The gentle breeze brings a new season, and the pursuit of dreams begins anew. With enthusiasm for exploring the field of global governance and expectations for the future, the postgraduate freshmen have officially embarked their studies at the School of International Governance Innovation (SIGI). To help the students quickly adapt to the learning environment of the School and clarify their academic plans and development paths in the field of international governance, the School has specially held a freshman orientation.

Opening and Encouragement

Introduction by Mike Goodhart, Professor, University of Maryland (UMD)

At the beginning of the orientation, Dean Zhao Longyue extended a warm welcome to Mike and Annie coming from afar. Mike, in turn, greeted all the faculty and students present. “We have traveled over ten thousand kilometers to attend this orientation precisely to convey our sincerity for cooperation face-to-face with the new students,” he stated. Subsequently, Mike interpreted the advantages of UMD and the core details of the cooperation project, covering the university’s ARWU ranking, the curriculum of the Public Administration major, and the daily activities of students.

On-site Interaction

During the discussion session,freshman Wu Yushan volunteered to speak. She thanked Mike for his contributions to the connection between China and the United States and expressed her expectations for the UMD-SIGI program, which is fully affirmed by Mike. Mike then presented each student with souvenirs featuring UMD’s elements while expressing his earnest hope to reunite with everyone at UMD in the near future.

Opportunities and Convictions

Share by Professor Zhao Longyue, Dean of SIGI

Following that, Dean Zhao Longyue shared the educational achievements and new development plans of SIGI. Over the past decade, SIGI has cultivated nearly 600 outstanding students, demonstrating its success in nurturing talent for global governance. In the future, the School will launch a Graduate Exchange Program, selecting excellent students to study abroad for one semester to empower them to broaden international perspectives and enhance cross-cultural communication skills.

Remarks by Li Zhicong, Counselor, SIGI

Subsequently, Li Zhicong, the freshmen Counselor, focused on the actual needs of the new students by explaining the campus life and study guidelines in detail. “Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS) has always valued students’ expressive and practical abilities. It is essential to not only master professional knowledge and improve your English proficiency steadily but also strengthen ideals and convictions while continuously enhancing political integrity. If given the opportunity to step onto the international stage in the future, you will represent not only yourselves but also the image of Chinese youth,” he particularly stated.

Hopes and Foundations

At the conclusion of the orientation, all participants took a group photo. Dean Zhao Longyue imparted final words of encouragement to the new students, expressing his hope that they would serve as “envoys of friendship between China and the world.” He urged them to continuously broaden international perspectives and develop broader mindsets during the next two years of study, contributing their youth energy to promoting world peace and progress and enhancing the shared well-being of humanity.

Group Photo Taken to Mark the orientation

The success of this orientation has not only helped the postgraduates clarify their academic planning and development paths, but has also demonstrated SIGI’s educational mission of deepening expertise in international governance and nurturing top talents. Furthermore, it has laid a solid foundation for the new students to smoothly start their graduate studies.