU students, scoring 4.87 out of five in 2015, significantly higher than department and university averages of the past few years.

Dr Liu said he put a lot of effort into the design of the module to ensure that it stimulated students’ interests, while challenging them: “Developing an app is not a trivial challenge and I hope students can get a sense of achievement after a semester of learning and practicing,” he said.

His only requirement for students’ apps is that they are innovative and unique: “Students are free to choose the topic, content and development tools - the only requirement is to be innovative,” he said. “It cannot be an app that does the same thing as others on the app store, instead, it should truly stand out from the crowd.”

To support students, Dr Liu set up a training module designed to help them innovate during the development of their apps. He said he was often surprised by students’ creativity, initiative, and commitment while studying the module.

He highlighted the example of a team of students, comprised of members from Russia, Indonesia and Tanzania, who developed an app called “iDrink”, which provides emergency help and services for people who were drunk.

Dr Liu was impressed by the research they had done into what colour the interface background should be. The team pointed out that they chose the colour because research had indicated that people who had been drinking reacted better to it than other colours.

"From a technical point of view, to make the change in colour requires only one line of code, but the logic and focus behind the decision indicates real thought,” he said.

Organised by XJTLU’s Academic Enhancement Centre, the annual teaching prizes aim to identify and share best teaching practices across the University and are awarded to those staff who have made an outstanding contribution to teaching and the enhancement of students’ learning experiences at XJTLU.

A PhD student from the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University has won a prize for his work as a teaching assistant at the University.

David Afolabi won the Outstanding Teaching Assistant award at the XJTLU Annual Teaching Prizes for his work on a module focused on computer programming, which introduces the basic concepts and theories of computer programming as well as requires students to design, build, programme and road-test robot models.

The module is popular among XJTLU students, with nearly 500 from the departments of Mathematical Sciences, Industrial Design and Biological Sciences, among others, signing up for it last academic year.

David, along with 10 other teaching assistants, spends at least 10 hours a week assisting students on the module. Last year, as the lead teaching assistant, David not only helped students himself, but organised other teaching assistants to use their expert knowledge and experience to support students, highlighting his excellent management and leadership skills.

PhD students at XJTLU have the chance to work as teaching assistants while completing their doctorate, giving them the chance to develop crucial academic skills.

David was delighted at being awarded the prize: “It was such a surprise that I had been nominated for this year’s award by both professors and students. It gives me such joy that my work is being acknowledged,” he said.

He said he was motivated to be a good teaching assistant by his supervisors, who he has learnt a lot from: “I owe much to them and I admire them because of their dedication to teaching. They are my role models,” he added.

David came to China from Nigeria seven years ago to study at XJTLU. Under the guidance of his supervisor, he published academic papers when he was an undergraduate student at the University before doing some teaching work in his third year. Inspired to pursue an academic career, he chose to study a PhD at XJTLU and took a role as a teaching assistant.

“Through my undergraduate courses at XJTLU, I learned a great deal from the way my professors interacted with students and the way they help them to improve themselves. I have attempted to replicate this in my dealings with other students,” he said.

David and his supervisor, Professor Shengwei Guan, recently helped Bingzhang Wu, a Year Two student, conduct a project as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship scheme. The project led to the team being invited to participate in the SAZBIST International Multidisciplinary Conference, which focused on contemporary trends and issues in the fields of computer science and was held in Dubai in January.

“The University has given me more than I can ask,” David said. “I consider it my duty to not only maintain the great quality of teaching and support which I received but also enhance it through advanced preparation, punctuality, and meticulous dedication.”

Organised by XJTLU’s Academic Enhancement Centre, the annual teaching prizes aim to identify and share best teaching practices across the University and are awarded to those staff who have made an outstanding contribution to teaching and the enhancement of students’ learning experiences at XJTLU.

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University is set to welcome around 3,400 new undergraduate and 260 new postgraduate students in September, recruited from across China and around the world.

Of the total number of students, 3,237 undergraduate students have been recruited from the 31 provinces, cities and autonomous regions around China, predominately through the Chinese college entrance exam known as the Gaokao, while nearly 200 students have been recruited from all over the world for undergraduate and postgraduate study.

2016 marks the 10th anniversary of XJTLU, which has become increasingly recognised for its growing reputation, unique educational model, modern facilities and international teaching as well as its learning environment. The quality of Chinese undergraduate students being admitted to XJTLU continues to increase, with average Gaokao scores in most provinces higher than previous years.

"During our 10 years of development, the quantity and quality of domestic undergraduate admissions has steadily increased. More importantly, the number of international undergraduate and postgraduate students has also seen an encouragaing rise. These reflet XJTLU's growing reputation and recognition," said Dr Minzhu Yang, vice president of XJTLU.

The University’s educational provision is set to expand with the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement with Gold Finance Group to establish the XJTLU-GF School of Film and Television Arts.

The School of Film and Television Arts mixes digital media arts, film and television production and technology with performance and acting. As well as offering two new undergraduate courses it has plans to provide courses in applied areas such as international actor training and performing arts, creating a distinctive flavour that is unique among schools of its kind in China.

Professor Youmin Xi, XJTLU executive president, said: “The XJTLU-GF School of Film and Television Arts will make full use of XJTLU’s international education experience, as well as Gold Finance Group’s global market and industry resources to provide China’s flourishing cultural industry with international-standard talents and intelligence.”

The year also saw an expanded direct entry system that allowed around 3,200 students from Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces to apply to XJTLU without depending solely on their Gaokao score.

Through the system, which is only available to select universities across the country, 212 students were accepted to study based on their performance in XJTLU’s own entrance exam, their performance at high school and their Gaokao result.

New students will register from Saturday 27 August, while the 2016 opening ceremony, which officially welcomes students to the University, will be held on Sunday 28 August.

The world’s largest professional body of management accountants hosted a training programme for senior academics from around China at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University’s International Business School Suzhou last week.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants held its 2016 Academic Elites and Train the Trainer programmes, which saw 12 participants with expertise in management accounting research attend.

CIMA has had close collaboration with XJTLU in recent years. In 2015, the IBSS BA Accounting programme was accreditated by CIMA, making it the first undergraduate programme in China to obtain 12 CIMA exemptions.

CIMA exemption means that upon graduation, XJTLU students need only complete the remaining five papers, as well as gain relevant work experience, to become qualified as management accountants.

“IBSS’s key operational principles of combining East and West and combining theory and practice aligns with CIMA’s strategic objectives to become the first choice for employers who are recruiting financially trained business leaders,” said Dr Prabhu Sri Nilanga Udawatte, director of IBSS undergraduate programmes and associate professor of accounting and finance.

Those who participated in the academic elites programme can gain 16 exemptions from CIMA qualification.

Dr Lingyan Zuo, who teaches Year Two and Three students at XJTLU management accounting, talked about how she would use the training in own research and teaching : “The Test of Professional Competence in Management Accounting is applicable to both my research and teaching as it requires me to demonstrate awareness of established theories, techniques and new developments.”

Learning and development business partner at CIMA Shanghai, Celine Ji said: “XJTLU is an important strategic partner of CIMA and I look forward to other opportunities to cooperate with XJTLU in the future.”

CIMA is a UK professional accountancy body that focuses on the training and qualifying of accountants in business. They have more than 229,000 members and students in 176 countries. CIMA has relationships with employers and universities, and sponsor leading research.

Eighteen teachers of English for Academic Purposes from around China, and one from Australia, took part in a unique professional development course held at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

They completed the three-week National Certificate in Teaching English for Academic Purposes, which aims to advance the best practice in EAP in higher education in China. It is the only qualification of its type in China and is the first time the course has been run.

The course, which was created by XJTLU’s Language Centre, is a practical certificate designed to have a direct impact on participants’ understanding of EAP and their classroom practice.

Participants received training in how to design and deliver an EAP curriculum at a higher education institution, how to draw up and standardise an assessment regime, and how to position themselves and leaders and change agents within their own institutions. They carried out observations of XJTLU’s presessional English classes and discussed and reflected upon their own practice.

They were also given a grounding in the latest sociolinguistic ideas about the role of English in China and around the world as well as in the EAP classroom.

EAP focuses on the idea of learning to use English in an applicable, discipline-relevant way. Under the method, a student studying sciences at university would study a very different English to a student studying media or creative disciplines, for example.

Currently, in most Chinese universities, in order to graduate from their degree programmes students have to pass an English language element called the College English Test, which is taught in the style of memorisation and rote learning adopted in Chinese high schools. Critics of the College English Test claim it is not an indication of how well a student can actually use English and that the language should be taught in a much more applicable way.

More and more universities across China are adopting an EAP approach to their English teaching for its real-world application within a student’s academic work and future career.

“The certificate is reflective and practical and looked very specifically at how teachers will apply the new ideas to their own teaching contexts,” said Markus Davis, manager of the NCTEAP.

Dr Tim Marr, the lead trainer, added: “This has been a wonderful experience for the trainees, who have told us the course has really changed the way they think about EAP and even about English language teaching itself.”

Sue Zhao, who teaches in the Gengdan Institute at Beijing University of Technology, enjoyed taking part in the NCTEAP: “The most important thing I’ve learnt is that we should pay more attention to the students when we are teaching. The teacher should lead the students and let the students dominate the classroom,” she said.

“When your classroom is buzzing, it means your students are involved and you are engaging them successfully with the content. Instead of just transferring whatever the teacher knows into the students’ brains you ask them to construct their own knowledge; I think this is a good approach.”

The course ran from Monday 25 July to Friday 12 August 2016, and featured a graduation ceremony for participants.

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University academics have been awarded grants by The National Natural Science Foundation of China.

The NSFC officially released a list of projects that have won grants from the Research Fund for International Young Scientists, with funding ranging from 60,000 to 340,000 RMB for each project.

The five winners (see pictures below, from left to right) and their research projects are:

• Dr Dawson Graham from the Department of Chemistry, Nanomaterial composite synthesis to achieve visible light active photocatalysts for applications in environmental degradation
• Dr Hudik Marek from International Business School Suzhou (IBSS), Games and Goal-Oriented Behaviour
• Dr Eddy Fang from IBSS, Operationalising Culture as a Variable in Cross-Cultural Management Modeling: An Application to Innovation Adoption within Cultural Groups
• Dr Boris Tefsen from the Department of Biological Sciences, Detection of tuberculosis-specific antibodies in patient sera by using glycan gold nanoparticles
• Dr Loo Chin Moy Charles Kwet Shin from the Department of Civil Engineering, Influence of semi-rigid connections on the overall structural stability of precast concrete frame structures

The academics’ research projects are contributing to new developments in their respective fields. For example, Dr Boris Tefsen’s research aims to develop a cheaper, faster and more reliable diagnostic tool than currently exists to help to combat tuberculosis early and properly.

Dr Eddy Fang's research contributes to the literature on the operationalisation of culture as a variable in management and organisational research. Empirical studies on this topic are questioning the ability of existing country-level measurements of culture to predict behavioural outcomes.

The Research Fund for International Young Scientists supports young foreign scientists to conduct research in mainland China in all areas of science, engineering and health. The NSFC funds research with the aim of promoting sustainable academic collaboration and exchange between Chinese and young foreign scientists.

This year a total of 108 projects were funded nationally, with XJTLU ranked 2nd place among all universities and research institutions across China in terms of the number of projects within this scheme.

Last year, two international academics of XJTLU won this grant, namely Dr Christian Nolf of the Department of Urban Planning and Design and Dr Ominda Nanayakkara of the Department of Civil Engineering.

Suryo Jo, an international student from Indonesia, won all six awards at The Department of Civil Engineering at Xi’an Jiatong Liverpool Univerity’s prize awarding ceremony this year.

Prior to the University graduation ceremony, the Department awards six prizes to the best performing students in each subject stream during their studies in Year 3 and 4. Suryo Jo (see picture above, centre) was the recipient of all six awards this year.

Dr Chee Chin, Head of the Department of Civil Engineering (see picture above, first from the left), commented:

“Suryo Jo is the first student in the Department's history who has won all 6 prizes. His achievement is remarkable and he deserves our wholehearted praise for his hard work and enthusiasm in the past 4 years at XJTLU.”

The awards Suryo received included Best Overall Academic Performance, Best Final Year Project, the Environmental Prize and the Geotechnics Prize. He also received the Arup Design Prize sponsored by Arup Shanghai, and the SIP Project Management Prize sponsored by the Shanghai SIP Group and awarded to the student who shows excellent performance in Management subjects in Year 3 and 4.

Commenting about winning the awards, Suryo said:

“It has been a challenging journey to overcome obstacles that I found during my study. With these awards, I feel that my hard work has paid off, and I could not have won these awards without guidance from all my talented lecturers.”

Suryo also commented on the Department of Civil Engineering at XJTLU’s excellent facilities, high specification equipment and module delivery focused not only on structural engineering but also environmental engineering, hydraulics and geology giving students a wide variety of knowledge. He praised its culturally diverse environment that allows students the chance to increase their networking and interpersonal skills.

With regard to his career development, Suryo said:

“I plan to pursue my career in the civil engineering and construction industry. Since the demand for construction is sky-high in developing countries, I plan to obtain several years of working experience followed by further study, presumably an M.Eng in Civil Engineering.”

The Department of Civil Engineering at Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University has signed a contract to buy a tailor-made multi-functional structural testing machine for advanced structural research.

“The introduction of this machine will further expand the research activities of the department and will generate and enhance collaborations with other research institutions and the department’s industrial partners,” said Chee Seong Chin, Head of the Department of Civil Engineering.

The machine (see image below) is expected to be installed in the basement of the Engineering Building at XJTLU, allowing experimentation with this device to begin in early 2017.

“This testing frame allows the investigation of the engineering behaviour of full-scale structural elements,” explained Guobin Gong, Lecturer and Lab Management Officer in the Department. “This device also allows the testing of three-dimensional structures after the full expansion.”

Another special feature of the machine is the inclusion of a self-adjusting loading system, which allows automatic computer-controlled testing space changes, reducing the requirements for labour-intensive and time consuming manual work.

The machine has a vertical compressive loading capacity of 500 tons, with a vertical tensile capacity of 200 tons, in addition to a horizontal compressive capacity of 100 tons and horizontal tensile capacity of 60 tons. The overall dimension of the equipment is 10m x 8m x 5.8m, with a testing height of up to three metres, allowing testing of normal building structures at half to full scales.

Two teams of students from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University won second place and runner-up prizes at the 11th National University Students Smart Car Competition, East China division, held at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology.

The smart car racing teams were named E-bridge and Gravitior and affiliated to InfoCo, a student device development club. Eight students from the Departments of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Computer Science and Software Engineering participated in this competition with the guidance of Dr Yang Du from EEE and PhD student Fei Cheng. The participants designed and made two smart car models which were based on different sensors, beginning 40 days after final exams.

PhD student Fei Cheng of EEE said: “Through this contest the students were able to apply their knowledge on circuits and programming. This is a very good gift for XJTLU’S 10th anniversary. I hope we can do even better in next year’s competition.”

The competition was to test the auto-drive capability of the student-designed and developed smart car models, and no remote devices were permitted. Students needed to build up a smart car model with electric circuit designs and computational algorithms.

The racing completion was largely dependent on the effectiveness of the algorithms to optimize car control and speed control, and the teams competed in two groups, namely the camera sensor group and the linear CCD sensor group.

Team Ebridge consisted of year-2 students Bohan Gan (2nd from left), Xiang Li (3rd from left) and Zhihe Zhao (1st from left), who raced with the model car with a camera as its sensor. This team won second prize.

Team Gravitior was made up of sophomores Junyu Mao (4th from left), Xiaotong Yu (5th from left), and Junkun Di (1st from right), who raced a model car with a linear CCD sensor. Due to the bad light in the stadium, many problems occurred. The three competitors struggled to repair their model car under great pressure, finally completing the race, and winning a runner-up prize.

Though they were not included on the entry list, freshmen Junyan Li (4th from right), who stayed up late to solder the print circuit boards for both teams, and Yiang Lu (2nd from right), who made a timer for the testing court, actively assisted the two teams in debugging their smart cars.

The competition was hosted by the Ministry of Education Automation Teaching Steering Committee, and attracted many students from top universities across China. This year was the first time for XJTLU to attend the competition. Students spent time during the summer holiday to complete preparations for the competition, including design of electric circuits, algorithms and programming adjustments.

Students were given support in the contest by the XJTLU Research Office and EEE Department. In addition, TREEE Science & Technology Co., Ltd and Help You Up provided technical support.

Ping Lu, an undergraduate student from the Department of Civil Engineering at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, presented a paper entitled ‘Game-based active learning for built environment students’ at the 16th International Conference on Computing in Civil and Building Engineering in Osaka, Japan.

His presentation demonstrated the results of a project led by Dr Cheng Zhang of the Department of Civil Engineering at XJTLU to develop a computer game that allows students to learn abstract topics in engineering design and construction methods by interacting with a ‘virtual construction site’.

The game features questions and tasks that need to be accomplished, and a beta version is currently available for Civil Engineering students to download and play.

“Field trips to construction sites are arranged every semester,” said Dr Zhang (see picture above, centre). “However, finding suitable and convenient construction sites is not easy, and there can be time constraints. This game offers built environment students another chance to engage in active learning outside the classroom.”

With Dr Zhang’s supervision, Ping collaborated with four students from the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at XJTLU to develop the game: Yulin Lu, Ruiyang Xu, Xiaomei Ye, and Yuwei Shi (see top picture, right). As the only student from the Department of Civil Engineering, Ping Lu (see picture below) was responsible for designing questions and tasks specific for civil engineering students.

“The project was developed over about one year from the second semester of Year Two until the second semester of Year Three,” said Ping. “The original idea was my tutor, Dr Zhang’s, and she helped me to develop it with the help of other students.”

Dr Zhang praised Ping, saying he is a hardworking student with a good academic background:

“Ping Lu’s presentation at the conference was a very good opportunity to showcase XJTLU and demonstrate student abilities in research. In terms of language proficiency and oral presentation skills, students from our University were well received at this international academic conference,” she said.

Dr Zhang plans to develop the game further using virtual reality technology.

'Prehistoric powers' on the campus? From ‘examinee’ to ‘global citizen’.

Dear students, parents, teachers, colleagues and friends, I have a question for you all: why do we go to university?

Some people may say it is to gain more knowledge, while others say it is to obtain an academic degree for personal development. But I think, these are just accessories. In this age of the internet, gaining knowledge has become a matter of clicking a button. Likewise, even though an academic degree can be a measure of experience and ability, fewer and fewer companies are placing primary emphasis on academic degrees, favoring personal potential and performance.

So, what can a university education do for you? What is the value of the modern university? I think there are many important aspects to higher education. Firstly, to get to know yourselves at an important stage of your lives: your interests, your dreams, your principles and ways of conducting yourselves. Secondly, you go to university to better understand the world and the norms governing people, society and nature. Finally, you go to university to build upon the collective knowledge of humanity. At university, you master the skills of lifelong learning, the skills and knowledge needed for you to create value in the world. If you can, over your years at XJTLU succeed in these three areas, you will be able to succeed in this complex and ever changing world. By continuously learning and innovating you can create value and carve out your own space in this diverse and ever evolving world.

From a young age, our parents and education system have molded us into ‘examinees’, building the skills for successful ‘test-taking,’ all the while sacrificing the joys of our childhood and youth. But education at a modern university is far from what you are used to. Your parents are no longer by your side, reminding you how to live your life, sternly warning you to study hard and build knowledge, holding your hands through your studies. You can no longer enjoy the hand-fed life you had before university. Nobody will help you to clean up your dormitory, reminding you to cut down on video games or watch out for you as you cross the street. No one will be there to arrange your time or planning and balancing your study schedule for you. Your teachers and professors will not be the ‘spoon-feeders’ of your high-school years.

XJTLU’s approach to education differs yet again from some traditional universities. At XJTLU, we see you as young adults in the truest sense, and as such, we give you a great amount of freedom and respect. In this, we hope to gradually ‘wean’ you from your dependence on your parents, helping you to develop into an independent person. In every choice, whether you succeed or fail, we hope that you learn to take responsibility for yourselves, without your parents beside you to shelter you from the wind and rain. We truly hope that in your time at XJTLU, you can grow into competitive, visionary ‘global citizens’ who not only dare to dream but also pursue your dreams.

So, what kind of ‘magical powers’ does the university need to transform students into global citizens? What kind of ‘prehistoric powers’ will you need?

There are a number of ways in which XJTLU stands out from a traditional university:

• In seeing students as ‘young adults’ rather than ‘children’, we cultivate independence and a sense of responsibility
• By helping students to develop rather than simply ‘impart knowledge’ we help students to learn via research-led learning instead of sacrificing themselves to ‘highly efficient’ but fragmented and shallow learning via search engines in this internet-era which would only shape students into seemingly knowing almost everything with no deep understanding or becoming ‘knowledgeable’ yet shallow-minded.

Here at XJTLU, we do use internet and modern technology to broaden their knowledge. But more importantly, we are trying our best to help students to integrate the knowledge they learn from different channels to develop their intellectual depth and height, to become an accomplished person. It is also very crucial for university to offer many extracurricular activities for their skills training and personality development, all of these help to transform them into talented adults, shaping them into global citizens.

Instead of asking students to ‘blindly learn’, we call on them to develop their own personal interests in their studies, through which they can pursue their dreams. This year, in the 10th anniversary of XJTLU, we proudly celebrate our 8,000 graduates who have entered the world stage.

For a student to realise his or her goals, they need to realise their own ‘prehistoric powers’ on campus. First, you must realise that you have already turned 18, and that therefore you are adults with civil responsibilities. You are away from your parents, and for many of you, away from your hometowns for the first time. You must now care for yourselves and learn to look after yourselves.

Second, you will need to abandon your old ‘passive’ learning habits, and learn how to develop self-guided and research-led learning habits. You will need to learn how to think and observe, identify problems and be able to learn from and develop solutions to tasks, challenges and problems that you will inevitably encounter. In this process, you will learn how to think critically, communicate, cooperate and express yourselves. Through this you will need to challenge yourselves and grow. If you don’t find yourselves challenged and too relaxed at XJTLU, it means that you are wasting a golden opportunity!

Finally, you will need to balance your studies with an array of extra-curricular activities, remembering the overarching goal of healthy growth and learning. After entering university, you will find yourselves with a significant amount of free time on your hands. You may want to rush back to your life in high-school, fully occupied with studies and no worries about how to fill up your schedule. This would be a BIG mistake. At university, and especially at XJTLU, extracurricular activities constitute another important means of self-growth. If you don’t go out and practice your English, for example, you may find it hard to catch up later, when it counts. If you neglect your homework, projects, group activities, you may miss important opportunities for collaboration and problem solving. Club activities are not just for fun and socializing, they are also important means by which you can hone a variety of important life skills. The real-life applications required on our syllabi are not intended simply to earn credits, but to learn about society, develop skills, and learn about opportunities in the workplace. Reading week is not just a weeklong holiday, but rather an important period of review and reflection. At XJTLU, even the long holiday is not a holiday, but rather an important time for research, deepened study, reflection, as well as, social and personal growth.

I think the word I’ve said most over the past several years is ‘growth’. From self-understanding, to knowledge building, to life skills, to understanding society, life at university is a growth process. Likewise, XJTLU is growing. From 160 new students in 2006 to 3,600 students from across the country (and the world) this year, XJTLU strives to provide a platform from which you can climb on to the world stage, helping you to exceed your own expectations.

Today, XJTLU seeks to provide you with a better environment for learning and growth than ever before. I truly hope that all of you will treasure this opportunity, that you will cherish your ultimately very brief time at university, and that you can use the university platform and resources to nurture your capabilities and pursue your dreams!

Finally, remember XJTLU’s motto: “Light and Wings”. Let us fly together!

Thank you!

Professor Youmin Xi
Executive President, XJTLU

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University welcomed over 3,600 new students at its official opening ceremony on 28 August 2016.

Nearly 8,000 students and their parents and relatives joined XJTLU staff at the Dushu Lake Stadium, near the University campus.

During his opening speech, Professor Youmin Xi, executive president of XJTLU, emphasised three important aspects to higher education, including how it helps students get to know themselves, helps them to better understand the world and society, and allows them to ‘build upon the collective knowledge of humanity’.

He added that XJTLU’s approach to education differs from some traditional universities in China: “At XJTLU, we see you as young adults in the truest sense, and as such, we give you a great amount of freedom and respect. In this, we hope to gradually ‘wean’ you from your dependence on your parents, helping you to develop into an independent person,” he said.

Towards the end of his speech, Professor Xi added that XJTLU seeks to provide students with an ever-improving environment for learning and growth. He said: “I truly hope that all of you will treasure this opportunity, that you will cherish your ultimately very brief time at university, and that you can use the University's resources to nurture your capabilities and pursue your dreams.”

Yulu Jiang, a new undergraduate student, delivered a speech on behalf of all the new undergraduate students.

She said: “[XJTLU’s motto] ‘Light and Wings’ is the reason I chose Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. As a motto, it not only inherits the conception of the University of Liverpool, but also learns from the spirit of Xi'an Jiaotong University. It advocates perseverance and courage, which echoes the core idea of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University of 'happy life, successful career'."

She added that university was like a piece of blank paper for every new student and that they could choose to do nothing or to use their 'enthusiasm and hard work' to turn it into a 'colourful painting'.

“This delicate picture scroll needs to be painted with earnest attitude, and enriched by tenacious perseverance, which means that being lazy is never an option. What we need to do is to develop our skills and life experience through professional learning and practicing. Only in this way, might we make continuous progress,” she continued.

Professor Eng Gee Lim, head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at XJTLU, addressed the crowd on behalf of University staff saying: “As you embark on your journey here at this unique institution, you should do so in the knowledge that you are entering a globally focused environment with a largely international teaching body of staff who are dedicated to preparing you to become citizens of the world with a standard of education you can rely on to support you through the rest of your life.

“We do not expect that you will agree with everything we present to you in class. We do not expect our classrooms to be hushed and quiet. We do expect you to be creative and share your ideas. We do expect you to critically engage with us, to share our own journey of pushing back the boundaries of knowledge.”

Lingxin Dong, a postgraduate student at XJTLU, and graduate Zhechen Zhu also shared their experiences of the University with the new students.

In the ceremony’s final speech, Professor Wenquan Tao, president of XJTLU, said: “This July, with great expectations for their future, more than 2,000 students graduated from this university and started to pursue their dreams. Today, we welcome you and know that you will contribute to the University’s brilliant future.”

He also advised new students to be aware of the differences between learning at high school and at XJTLU: “When you were at high school everything was set up either by your teachers or by your parents. In contrast, at this university you will have a lot of free time. Therefore, you are going to learn how to master your free time, and how to set and achieve goals,” he said.

New undergraduate students arrived onto the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University campus at the weekend, ready to begin their lives at university. Many students were accompanied by their families who helped them settle into the student accommodation and go through registration processes.

Xiuyuan Lu (pictured below, far right, with his family) from Jinan in China’s Shandong Province, expressed his excitement about arriving at XJTLU and his expectations for university life. He said: “University life is unknown to me and is waiting for me to explore. XJTLU’s official language is English and I hope to improve my English skills.”

Xinyi Li (pictured below with her father), another new undergraduate student from Huizhou, Guangdong Province, was impressed by the "beautiful and open" campus environment, as well as the "nice and passionate" student volunteers who helped her on her arrival. She had specific ideas about what degree programme she hoped to study at XJTLU: "I hope I can pass the exam held by the Department of Architecture during the programme selection season,” she said.

Xinyi’s father, Ming Li, said: “XJTLU’s international educational philosophy and unique educational model attracted me. I hope my daughter can work hard here and make full use of XJTLU’s advantages and resources to lay a solid foundation for her future study and career.”

Beige Ouyang (below) from Haikou, Hainan Province, pointed out that XJTLU is a very diverse university and that she hoped to broaden her horizons, improve her English abilities and enhance her communication skills in the coming semester.

Zhonghui Li, travelled from Xingyi, Guizhou Province, to attend the University’s opening ceremony with her daughter Xiayi Zheng (pictured below, far left).

She said that her family had learnt about XJTLU from friends and that they were attracted to the University because of its English-taught degree programmes and unique educational philosophy and set-up, including the 2+2 study route option to the University of Liverpool.

“I hope my daughter can spend her final two years studying at the University of Liverpool, get involved in club activities and improve her English and communication skills,” she said.

A research workshop to discuss the latest developments in electric cars, buses and other urban mobility topics was held at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

The event on smart and green urban mobility brought together more than 50 academic researchers from leading universities in China, industrial practitioners and entrepreneurs.

The workshop was organised by International Business School Suzhou at XJTLU and co-hosted by the Research Institute for Smart and Green Cities, the Research Institute of Urbanisation and the Research Institute of Big Data Analytics of XJTLU.

Dr Lixian Qian, chief organiser of the workshop and a lecturer at IBSS, said that sustainability is one of China’s key national strategies, with sustainable transport being one of its biggest challenges: “Many businesses encounter difficulties and failures in their exploration of urban mobility innovation,” he said.

“It is a crucial question as well as a research opportunity to investigate the key characteristics of mobility demand and facilitate product and service design, and operations. Our research on urban mobility can also advise the government on better planning of infrastructure and design of governmental policies.”

Professor Xiaoyuan Wu, from Tongji University and deputy general secretary of the National New Energy Vehicle Industrial Data Centre, gave the keynote speech, which was an overview of the issues to be discussed throughout the workshop entitled ‘The development of new energy vehicle industry and the innovation applications’.

Two academic sessions took place, along with an industrial session and a panel discussion. The first academic session was based on the sub-theme of innovation adoption and consumer behaviour. Dr Juelin Yin and Dr Qian, both from IBSS at XJTLU, presented their recent joint paper on the cultural antecedents of Chinese consumers’ intention to adopt electric vehicles.

Dr Didier Soopramanien, from Beijing Foreign Studies University and Lancaster University in the United Kingdom (pictured below, centre), talked about his research into the ‘locality factors’ affecting participation in electric car sharing programmes, a project he is conducting jointly with Dr Qian and Dr Zhan Pang from City University of Hong Kong.

He said some of the issues affecting participation stem from the differences in national, provincial and city policies, as well as differences in how to apply for a licence and varying incentives to encourage people to use electric car sharing programmes: “A lot of this is going to become centralised,” he added.

In the second academic session, Dr Zhan Pang presented his research on operations management for car rental services with a focus on research and methodologies used to help companies operate their business models.

His talk covered the demand for costing, optimisation of decision making, scheduling of cars and the booking process, using his ongoing project focused on a car-sharing operator in Shenzhen as an example.

A panel discussion on business model innovation in urban mobility, moderated by Dr Pang, featured Professor Wu from Tongji University, Daoyuan Yan, chairman and CEO of Eakey Car Rental, Yang Lin, from SPI SolarBao, and Dr Yueming Wang from United Journey.

Dr Qian said the workshop brought academic researchers and business practitioners together to better understand the nature and constraints of different types of urban mobility: “We invited Eakey, the national leading EV car-sharing operator, and Lvneng Car Rental, a Suzhou-based service operator, to share their experiences and thoughts. At this workshop, we developed a collaborative social network among researchers and practitioners to promote research and facilitate business practices on urban mobility.”

Professor Youmin Xi, executive president of XJTLU, also gave a welcome speech at the workshop. Citing the existence of ghost towns in China as one of the many problems associated with rapid urbanisation, he said: “I think scholars from various disciplines should search for and explain the right methods to develop urbanisation in philosophy and academia first.”

Professor Jean Chen, dean of IBSS at XJTLU, welcomed all participants to the workshop. She emphasised the importance of the cooperation between academic researchers and business practitioners in addressing sustainable mobility issues in China. She also raised the issue of air pollution, another serious problem associated with urbanisation in China: “There is no doubt that green mobility is one of the most effective measures to reduce air pollution. We advocate a theoretical study in low carbon mobility and environmental protection.”

There were also presentations by Dr Wei Xu from Nanjing University, Dr Jianghang Chen from Shanghai Jiaotong University, Daoyuan Yan, chairman and CEO of Eakey Car Rental, and Yang Lin from SPI SolarBao.

Universities represented by academic participants:

• Beijing Foreign Studies University
• Changshu Institute of Technology
• City University of Hong Kong
• Nanjing University
• North China Power Electric University
• Shanghai Jiaotong-University
• Shanghai Maritime University
• ShanghaiTech University
• Soochow University
• Tongji University
• Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

Business firms involved:

• Eakey Car Rental
• EV-Link (Zhuhai)
• GCL
• Higer Bus Company Limited
• SPI SolarBao
• Tima Networks
• United Journey (Shenzhen).

The first conference on emerging topics in interactive systems was held at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, with students and academics presenting their research on areas including human-computer interaction, information visualisation and the internet of things.

The two day conference was organised by Paul Craig (pictured above) and Xin Huang of the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering. This was the first conference of its kind to take place at XJTLU.

“The idea behind this year’s conference was to keep the event fairly small scale,” said Paul. “We wanted to arrange the conference to encourage our own computer science and software engineering students, and it was largely a success. We received some very interesting papers and the overall standard of the work presented was very high.”

The first presentation (pictured below) was given by Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship students Huayue Chen and Fidaly Houssen about their project, supervised by Paul, investigating ‘fisheye’ maps for mobile navigation. The maps enlarge the region around a user’s location, allowing the user to see local detail and the wider context without the need for zooming.

Skype presentations were also given from China, Ghana, Sweden and the United Kingdom. One of these (pictured below) was delivered by first year student Qingzhi Hu on her project, also supervised by Paul, investigating location based games to promote physical activity for Chinese university students. Qingzhi surveyed students about their responses to location based games such as Pokémon Go, compiling data that would be invaluable to future game designers.

Other presentations focused on information visualization, given by MSc Applied Informatics student Melvin Metzger, virtual reality headsets, presented by Huiyu Wen, and payment systems for smart devices, delivered by Andi Xu. Other presentations looked at educational video-games, smart patrol robots, cyber security and electronic currency.

Setting up a new conference was a complicated process, and Paul explained some of the work involved: “You need to prepare the call for papers, set up the website, look after the paper review process, and make sure everything runs smoothly on the day. I was working for the conference in one way or another for most of the summer.”

He spoke about plans for future conferences, stressing the need to encourage XJTLU students while maintaining the quality of papers and bringing the conference to a wider audience:

“For next year’s conference we plan to encourage more participation from external institutions and invite some keynote speakers to open the conference up to a wider audience. I think this year’s conference was a valuable experience for our students and we would like to continue this with future events,” he said.

An academic from the Chinese Cultural Teaching Centre at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University presented a research paper on the application of the centre's current online teaching methods at a conference at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Dr Jingqiu Zhan presented the paper, entitled ‘The Implication of Online Teaching Methods for Humanities Public Courses at XJTLU’, at the Academic International Conference on Multi-Disciplinary Studies and Education at Queen's College, Oxford.

The paper was based on a project under the XJTLU Teaching Development Fund that investigated CCTC’s online teaching methods for Year One humanities courses. It jointly conducted by Dr Kai Liu, Dr Jingqiu Zhan, Xinxin Xu and Wenbei Lv from CCTC and Kristin Reimer Rojas from the University's Language Centre, and was written in cooperation with Dr Liu and Jie Yang, a PhD candidate from the University of Adelaide, Australia.

CCTC is responsible for the delivery of compulsory humanities-based courses to Year One students. In 2010, to complement their traditional large-scale classroom teaching approach, the centre developed an online teaching and learning platform, Utalk.

The platform, which is accessible via mobile devices, aims to establish improved communication between staff and students and spark students’ learning initiative. It enables both teachers and students to interact through information sharing and idea exchanges, as well as offering assignment assessment.

Additionally, the platform allows students to access pre-class reading material, to post information in forums, and to watch interactive videos as well as take part in quizzes.

“The online teaching methods adopted by CCTC guide many activities before, in and after class, and are becoming an essential part of teaching and learning,” Dr Zhan said.

Their research indicated that 59 percent of students asked via questionnaire surveys and 53 percent of students surveyed in face-to-face interviews thought their active learning skills and innovative thinking skills were significantly improved through online discussion. Seventy percent of students agreed that Utalk guides them to discuss popular issues at both home and abroad as well as broadens their horizons.

The paper also revealed room for improvement in the delivery of online teaching. While 64 percent of students agreed that online teaching facilitates large-scale classroom teaching and improves their learning and thinking initiatives, almost half thought CCTC’s online teaching practice still needed improvement to meet their expectations.

Dr Zhan added that effective assessment on learning outcomes and instant feedback are also challenges to be addressed in improving the provision of online teaching in the CCTC.

She said: “This research will benefit XJTLU Year One students in many ways. The improvements we can make to our online teaching methods will contribute to helping students focus on social and cultural issues both at home and abroad, and assist them to become world citizens.”

The Academic International Conference on Multi-Disciplinary Studies and Education, organised by the Institute of Research, Learning and Development with FLE Learning, aims to provide a platform on issues surrounding education, gender studies, environmental studies, urban and regional studies, philosophy, social justice and sociology, business management and law in related areas.

Students at Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University have been involved in many fun activities during induction week, including Ultimate Frisbee, cosplay mask painting, watching Korean films, basketball, tennis, and live music.

Student clubs and societies play an important role at XJTLU and the University has more than 120 organisations centred on art, sports, entrepreneurship, social service, academia and science to name but a few.

The Institute of Leadership and Education Advanced Development at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University held two training sessions in August.

Almost 40 participants from universities across China attended a training programme based on the research-led teaching that takes place at XJTLU.

Participants from Jilin University, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Hunan University, Zhejiang University of Technology and Taishan University took part in the programme, which was the second of its kind organised by ILEAD.

The training, which integrated educational ideas from east and west, aimed to help participants apply a research-led approach to their practice. It is hoped the training will contribute to the reform of higher education in China and the improvement of education quality.

Guest speakers invited to the programme shared their opinions and experience on various aspects including XJTLU’s student-centred and research-led teaching approach, the value of XJTLU’s research-led teaching and learning, curriculum design, teaching activities and practices as well as teaching feedback.

Based on his experience of teaching mathematics and physics, Dr Hao Yu, a lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at XJTLU, shared details on how to encourage students’ motivation to learn and help them form their own learning methods.

Dr Chin Chee Seong, head of the Department of Civil Engineering at XJTLU, gave participants information on the process of designing a research-led curriculum as well as the assessment and evaluation.

Dr Bing Chen from XJTLU’s Department of Urban Planning and Design shared methods for organising in-class teaching based on his own teaching practices. Dr Jie Zhang, lecturer in International Business School Suzhou at XJTLU introduced XJTLU’s teaching assessment and evaluation mechanisms.

As a specially invited guest, Dr Hongping Fei from the School of Business at East China University of Science and Technology introduced how to generate a new teaching model based on the characteristics of the digital era, the social demand for talents and students’ learning demands.

She said: “I’m grateful that XJTLU has established a platform for us to meet many outstanding teaching professionals, discuss teaching reform and exchange ideas with each other.”

Junzhe Guan, training manager of ILEAD, added: “The second research-led teaching programme is clearer in content and purpose than the first one. The activity were carried out in workshop style and participants were divided into several groups across universities and disciplines to discuss and present their own ideas and research.”

From admin-centred to student-centred

Twenty-four administrative staff from Wenzhou-Kean University participated in a three-day training session held at XJTLU from 23 to 25 August.

The training aimed to inspire participants to rethink the role and position of administrative staff in the development of a university, and to help them transform their thinking from a traditional admin-centred model to a student-centred model.

Training participant Lisu Lu wanted to learn from XJTLU’s 10 years of experience to solve the problems they have met during the operation of Wenzhou-Kean University.

She said: “Wenzhou-Kean also promotes a student-centred approacj, but we are still at the theoretical level. XJTLU has very good support system and has realised a student-centred approach in both its physical environment and management. I think it’s worth us learning how to put our theory into practice in a more effective way.”

Students from all over the world were welcomed at the International Student Recruitment and Support office’s annual reception, part of the 2016 Induction Week activities at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

More than 50 different countries were represented by over 100 new international students who attended the event, including undergraduates, masters students, PhD students and visiting students from the University of Liverpool.

Abigail Moses (pictured below) is studying for a BA in Philosophy at the University of Liverpool and her positive experiences at last summer’s China Studies Summer School persuaded her to return to XJTLU for this academic year: “I had such a great time,” she said. “So I decided to come back and do a year in China to travel, learn more Chinese, and make new friends.”

Dimi Ngolo, from Brazzaville, Congo (pictured below), chose to study MSc Sustainable Energy Technology. “I want to help develop new energy solutions for my country,” he said. “At the moment we rely heavily on hydroelectric energy and I want to start my own solar energy company.”

Students were treated to various solo and duet performances of traditional Chinese instruments (pictured below), and a buffet dinner.

Professor Youmin Xi, welcomed the new international students with a speech that highlighted XJTLU’s educational philosophies of blending the best practices of East and West, and encouraging cross-cultural dialogue. He remarked on how XJTLU’s philosophies are reflected in the campus design and artwork, such as the statues of Eastern and Western philosophers in front of the Foundation Building and the new tunnel connecting the North and South campuses, with its red brick walls that evoke the City of Liverpool, and graffiti-style artwork designed by student clubs and societies that illustrate a dialogue between Eastern and Western cultures:

Douglas Shearer from Glasgow, Scotland, explained his motivation for choosing MSc Management at International Business School Suzhou, XJTLU’s exclusive business school: “I lived in Taiwan for several years where I did an undergraduate degree in Chinese, and now I’m looking to expand my career options.”

Annabelle Edwards (pictured below) is another visiting student from the University of Liverpool’s Year in China programme, and chose it for the opportunities for travel, cultural immersion, and academic advancement it offers: “I’m doing modules in intensive Chinese language, and society and development. I’m very excited! I hope that when I return to Liverpool I’ll be able to speak a little Mandarin.”

Hundreds of students attended this year’s Freshers’ Fair in the Central Building, where representatives from the many student clubs and organisations at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University set out stalls to recruit new members.

Over 100 student clubs and societies were represented there, from fashion design and photography to debate, cinema and model building. A wide range of sports clubs also sought new members, including parkour, archery, and Ultimate Frisbee.

Yuge Yuan (pictured below, centre) of the dance club Hip Hop Park invited fellow students to share their passion for street dance: “We’re a hip hop dancing group, and we want energetic, passionate people to join our club!” she said.

From midday until early evening the Central Building ground floor area was packed with eager students seeking out new hobbies and interests, chatting with club members, and signing up through QR codes and email lists.

Robert Lukaschek, a visiting student from Germany taking modules in business and economics at International Business School Suzhou, signed up for the Boxing Club: “I took up boxing a month ago in Germany, and I was glad to find a boxing club here so I can continue my training,” he said.

Xinyu Liu (pictured below, left) of the Science and Innovation Association, was running a stall that featured a virtual reality headset display: “Our club was established in 2009 and we have over 40 members,” he said. “At the moment we’re focused on developing our own virtual reality games.”

There also were performances by student rock bands, musicians playing Western classical and traditional Chinese music, and dance groups.