In order to celebrate the successful graduation of 28 international students (including students majored in language) from the first Chinese-Foreign Joint Education Program (Civil Engineering), CSUST International College held the inaugural meeting of the 2019 Alumni Chapter & graduation party on the afternoon of June 23 in the multi-purpose hall at the Center for International Academic Exchanges of Yuntang Campus. This event also promises to enhance the cultural exchange between Chinese and foreign students. The attendees included Fu Chang’e, the Member of the Party Committee of the School and Secretary of the General Party Branch of the International College, Chen Yu, the Dean of the International College, Wu Zhenhua, the Deputy Secretary of the General Party Branch and Vice Dean, Qin Weixing, the Vice Dean, Gan Haiying, the Vice Dean, the faculty and staff in the Office of Chinese-Foreign Joint Education Program and  International Student Office, as well as all the Chinese and foreign graduates (and the students who have completed the courses) and students representatives of other grades. In addition, Zheng Yanheng, the Deputy Director of the Alumni Liaison and Social Cooperation Service Center, Dr. Baoshan Huang, the representative from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and Dr. Joseph Owino and Dr. Ignatius Fomunung, the representatives from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, were also invited to attend. The event was hosted by Chinese student He Yanjie , and Togolese student Ezoula Agoro Solange.  

Before the event began,the students dressed in costumes walked into the assembly hall one by one and signed on the signature wall, leaving their gratitude and blessing to their alma,  teachers and friends. Afterwards, the event officially started.

First of all, Chen Yu, the Dean of the International College, delivered a warm speech, extending her congratulations to Chinese and foreign graduates and raising her ardent expectations for their future studies and life. She encouraged the graduates to “keep thirst for knowledge and maintain a humble attitude”, give play to the excellent quality of international youth, and promote Chinese and foreign exchanges and cooperation, thus contributing to the development of their country.

Next, Gan Haiying read the "Notice on the Establishment of the 2019 Alumni Chapter of The International College". Zheng Yanheng presented the 2019 Alumni Chapter of the International College with a flag.  After that, Fu Chang’e, Chen Yu and the American guests granted graduates with the alumni ring and graduation photo as a gift.

Afterwards, a graduate representative presented a commemorative gift to the International College. Wuyang Shufan, the graduate representative of the Chinese-Foreign Joint Education Program, and Chouiha Ahmed H N, the representative of the Algerian graduates, delivered their speeches, expressing their gratitude to the school and the teachers and ommitting that they will continue to carry forward the spirit of the "paving stone" adhered to by CSUST people in their future life and studies, with a view to making a contribution to the progress of the society.

At the graduation party, Chinese and foreign students gave a brilliant talent show. The serial singing of "The Melody of Youth" consisting of four Chinese songs performed by 23 overseas students from 11 countries climaxed the atmosphere of the activity. In the lingering rhythm and a strong sense of reluctance to part from the alma mater, the graduation party of the International College came to its end. 

Linkage:

 Our school actively introduces foreign high-quality educational resources, and has initiated a Sino-foreign cooperative undergraduate education program (Civil Engineering) with the University of Tennessee that adopts a “3+1” dual-campus joint cultivation model. The program began enrolling students in September 2015 and has 373 students now. In June 2019, the first batch of students of the program have been allowed to graduate, and among them, 10 students are to be granted  both Chinese and American undergraduate degrees and nearly one third are determined to pursue further studies in the University of Southern California, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Florida, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, City University of Hong Kong, Central South University, Hunan University, Changsha University of Science and Technology, and other domestic and foreign universities. And most of the other students will go to work in China Communications Construction Co., Ltd., China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China Railway Group and other large engineering enterprises, and they are well favored by engineering enterprises concerning foreign affairs.

This program innovates the civil engineering international talent training model by relying on international teaching faculty and management team, and promotes the education and teaching reform of the school, thereby contributing to the school’s "double first-class" construction and expanding its international influence. With steadily improving quality of students, this program well satisfies the society's demand for internationalized high-quality resources of civil engineering education, providing foreign-related engineering and technical talents and industry elites for Chinese engineering enterprises and thus supporting their implementation of “Go Out” strategy and regional economic construction in the context of the “Belt and Road” Initiative.

Article/Sun Xi Jun, Tang Hongmin  Picture/Liu Jing, Zuo Hui 

Reviewers/Chen Yu, Wu Zhenhua