China News Service, Xiamen, March 16th, title: Looking back at Xiamen University for a hundred years: writing a letter with the card of "overseas Chinese" can teach students

  China News Agency reporter Yang Fushan

  As China’s first higher education institution solely funded by overseas Chinese, Xiamen University has had the blood of “overseas Chinese” flowing from the beginning of the school; A cultural gene that has been developed with Xiamen University for a century.

  Professor Chen Ronglan, former deputy dean of Xiamen University Overseas Education College, has worked in overseas colleges for more than 20 years.

In an interview with a reporter from China News Agency a few days ago, he said that over the past 60 years since the establishment of Xiamen University Overseas College, it has trained more than 60,000 overseas talents in more than 100 countries and regions on five continents, many of whom are overseas Chinese elites. Now he has become a talented person who is active on the economic and social stage of Southeast Asia and other countries.

  "Like some well-known Chinese entrepreneurs, Chinese writers, teachers, media reporters, editors, scholars, Chinese physicians, etc. in Southeast Asia, many graduated from overseas colleges." He said, Indonesian Chinese entrepreneur Lin Lianxing received overseas education at the age of 70. The college’s Chinese correspondence undergraduate graduation reflects the spirit of endless learning and perseverance, which is highly compatible with the school motto of Xiamen University: “Continue to improve and stop at perfection”.

  Chen Ronglan said that one of the deep impressions left by these Xiamen University overseas Chinese alumni is that they are deeply edified by the spirit of the school owner, Jiageng, with great love, gratitude and feedback, and enthusiastically promote the development of his alma mater’s education and overseas Chinese education.

  Due to its location on the southeast coast and the particularity of the front line of coastal defense, the former Ministry of Higher Education defined the development direction of Xiamen University as "facing overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and facing the ocean" in the 1950s.

  Xiamen University Overseas Education College was established in 1956. Its predecessor was the first Overseas Chinese Correspondence Department in a Chinese university. Later, it used the names of Overseas Correspondence Department and Overseas Correspondence College. It was named after the approval of the Ministry of Education in 1991.

In the year of its establishment, Xiamen University recruited more than 300 graduates of mathematics, physics and chemistry. In the following year, the number of students enrolled in mathematics, physics and chemistry doubled to more than 680.

  Chen Ronglan said that Xiamen University established the Overseas Chinese Correspondence Department in the past to meet the needs of overseas Chinese to learn Chinese language, culture and scientific knowledge of mathematics, physics and chemistry, so as to enhance their ability to earn a living and start a business locally, to better integrate into the mainstream society of the host country, and to promote Sino-foreign cooperation and exchanges. , Becoming the earliest institution specializing in foreign education among Chinese universities and the pioneer of the first generation of overseas distance education.

  Nowadays, the Chinese education and teaching Chinese as a foreign language of the Overseas Education College have formed the characteristics of both international Chinese education and cultural communication, both academic education and non-academic education, face-to-face teaching and distance education, and parallel theoretical research and application development, especially overseas. Southeast Asia enjoys a high reputation.

  Dr. Qiang Liu, Director of the Distance Education Department of Xiamen University's Overseas Education Institute, told China News Agency that the Overseas Chinese Correspondence Department of Xiamen University adopted the form of correspondence to teach overseas at the beginning, sending textbooks or related learning materials from Xiamen to the location of overseas Chinese.

  He said that although it is a correspondence course and the mailing time is relatively long, the overseas Chinese have a high degree of enthusiasm for learning and have achieved academic success.

They praised Xiamen University for "writing letters can teach students."

  After the reform and opening up, Xiamen University’s overseas education has developed into a combination of letter and face-to-face instruction. In addition to traditional correspondence, teachers are sent from Xiamen University to intensive face-to-face instruction based on local educational institutions in the country where overseas Chinese are located to answer questions. Since 2004, with new technical conditions With the mature, Xiamen University Overseas College began to realize large-scale distance online education.

  Liu Qiang said that there are many differences between the new generation of overseas Chinese and the older generation. Xiamen University is constantly exploring how to innovate in the face of new situations and new situations, and think of more ways and means to better serve the overseas education of overseas Chinese. jobs.

  In February 2016, Xiamen University created a precedent for Chinese universities to go abroad to run schools. It established a branch campus in Malaysia, which has nurtured and achieved Tan Kah Kee’s extraordinary life. This is the first Chinese university to set up an overseas university branch campus with independent campuses. It is once again popular among Chinese and foreign education circles. Eye-catching.

  Zhu Chongshi, former president of Xiamen University and chairman of the Xiamen University Alumni Association, believes that this is Xiamen University's reward for Tan Kah Kee's founding of Xiamen University and the kindness of Bandai. This is a historical feedback and an important milestone for Xiamen University to enter the world.

  In recent years, Xiamen University Malaysia has achieved remarkable educational results in cultivating students’ innovative ability and exploratory spirit. A person from the school said that 2017 undergraduates majoring in chemical engineering, Wu Shufei and Liu Yuling, jointly ranked first in February this year. The author's identity published a review in the special issue Solar Photocatalysis of the important international journal Solar RRL, which attracted the attention of the industry.

(Finish)