February 18^th, 2022, Shanghai – the Welcome Ceremony for New International students of SEM was held successfully online. In spring semester 2022, SEM has welcomed 55 new international students from 10 countries, including 5 degree seeking students.

Come to SEM and embrace the difference

At the opening ceremony, Prof. WANG Hongwei, Deputy Dean for International Relations of SEM, on behalf of the school, delivered a welcome speech. He welcomed all the new international students and inspired them to think about the role of business schools in solving complex social problems in the context of COVID-19. He then briefed on the historical development of Tongji University and emphasized that the mission of Tongji SEM was highly consistent with this special time node of pandemic. He also encouraged students to focus on three things: 1) look at yourself inside. Whether fighting a global pandemic global climate change or economic recession, we must be willing to be honest about our own motivations and open to changing our minds, making yourself more sensitive to the human condition, unbiased, and to be more self-aware; 2) embrace uncertainty. It’s vital to learn to be at peace with the discomfort of stepping into the unknown; 3）learn to have empathy and compassion. Such an ability would help us to be better scholars and students, to bridge differences, learn to understand one another, and enact meaningful, sustainable change.

Then, the staff from Undergraduate and Postgraduate Administration Center of SEM gave an introduction on the academic regulations, including course credits and selection requirements. The international student instructor from Student Affairs Office briefly introduced the history, humanities and scenery of Shanghai, and shared photos and videos of some wonderful moments of international students studying at SEM in the past.

Come to SEM and enjoy a culture journey

To help international students to get better understandings on China and Tongji SEM, the opening ceremony has a number of cultural interaction activities. The International Cooperation and Accreditation Office organized “Picking My Favorite Culture Element” video sharing, which strengthened students’ understanding on each other’s culture. The introductory video on Tongji university was also played to help students learn about the development history, campus scenery and community activities at Tongji.

Lastly, an online group photo was taken to keep the precious memories in this special time.

It is worth mentioning that, the pandemic has not stopped the international students from coming to Tongji SEM for exchange and study. The number of international students has steadily increased, and the quality of international students has been further improved, helping SEM to continuously ranked top in Tongji University. Its Master in Management program ranked 35th in the world and 2nd in China in the 2021 Global Masters in Management (MiM) Ranking released by Financial Times, one of the globally recognized authoritative rankings in the field of business education. SEM has been ranked among the top 50 in the world for six consecutive years. In 2021, Tongji SEM has also successfully obtained Equis and AACSB 5-year Re-accreditation. The college has surpassed the international accreditation standards in terms of high-quality personnel training, high-level teaching and research and in-depth internationalization. SEM would continue to build an open sharing international exchange platform, innovate and improve the educational mode of internal and external cooperation, promote education and teaching quality improvement, enhance international influence, and cultivate outstanding management elites with international vision.