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Video: A birds' eye view of the Shanwei campus on Sep. 12. (credit to Li Bian)
South China Normal University welcomed its first batch of undergraduates on its new campus located in Shanwei, Guangdong province, on September 12 and 13. The first students arrived on September 11, while the majority of the newcomers arrived on September 12, which was the official registration day. SCNU is the first university to teach undergraduate students in this city.
The first batch involves 627 students enrolled to study seven majors, namely Network Engineering, E-commerce, Primary Education, Preschool Education, Data Science and Big Data, Thing Networking Engineering and Materials Physics.
Big surprise at advance registration
On the morning of September 11, dozens of new students from the city of Shanwei and neighboring areas registered in advance. Liu Jianwen, vice president of SCNU, greeted some of them in person at the school gate.
Liu had a cordial conversation with the parents and students, and encourage freshmen to study hard on the Shanwei campus. He also briefed the parents on the current progress of school construction on the campus, saying that the school will do its best to ensure good facilities providing the freshmen with outstanding study and living conditions.
Liu Jianwen, vice president of SCNU meets the first two students to arrive at the school gate of Shanwei campus.
"Unexpectedly, teachers were already waiting for me at the station and recognized me. I was very surprised!”, said Lin Wanting, a student majoring in E-commerce. She said she had arrived at the Shanwei station at about 8 AM, and planned to wait for the school bus, which set off at 11. What surprised her even more was that after arriving at the school, president Liu personally welcomed them at the school gate.
"The opening gift package is so nice and meaningful to me,” said Song Lide when he received the presents from president Liu's hands. He is also among the first three to arrive at the campus.
Together with another 53 students who arrived at the campus on that day, Lin and her fellow students received a quick volunteer training in the afternoon and formed the volunteer team with over 30 faculty members and 16 class teachers as well as those recruited from outside the campus. Thus, they were prepared to take up a new role to serve as volunteers helping incoming new students on the official registration day, the next day.
Considerate services offered by volunteers
On September 12, the official registration day, volunteers waited at off-campus service points such as railway and coach stations, each with a separate list of freshmen and contact information in their hands to confirm the freshmen’s arrival at the school on time and ensure each new student's safe arrival.
According to staff member at the scene, their expected arrival date, settling-in time, personal information, and expectations for each freshman were recorded through the new information management system before setting off from home. "We know exactly when each student will arrive, how and how many people will come with them. We have already made arrangements for each student," the volunteers told us.
The school sets up off-campus service points at the South Gate, on Shizheng Road and surrounding areas, high-speed rail stations, bus stations, etc.
After arriving at the gate, the on-campus volunteers helped the freshmen put their luggage on the shuttle bus, and the students could walk to the dormitory without the burden of their baggage with the guidance of the volunteers.
A professor driving the shuttle bus.
After registering and getting their dorm key, the students came to the left-luggage office to check whether their luggage was complete. Then the volunteers helped them carry the luggage right into their dormitory.
Besides the caring volunteers and teachers, the Shanwei campus had prepared a present for each freshman, containing a SCNU T-shirt, information for newcomers and a crystal engraved with their own name. Considering the housing needs of the freshmen, the Shanwei campus management also provides cleaning tools in the students’ dormitories.
A crystal presented to incoming freshmen.
Huang Xiaoning, a freshman at the School of Data Science and Engineering.
Huang Xiaoning, a freshman at the School of Data Science and Engineering, is one of the 56 freshmen volunteers. Recalling the day she arrived at the Shanwei campus, she said she didn’t have any burden. "From the school gate right into the dormitory, there are teachers and volunteers all the way to help. The school is so caring.” As a freshmen being helped she deeply felt how hard the volunteers had worked. The next day her role changed into that of a volunteer. "It didn’t feel so hard thanks to the shifts and breaks which were planned ahead by the school to make sure the work of the volunteers was not too heavy,”she said.
Chen Jiafan, a volunteer who came from the Shanwei Institute of Technology.
"Welcome to Shanwei! We wish all the students will make progress in their studies on such a beautiful campus." Chen Jiafan, a volunteer who came from the Shanwei Institute of Technology, offered his congratulations. He said that the Shanwei campus of SCNU provides a better place for the young people in Shanwei to study. The establishment of this campus not only can open the eyes of the residents but also improve the power of Shanwei by bringing in and cultivating talent.
"We wish the newcomers not only feel the atmosphere of college, but more importantly consider themselves as the owners of the campus, growing up with the Shanwei campus together," said Xu Xianglong, Executive deputy-director of the Management Committee for the Shanwei campus.
Xu Xianglong, Executive deputy-director of the Management Committee for the Shanwei campus
"Thanks to the support from the Shanwei local government and companies, SCNU can provide several gifts to the freshmen like free WiFi for first two months, free seafood at the cuisine for the first week, and so on." Next, the Shanwei campus will complete the freshman induction through a series of activities such as the flag raising ceremony, the opening ceremony, and military training, he added.
More about the Shanwei campus
The Shanwei campus is the newest campus of SCNU. Apart from the new one, SCNU has three other campuses, namely Shipai Campus, University Town Campus and Nanhai Campus. At Shanwei campus, SCNU is introducing a full course mentor system and residential college system for the first time.
The first residential College of SCNU is named after the famous Chinese educationalist Tao Xingzhi.
The construction of the Shanwei campus is divided into three phases, of which the first stage is to build 948 acres, and to be fully completed before September, 2022, followed by the next two stages of 1,000 acres each respectively. In the future, the campus will build a complete talent training system for undergraduates, masters and doctors. Six majors offering master and PhD programs will be available by 2025.
Translated by Lin Zihao
Proofread by Edwin Baak
Edited by Li Jianru
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