Sias University's annual Summer Work Conference began on July 17 with goals of optimizing the university's education, clarifying the objectives for the upcoming academic year (2019/20), building unity among faculty and staff, and increasing the competitiveness of the university. The 2019 Conference was held in the lecture hall of the Sias library.

In attendance were the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Sias, Dr. Shawn Chen, Party Secretary, Ma Jiansheng, Sias President, Chen Sikun, Executive President, Wang Jialin, Deputy Party Secretary, Li Huafeng, Vice Presidents, Wu Hua and Xu Shengdao, and Prof. Guo Junfeng. Leaders of all the departments and schools at Sias, as well as the Chairman of the Parents' Committee, and the Chairman of the Student Union, were also present. Ma Jiansheng presided over the opening of the Conference.

The Conference was opened by a performance from a string quartet from the School of Music & Opera. A number of teachers, tutors, and Party branch secretaries shared their stories at Sias that included aspects of education, teaching, enrollment, management, and grass-roots party building.

Dr. Shawn Chen announced the reorganization of the leadership of the university and introduced the new leaders and mid-level managerial employees who had joined Sias. He also announced the division of work among the leaders. He explained the purpose of the restructuring of the university leadership and emphasized the importance of the Summer Work Conference in combination with the university management organization and personnel changes. He then delivered a report on the work of the 2019 Summer Work Conference, introducing the development achievements of Sias in the past 20 years, particularly with regard to development, campus construction, enrollment, and the introduction of high-quality educational resources. He said that Sias' achievements and good social standing were the results of the joint efforts of faculty and staff. With the successful completion of the 20th anniversary celebrations, Sias had begun a new chapter. He finally spoke about the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States and the 5th US-China Outstanding Contribution Awards to be held at Sias. He said that he hoped that all the departments at Sias would innovate and make the upcoming year a success.

The Conference lasted for 3 days, during which all administrative departments, academic schools, and residential colleges presented their work plans for the upcoming 2019/20 academic year, focusing on effectiveness, innovative ideas, and the unique characteristics of each department. Participants also had group discussions about the reform of education and teaching at Sias, as well as the development of scientific research, creating a benchmark for the evaluation of teaching, the CET-4 and CET-6 examinations, college entrance examinations, and the collaborative education of residential academies and academic schools. They also actively explored avenues for the rapid innovative development of Sias.