Sias University held a Chalk & Blackboard Competition on June 12. The competition was set up in order to implement the proposals of President Xi Jinping at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China with regard to traditional Chinese culture and the improvement of teaching skills. Sias Party Secretary, Ma Jiansheng, Sias President, Chen Sikun, and Deputy Party Secretary, Li Huafeng, the heads of the Supervision & Audit Department, the Propaganda Department, the Trade Union, and the Sias Calligraphy Association, attended the competition. The Vice President of the Sias Trade Union, Zhang Ru, presided over the competition.

The judges for the competition were Ma Jiansheng, Chen Sikun, Li Huafeng, the Dean of the School of Education, Dou Xiaomin, the Dean of the Huanyu Residential College, Yang Jiaqing, the Vice Dean of the School of Accounting, Chang Failiang, the President of the Calligraphy Association, Liu Minghua, and the Secretary-General of the Calligraphy Association, Gao Sheng.

Ma Jiansheng expressed his gratitude to the judges, the teachers' training team, and those who actively supported and contributed to the competition. He also thanked the grassroots work of the Trade Union and the teachers who participated in the competition. He said that writing with chalk was a basic skill of every teacher, and was a part of traditional Chinese culture and education and contributed to the spread of learning and art, through dedication, conscientiousness, and professionalism. He also said that the competition was contributing to the preservation of Chinese culture in the internet age. He said that he hoped that all the teachers, especially the younger teachers, would use this competition as an opportunity to improve their teaching skills, improve the quality of their writing with chalk on blackboards, and promote the growth and development of teaching activities at Sias University.

After over 6 months of training, 30 contestants were selected from the preliminary rounds to take part in the finals. Topics were selected from the 19th National Congress, as well as articles on Sias' culture. The finalists were to finish their tasks in 15 minutes.

The prize winners of the competition were as follows:

First prize- Zhu Baoli, from the School of Music & Opera; and Wu Jie, from the Trade Union

Second prize- Wang Junjuan, from the School of Business; Li Tingting, and He Fangbin, from the School of Foreign Languages

Third prize- Wang Lina, from the School of Foreign Languages; Tao Zongxiao, from the School of Art & Design; Chen Mingqin, from the School of International Education; Li Jianmin, from the School of Music & Opera; and Fan Xiaohua, from the School of Literature.