Sias' annual Summer Training Conference was held from July 20 to 25. The 2018 conference focused on the continued development and evolution of Sias culture and the build-up to Sias' 20th anniversary. The Conference lasted for 6 days and consisted of lectures, group discussions, fora, group activities, and team-building modules. Over 1,000 staff members attended the conference.
The opening ceremony included staff from the library, logistics group, and academic departments recounting their experiences from the past 20 years at Sias. After a short film about Sias, the Chairman of the Board, Dr. Shawn Chen, spoke about the university's new management structure. He welcomed those in attendance and thanked them for their service to the Sias family. He spoke about Sias' history, the plans for the future, and elaborated on 4 themes for the conference: the consolidation of Sias culture and development for the next 20 years; focus on a 15-step development plan; celebrating the development in the past 20 years; efficiency promotion and quality control.
There were also speeches by the Party Secretary, Ma Jiansheng, Sias President, Chen Sikun, Executive President, Wang Jialin, and Assistant Principal, Guo Xuede. Ma Jiansheng shared his thoughts on the work of the Party in Sias. Chen Sikun said that he was looking forward to the blueprint of the next 20 years through four 5-year plans. He also listed some remarkable achievements since the implementation of the previous 5-year plan, while pointing out the challenges and key points for development for the next 5-year plan for Sias. Guo Xuede reported on the growth and development of Sias as a center of innovation. He spoke about the role played by innovation in the development of other colleges and universities. He said that the development of science and technology, coupled with the reform of education, brought challenges and opportunities for Sias. Only by continuously innovating, he said, would Sias continue to grow as it has been.
Executive Vice President, Wang Jialin, also delivered a speech and spoke about the long-term goals of Sias. He pointed out that the changing external environment meant that colleges and universities should be bold with regard to their responsibilities and mission, by developing a solid vision in order to keep pace with the outside world and achieve their long-term goals.
At the closing ceremony on July 25, Prof. Shi Qiuheng of Xiamen University, who is also a member of the China Engineering Education Accreditation Association, and an expert on Special Government Allowances of the State Council, spoke about the logical starting points for reform in talent training. He spoke about the effective methods for nurturing talents in universities, the academic conditions that fostered this growth, introspection, improvement, and reform. He spoke about his own research into the topic and pointed out that the fundamental task of universities was to nurture talent by focusing on the combination of teaching, research, and social responsibilities.
After this, the Chairman of the Board of Sias, Dr. Shawn Chen, spoke about the training at this year's Summer Conference. This was the first time that the entire faculty had participated in the annual Summer Conference. He said that through this training, employees of Sias would be able to contribute towards defining what Sias Culture would be in the future.
As part of the training, Sias had explained its plans and mission so that staff would understand the development goals of Sias in the coming 20 years. The upcoming 20th anniversary celebrations were also a major topic in the training sessions.
The Director of the Academic Affairs Department, Wang Xiaoquan, spoke about the introduction of reform into the evaluation system, and the workings of the index system of eligibility assessments, specifically with regard to the first 5-year plan, to lay a solid foundation for the coming 20 years at Sias.
The Director of the newly established Office of Efficiency Promotion and Supervision, Tam Zhiyong, spoke about the analysis of current problems in the workplace based on investigations and studies, and the implementation of solutions for them. He said that efficiency promotion would help with reform, and required the cooperation of all departments to guarantee a smooth development for the university.
The Director of the Information Technology Management Center, Ding Xinyu, showed the new changes that IT development was bringing to Sias, such as the use of new office systems, data analysis, data integration, and information security. The Director of the 20th Anniversary Office, Qin Nan, revealed the details of the work being undertaken for the upcoming 20th anniversary celebrations.
As opportunities and challenges crop up in the process of reform, Dr. Shawn Chen invited the heads of academic schools and residential colleges at Sias to meet in a symposium so that they could pool ideas and make suggestions for the development of Sias. Dr. Chen said that residential colleges were the perfect embodiment of an innovative and a liberal arts education. He said that the increased professionalism and diversified specializations of the faculty, and a combination of general education and professional education, would greatly benefit the students. He added that the road to reform would be difficult, but was necessary.
Dr. Chen and Executive President Wang Jialing, along with the heads of the academic schools at Sias, had opened a series of fora and sub-fora during the Conference to aid in the discussion of a variety of topics such as teaching, administration, tutoring, and logistics. There were also day-long exchanges and team-building exercises between departments.
Long-serving employees at Sias spoke about their experiences and their gratitude for all they had received. Dr. Chen also shared his personal story from China to the USA, his vision for Sias over the past 20 years, and his dedication to the original goals of the university.
