On November 28th, the inauguration ceremony of the School of International Studies and the opening ceremony of the academic season were held on the Xianlin Campus, marking the official debut of the School of International Studies at Nanjing University and simultaneously announcing the establishment of Nanjing University’s Institute of Area Studies. The event also included the appointment ceremony for professors and part-time professors at Nanjing University. Attendees included Miss Qiu Yuanping, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese Liaison Committee, former director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council; Prof. Lyu Jian, an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of Nanjing University; Prof. Zhou Hong, an academician of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as well as Director of its Department for International Studies, and a Distinguished Professor of Fudan University.
Qiu Yuanping and Lyu Jian jointly unveiled the plaque of the School of International Studies at Nanjing University through a combination of online and offline methods, which was met with warm applause from the audience. The well-known diplomat and former State Councilor Dai Bingguo is very concerned about the construction and development of the School of International Studies at Nanjing University, and has written its name for the school.
In her speech, Qiu Yuanping warmly congratulated the establishment of the School of International Studies and the Institute of Area Studies at Nanjing University, and the joining of three renowned scholars of international relations scholars - Wang Yizhou, Zhou Hong, and Huang Renwei. She reviewed the history of the School's establishment and expressed her belief that the School will accelerate Nanjing University's Double First-Class construction, promote the development of Jiangsu into a strong and open province, and serve major national strategies. She also proposed that through inter-school cooperation, inter-departmental cooperation, and interdisciplinary studies, the School will train highly qualified professionals with a global perspective and international competitiveness.
At the appointment ceremony for professors and Distinguished professors at Nanjing University, Lyu Jian presented Professor Wang Yizhou with Nanjing University appointment certificate for his full-time joining in the School of International Studies. He also issued Distinguished Professorship appointment certificate to Zhou Hong and Huang Renwei online. Lu Yanqing introduced the basic information of them and stated that their joining wouldmake outstanding academic achievements.
Yang Zhong delivered a welcoming speech on behalf of Nanjing University. He stated that since the establishment of the School of International Studies more than a year ago, new achievements have been continuously made in talent cultivation, discipline construction, international exchange, and think tank services. He expressed sincere gratitude to Director Qiu Yuanping for her guidance and planning as well as to other schools and research institutions for their concern and support for the School of International Studies at Nanjing University. The university will fully support the development of the School of International Studies and provide strong guarantees for its high-quality development.
At the opening ceremony of the Academic Season of International Relations , Yang Zhong and Wang Yizhou jointly unveiled the plaque for the Institute of Area Studies of Nanjing University. The Institute is a university research institution established by the university to implement the construction of the knowledge system of philosophy and social sciences under the Ministry of Education, enhance its consulting and policy-making service capabilities, and meet the requirements of the Action Plan for the New Era of Philosophy and Social Sciences at Nanjing University. Wang Yizhou serves as the dean. Subsequently, Huazhi Lecture Series at Nanjing University was also launched.
Zhang Yuyan, Director of the Institute of World Economy and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Tang Shiqi, Dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University; Yang Guangbin, Dean of the School of International Studies at Renmin University; Su Changhe, Dean of the School of International Studies and Public Affairs at Fudan University; and Wang Bo, Vice Dean of the School of International Studies at the National University of Defense Technology congratulated the newly established School of International Studies at Nanjing University on its official opening. They expressed their willingness to further strengthen cooperation with Nanjing University's School of International Studies.
Representatives of other universities, experts and scholars from NJU, heads of relevant government departments, research centers, and Area Studies of China’s Ministry of Education attended this meeting.
Established in July 2021 by Nanjing University in response to national needs for talent cultivation and academic research in fields such as international politics, national security, regional nationality studies etc., the School is a research and teaching- unit that relies on research platforms such as Collaboratvie Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies, Huazhi Institute for Global Governance and Institute of Area Studies. The four-day Academic Season of International Relations included high-level forums on new era international relations discipline construction, the eighth round Sino-US expert dialogue conference, the tenth South China Sea Forum, Huazhi Lecture Series. Nearly one hundred well-known domestic and foreign scholars will participate in relevant activities during this season.
