After three intense days of sessions, the 2016 Summer Conference came to a productive end on July 21. In attendance were Sias Founder and Chairman of the Board, Dr. Shawn Chen, Party Secretary, Fei Hexiang, Sias President, Dr. Chen Sikun, Vice President, Liu Shuqin, Deputy Party Secretary, Li Huafeng, Proctor Han Xiaoai, Assistant Principal, Sun Rujian, along with the heads of the departments.

In a meeting on July 20, Dr. Shawn Chen shared his concerns for the personal development of the Sias employees in both the administrative and educational departments, for the smooth running and growth of the university.

Director of the Residential College in Xi'an Jiaotong University. Zhang Aiping, spoke about the relationship between teachers and students at Sias, evident in their cooperation on projects. They also commended Sias' system of education, administrative practice, and construction and expansion of the campus. During this forum, with teachers and students present, Dr. Shawn Chen explained what a residential college is and expressed his interest in the residential college model, intimating that it could be a model that Sias could emulate.

After the Forum, Dr. Chen Sikun, gave a presentation on the transformation of Sias and stressed that restructuring was the only way to solve the structural problems of productivity in colleges and universities. Giving the example of local universities in different countries, he explained the necessity of the continual development of universities. He said that in the next academic year, Sias would focus on and aim to build up its internationalization, giving additional attention to the improvement in quality of undergraduate teaching, employment integration, and entrepreneurial education for the students.

In the following session, a special guest, Dr. Ali Jafari, spoke about the Course Networking (CN) platform management. Course Networking combines learning management and social networking to form a new solution to teaching and learning. This is done through cloud-based academic networking that is free to any individual user worldwide. He demonstrated the learning management system, giving live demonstrations to the students so that students would see how the platform runs.

After this, a conference and group discussions were held to review the work done in the academic year 2015-2016. Teachers presented detailed reports on the targets that they met, suggestions for improving the subject matter that is taught, and how a maximum potential can be reached that would help in the development and smooth functioning of the university in the academic year 2016-2017. Dr. Shawn Chen thanked those who participated and commended them for their enthusiasm and hard work towards the growth and progress of Sias. Fei Hexiang spoke of the importance of the Summer Conference, how it is a part of the Sias culture, and how important the reports and reviews are for the future of Sias.

The Sias Summer Conference is a vital part of Sias culture that has been an extremely positive influence on the progress and transparency of the functioning of Sias. This year it ended with a gala that included dances, musical performances, and a performance by the Sias Symphony.