During the 2024 short summer semester, 16 visiting teachers from SDJU partner universities, including Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences (Germany), University of Northern Iowa (U.S.), Florida Institute of Technology (U.S.), Wayne State University (U.S.), King’s College London (U.K.), Newcastle University (U.K.), Sheffield Hallam University (U.K.), The École des Arts Décoratifs (France), Kyushu University (Japan), among other, taught courses and delivered nearly twenty lectures. These sessions engaged around 600 undergraduate and graduate students. The courses spanned approximately ten disciplines, covering School of Electrical Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Business, School of Foreign Languages, School of Design and Arts, and KKIP (Kaiserslautern Kolleg für Intelligente Produktion).
During the four weeks, each school organized various student-oriented activities based on their respective disciplinary and professional characteristics. School of Design and Arts held Display of 2024 International Design Week, where award-winning students and teachers shared their creative sights and achievements. School of Electrical Engineering hosted Graduate Summer Camp for International Training of Excellent Engineers under New Productivity Paradigm. Participants included two SDJU master students who received funding from 2024 China Scholarship Council’s Innovative Talent International Cooperation Program for “International Cooperation Training of Outstanding Field Engineers in Intelligent Manufacturing for Advanced Power Equipment” and they are set to pursue doctoral degrees at Graz University of Technology in Austria. Additionally, four master students who had previously studied at Graz University of Technology for six months and one SDJU international student f joined the camp. The successful completion of the summer camp highlighted the far-reaching impact of over-a-decade collaboration with Graz University of Technology and its visiting faculty.
The international courses offered during the short semester showcased the implementation of SDJU’s Openness and Development strategy, which contributed to the internationalization of our university. These courses strengthened our university’s training programs for excellent field engineers with a global perspective and enhanced SDJU curriculum by integrating international elements. They helped students gain insights into cutting-edge global theories and trends in their respective fields, broadened their international outlook, and improved cross-cultural communication skills.
At the same time, overseas faculty actively engaged with our teachers, fostering interaction through lectures and workshops. This exchange of teaching and research experiences expanded both the breadth and depth of thinking and opened up new opportunities for international collaboration in education and research.