Higher-learning institutions in China have begun to reform their curricula and administration to equip their graduates with the skills they will need now the country has entered the WTO.
The motivation for this change, according to Sun Weiyan, the former president of the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), comes from the job market. To help achieve this aim, UIBE will begin enrolling PhD candidates majoring in WTO laws and practice next year. So far, it is the first university in China to train such high-level WTO experts. UIBE also offers WTO-related courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students. The courses include Introduction to the WTO and Human Resources Management, and most are taught by well-known professors such as Zhang Hanlin and Xue Rongjiu.
UIBE is not the only college to respond to the new demands created by China's WTO entry. Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) restructured its departments and schools at the beginning of this semester as well.
Among the changes is a new School of International Business, created through a merger of the original School of International Business with the School of English Language Communication. In the new school, English majors are required to learn finance, marketing and management.
While some universities, including Renmin University and Fudan University, have joined the reform through providing WTO-related courses.
Tsinghua University has taken another approach to developing its students' ability to meet the challenges posed by the WTO. Instead of providing more courses, the recently-released revised curriculum for undergraduate students actually reduces students' course-load.
The required credits for graduation have been reduced from 200 to 170, and required courses have been lowered from a total of 70 to 40. Students are encouraged to do research to earn extra credits.
"The new curriculum gives students more time and freedom to develop their own interests and special skills. Through this reform we want to encourage students to develop the ability to explore and innovate," said Wang Hui, vice-director of the Academic Affairs Office of Tsinghua University.
"After China's entry into the WTO, the ability to learn on one's own will be more important than mere knowledge. Knowledge will become out-of-date one day, but this ability will help you to enrich yourself with new information," said Wang.
(2001-11-15, 21st Century)
