School Hosts Series of Seminars on the Demonstration of

Discipline and Program Adjustment and Optimization

To fully substantiate the plan for adjusting and optimizing the School's discipline and program structure, the School held two meetings: an internal seminar on June 9, 2025, and an external expert consultation on June 12, 2025.

On June 9, the School convened an enlarged meeting of the Academic Committee in Room SX605. Members of the Academic Committee based in Beijing and heads of all departments attended the meeting, engaging in in-depth discussions on the ideas and plans for adjusting and optimizing the School's discipline and program structure.

On June 12, the School held the "Expert Seminar on the Adjustment and Optimization of Discipline and Program Structure" in Room SX608. Focusing on the strategic transformation and optimization pathways of the School's disciplinary layout, the seminar brought together seven external experts from government agencies, universities, and industry, along with the School's leadership and faculty representatives. The meeting was chaired by Vice Dean Liu Kai. Attendees included Party Secretary Sun Wenbo, Vice Dean Hao Yunhui, Vice Dean and Deputy Party Secretary Wen Yingchun, department heads, and faculty representatives.

Distinguished guests included Mr. Wang Zhiwei, former Education Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Brazil and former Education Officer at the Chinese Embassy in Spain; Prof. Mao Zhanwen, Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, Minzu University of China; Prof. Xu Lei, Professor at the School of Hispanic and Portuguese Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University; Prof. Wang Yan, Head of the Department of English, University of Science and Technology Beijing; Mr. Liu Ke, Deputy Director of Content Management at Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd. and Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association for Technical Communication; and Mr. Duan Xiujian, Senior Journalist at the Economic Department of China News Service.

At the beginning of the meeting, Vice Dean Liu Kai introduced the university's overall requirements for discipline and program adjustments. He presented the current discipline structure, conditions, quality of education, and employment outcomes of the School, and analyzed the opportunities and challenges faced in their development based on preliminary research. He pointed out that foreign language programs in Chinese universities are shifting from single-skill training toward cultivating interdisciplinary, application-oriented, and innovative talents, while journalism and communication disciplines are expanding toward areas such as intelligent communication and international communication. Liu then elaborated on the School's optimization plan, proposing the integration of the strengths of the disciplines of Foreign Language and Literature and Journalism and Communication, the establishment of new research areas, and the upgrading of existing programs.

The invited experts highly recognized the School's preparatory work and proposed plan. They discussed the adjustment from the perspectives of national strategic priorities, industry demand, and interdisciplinary integration, offering constructive suggestions. The experts suggested that foreign language programs should explore interdisciplinary models, consider innovative enrollment approaches, and deepen cooperation with enterprises and overseas institutions; journalism and communication programs should strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration and enhance talent cultivation through industry-university-research integration. They also emphasized that disciplinary adjustment should closely align with national strategies such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the enhancement of China's international communication capacity, highlighting the School's unique characteristics and cultivating globally minded, interdisciplinary professionals with both language proficiency and professional competence.

In his concluding remarks, Party Secretary Sun Wenbo stated that the School would fully incorporate the experts' valuable suggestions. He stressed that discipline and program adjustments should leverage the development opportunities brought by the Xiong'an New Campus and the multi-campus strategy, strengthen top-level planning, and enhance the alignment among talent cultivation, national strategies, and industrial needs.

This series of consultation meetings has provided clear guidance for the adjustment and optimization of the School's discipline and program structure. Taking these discussions as a new starting point, the School will integrate collective wisdom to accelerate program upgrades and interdisciplinary integration. With the goal of "serving national strategies and leading industry development", the School will optimize its disciplinary layout in the context of the Xiong'an New Campus construction, strive to cultivate high-level interdisciplinary talents with global vision, patriotism, and practical competence, and strengthen the discipline foundation for building a Chinese discourse system for international communication.