On March 2, the program briefing session for Shanghai Jiao Tong University's “Future Young Leaders” Global Competence Program was successfully held in Room B306 of the Student Center on Minhang Campus.Peng Qinglong, Director of the Academy of International and Regional Studies and Distinguished Professor of the School of Foreign Languages; Zhu Yifan, Party Secretary and Tenured Professor of the School of Foreign Languages; Cheng Lingzhi, Distinguished Researcher of the Academy of International and Regional Studies; Zhang Yifan, Deputy Party Secretary of the School of Foreign Languages; Zhen Fengchao, Vice Dean and Professor of the School of Foreign Languages; Professor Wu Shiyu; Tenured Associate Professor Zou Li; Tenured Assistant Professor Zhao Siqi; and Liu Yijun, Supervisor of the International Student Development Center of the International Affairs Division, attended the session. More than 100 students from across the university participated in the event, with warm and active interactions throughout. The session was hosted by Mao Luxuan, a 2023 undergraduate student from the Department of German Studies, School of Foreign Languages.

At the beginning, Peng Qinglong and Zhu Yifan gave a comprehensive introduction to the program. Jointly developed by the School of Foreign Languages in collaboration with the Academy of International and Regional Studies, the Student Affairs Steering Committee, the International Affairs Division, Education Development Foundation and other departments, the program closely responds to the national strategy for cultivating global governance talents and supports SJTU’s internationalization strategy in celebration of its 130th anniversary. Building on the university’s long-term experience in global competence education, the program innovatively forms a training matrix of “Language + Major + Area & Country Studies” and establishes a “Six-Proficiency” talent development system, aiming to nurture talents with strong competence in language, technology, region, country, field and industry. The program recruits students with sound ideological and political integrity, excellent academic performance and a global vision. Recruitment and selection are expected to be completed by mid-March.

During the session on area and country studies, several experts and scholars focused on national strategic needs and cutting-edge academic developments, presenting the latest progress and layout of nine major research directions. Covering a wide range of interdisciplinary fields, the research fully reflects SJTU's profound foundation and multi-dimensional layout in the field of area and country studies.

In the Q&A session, students had in-depth discussions with the faculty on application requirements, research paths, career development and other topics.Faculty members answered questions patiently one by one, encouraging students to integrate their personal development into the overall national development, deepen their research in area and country studies based on their professional strengths, and make China’s voice heard on the global stage.

This program briefing session has provided a high-quality platform for SJTU students to understand the frontier of global competence and area and country studies, laying a solid foundation for cultivating interdisciplinary global governance talents with international competitiveness. In the future, the “Future Young Leaders” Global Competence Program will integrate high-quality resources both on and off campus, guide young students to serve national strategies, and contribute SJTU’s wisdom and youth strength to building a community with a shared future for mankind.