Tsinghua president Wang Dazhong delivered a keynote speech on the closing ceremony of the 21st Conference on Education on Dec. 13. Up to 3000 faculties and staff attended the meeting.

President Wang declared that progresses have been made during the one-year discussion about education reform at Tsinghua.

It is generally believed that, in order to transform Tsinghua into a research-oriented university and to meet the new requirements presented by the economic and scientific development in the 21st century, certain measures must be taken to readjust the educational system.

President Wang said, a research-oriented university reflects fives characters in student training and educating, they are: the combination between teaching and research; the arrangement between bachelor and master programs; to maintain the leading positions of strong disciplines and promoting the intercourse between various disciplines; to build up an outstanding faculty; and the recognition of an interactive relationship between student and their tutors.

President Wang Dazhong pointed that several tasks should be done in the near future while pursuing a good result of the education reform. These include reforming the curriculum and teaching methods; offering "one hundred excellent courses"; implementing the competition, dismissal and reward system among graduate students, promoting the quality of Ph. D. candidates education; accelerating the continuing education programs; advocating an academic and diligent style of learning; and optimizing the teaching evaluation system.

The university-wide conference on education was held at Tsinghua starting from Nov. 9 2000. It is held every 4 years.

(Li Jing, 12/18/2001)