Journalist: Xie Xiaofang

Journalist: Xie XiaofangIn January 2016, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics (the University- should probably use DUFE) executed an agreement with Hofstra University in the USA for the establishment of an offshore school-run project. This is China’s first project of Chinese-foreign cooperation in running a school which offers degrees of a Chinese university to American students.  As of now, the project has been operated for a year. According to the University, 15 students have registered for courses of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics.

Running the Off shores chool is an important initiative of the University for pushing forward the governing of an internationalized school. The University and Hofstra University reached a framework agreement for the cooperation of the offshore school project in 2015. Excellent undergraduates who apply to join the offshore project of the University through Hofstra University may be admitted to the project and learn relevant courses on the main campus of Hofstra University. Each year, four to six teachers of the DUFE will be sent to Hofstra University for teaching courses relevant to the degree of DUFE. In the summer vacation of the third year, the students in Hofstra University will complete the practice and part of credit courses in Dalian. After completing the specified courses and obtaining the required credits, the students will receive diplomas from both Hofstra University and the University.  

Media: Dalian Daily

Page: Page of Culture and Education

Date: January 19, 2017

Journalist: Zhu Zhenguo   Reporter: Wang Qingshi Sun Lei

During the “Seminar of Liaoning Colleges and Universities about Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools” held in Dongbei University of Finance & Economics a few days ago, supervisors of Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools, foreign affair workers and experts from over 40 colleges and universities discussed in depth the basic philosophy and development trend towards the internationalization of higher education, the basic mode and education experience in internationalized talent cultivation ,and the compliant management and regulated development of Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools.

Education export of China becomes a popular topic

During the seminar, principals of international cooperation institutes and those in charge of international cooperation projects as well as foreign affair workers of the colleges and universities shared their work practice and school management experience. They were especially interested in the issue of exporting Chinese education service by way of attracting foreign students to study in colleges and universities in China.

Experts believe that the enhancement of educational sovereignty and leadership and the predominance of Chinese colleges and universities in Chinese-foreign cooperation in school ventures is a prerequisite for Chinese education export. For the management of Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools, advanced experience of foreign educational institutes in both teaching and management should be learned and used. However, Chinese colleges and universities need to be adept in leadership and occupy a predominant position in the cooperation especially in respect to implementating the laws and regulations as well as educational policies of China. Specifically, Chinese colleges and universities should abide by the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools and Measures for Implementation of Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools in the cooperation. At the same time, the headmaster or president of the institute established for joint school management should be a member of the Chinese party and the “two-headmaster” mechanism should not be applied to the cooperation. Members of the Chinese party need to enhance their leadership and maintain a predominant position and figure out applicable concepts for overseeing the school.

Strengthen management to protect legal interests of students

Experts on the seminar also believe that the protection of the legal interest of students is the core issue in the management of an educational institute established under Chinese-foreign cooperation. All links, including student enrollment, cultivation, certificate issuing and fee collection, should be managed closely and carefully for the purpose of facilitating the healthy development of Chinese-foreign cooperation in operating schools and improving the quality of the program. According to the experts, educational institutes established under Chinese-foreign cooperation are intended to provide higher education. Therefore, those institutes should be included in China’s student enrollment plan of colleges and universities. Furthermore, student enrollment of those institutes should be carried out in accordance with the catalogues of student enrollment by majors within the annual enrollment scale of the colleges and universities. If the educational institute established under Chinese-foreign cooperation plans on offering a master’s degree, regulations and procedures of China for enrolling students for master’s degree should be followed. If the educational institute established under Chinese-foreign cooperation intends to offer diplomas or degrees of the foreign party, the admission standards should not be inferior to the standards implemented by the foreign university in their country.

The education and teaching plan, curriculum design and teaching content of the educational institute established under Chinese-foreign cooperation should not be inferior to the standards and academic requirements implemented by the foreign university in their country. If diplomas and degrees of both the Chinese and foreign schools/institutions? are offered, the cultivation objective, curriculum design and teaching content should satisfy the academic requirements of both parties.

If the educational institute and project established under Chinese-foreign cooperation intends to offer diplomas or degrees from the Chinese party, relevant regulations of China should be implemented in a strict manner. If the educational institute and project established under Chinese-foreign cooperation intends to offer diplomas or degrees above the foreign party and above the bachelor’s level, the Chinese party should be qualified in offering education services of corresponding level and type and in issuing corresponding diplomas and degrees. Diplomas and degrees offered by the foreign party should be true, valid, and the same as those issued by the foreign party in its country and equally recognized in its country.

With respect to tuition collection, the parties establishing the educational institute or project under Chinese-foreign cooperation should be capable in the investment. The cost of cultivating each student should be estimated in a reasonable manner; the principle of cost compensation should be followed; and corresponding application should be submitted to competent departments for determining the charged items and standards for tuition collection in line with the pricing principles of the Chinese government. Concurrently, actual economic and social development level in local place and the amount students can afford should be taken into consideration during the determination of fee collection standards. The fees for public educational service and private educational service should be balanced.  

Media: Guangming Daily

Date: November 14, 2007

Journalist: Fu Xingyu

International Business College of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics, International Business College of Liaoning University and International Business College of Shenyang University are permitted to enroll undergraduate sophomores in Liaoning through a joint entrance exam.

Guo Weiqi, the office director of the International Business College of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics, told the journalist that it is a pioneering practice in university education in Liaoning province and many qualified students have submitted their applications.

According to Mr. Guo, the Department of Education of Liaoning Province, in light of the spirit in the notice of the People’s Government of Liaoning Province about trial operation of international business college, decided to accelerate the cultivation of business talents who are proficient in foreign languages, familiar with international rules and masters of knowledge of international economy, trade, finance, accounting and law for the purpose of providing talent resources and knowledge support for the development of the old industrial base of Liaoning province. In 2004, international business colleges of the above-mentioned three universities started the “2+2” cultivation and education mode via the joint enrollment and joint entrance exam. Full-time undergraduate sophomores of regular colleges and universities in Liaoning province who have passed all exams of existing courses and never received any disciplinary punishment may apply for the exam. The students will complete relevant courses after two years from the time of entrance and receive the diploma of the university to which the international business college belongs.

The journalist learned that international business colleges of the three universities in Liaoning province will enroll 255 students in total. The number of students to be enrolled by Dongbei University of Finance & Economics, Liaoning University and Shenyang University will be 75, 150 and 30 respectively. Details about the application and examination are available on the websites of these universities.

Media: www.ln.xinhuanet.com

Date: June 18, 2014

Wang Qingshi   Liu Wei

In 2010, the Ministry of Education approved 61 colleges and universities as the first to implement the “Excellent Engineer Education and Cultivation Plan”, marking the first step of “Excellent Talent Cultivation Plan” of colleges and universities in China. Afterwards, the Ministry of Education launched the “Excellent Legal Talent Cultivation Plan”, “Excellent Agronomist Cultivation Plan”, “Excellent Doctor Education and Cultivation Plan” and other talent cultivation plans one after another. The excellent talents plan for other specialties, including the excellent business talent cultivation plan, are in the stages of design and establishment. In view of the situation in China, researchers and managers of higher education had been following with great interest the cultivation of innovative talents for the society before the “Excellent Talent Cultivation Plans” were proposed by the Ministry of Education. The journalist believes that “Excellent Talent Cultivation Plans” signify the revolutionary transformation of the talent cultivation approach of colleges and universities and should be designed comprehensively and systematically. In view of the situation abroad, the capability standards of industrial talent in foreign countries are complete, high quality and up to date which may be used as a reference for universities in formulating talent cultivation standards and solutions. However, capability standards of industrial talent are insufficient in China, resulting in the unavailability of industrial standard basic for Chinese colleges and universities. Therefore, designing excellent talent cultivation standards and proposing feasible excellent talent cultivation solutions are the prerequisite for realizing the excellent talent cultivation plan and of profound significance for the transform of talent cultivation mode of and talent cultivation based on the demand of the society in colleges and universities in China

I

According to the documents concerning the cultivation of excellent talent of the Ministry of Education, excellent talents should have the following four basic qualities. (1) Sense of responsibility. It is a spiritual status under which a person is active to do every helpful thing within and outside the scope of responsibility. In other words, this is a person with positive values and a strong sense of responsibility who also has defined life criteria and work objectives. Furthermore, this person is optimistic and courageous in overcoming difficulties, good at cooperating with others, and diligent and dependable. In addition to the influence of ideology, family and social and cultural environment, a sense of responsibility is mainly formed and enhanced by way of education, including self-education. (2) Creativity. Excellent talent should be able to adapt to the highly competitive and changing environment of enterprises and business environments both at home and abroad and capable of proposing new ways of thinking, new methodology and new strategies for existing problems, and putting these innovative methods into practice to obtain intended results. (3) Applicability. Excellent talent needs to satisfy the requirements for corresponding work, adjust to the working environment quickly and discover and solve problems. In a world, excellent talent should do well in all aspects. For achieving these objectives, universities and enterprises need to establish a joint talent cultivation mechanism and work together to determine the cultivation objective, set up curriculum system and teaching content, implement the cultivation process and evaluate the quality of cultivation. (4) Internationalization. Excellent talent should be in possession of basic skills: communication, cooperation and competition in the international field and cross-cultural environment. This is also referred to as the internationalized skill.

II

After learning the meaning and basic quality of excellent talent, the establishment of specific quality standards becomes another key issue which involves the following aspects.  

Level of excellent talent cultivation. In view of the policy framework of the excellent talent plan of the Ministry of Education, the excellent talent expectations should be classified according to the level of the students: undergraduates, master and doctors. It is obvious that the objectives and cultivation standards for different levels of excellent talent must be different.

Classification and level of excellent talent cultivation standards. As requested by the Ministry of Education, excellent talent cultivation standards are classified into general standards and industrial standards. General standards describe basic requirements for this cultivation in various specialties while industrial standards describe basic requirements for the cultivation of a specific specialty in a specified industry. It is believed that university-based standards should be formulated in addition to the foresaid two types. University-based standards should reflect the unique advantages of colleges and universities and should be formulated based on the positioning, objective and service target of school management and industrial features. With respect to the weight of the three standards, general standards, industrial standards and university-based standards are applicable to the undergraduate level in an inverted pyramid structure; proportions of industrial standards and university-based standards are increased for the master’s level. In other words, specialized education and academic ability are dominant at the master’s education stage. Although general standards take up a low proportion, general standards should be also implemented for master’s education. Therefore, the absolute level of general standards for a master education is actually higher than that for an undergraduate education. At the doctorate level, the industrial standards and university-based standards are dominant. In other words, specialized education and academic ability cultivation are the focus of a doctorate education. The advantages of colleges and universities in disciplinary research and specialized education are reflected in this stage. Although general standards take up a low proportion in this stage, the absolute level of general standards for doctorate education is actually higher than that for master education.

Four basic quality standards for excellent talent are fulfilled by the establishment of basic quality and skill standards, professional knowledge standards and professional skill standards. “Basic quality and skill” is the foundation corresponding to the general standards of talent cultivation; “professional knowledge” is the prerequisite for excellent talent to take up an occupation; and “professional skill” is the key for excellent talent to demonstrate a creative, applicable and internationalized ability. Specialized knowledge and professional skills correspond to the industrial standards of talent cultivation. On this basis, an excellent talent cultivation indication system with multiple quality and ability observation points may be established and the teaching system or cultivation system may be set up, and then an overall excellent talent cultivation solution for all specialties may be structured.  

Media: Guangming Daily

Edition: Edition 16

Date: October 12, 2012

Wang Qingshi   Zhao Yanzhi

On June 24, 2005, Dick Hoffman, professor of Salisbury University, together with 6 U.S. students who studied abroad accepted an interview by the journalist of The Daily’s Times. The students talked about their visit to the International Business College on May 23, 2005 and indicated their feeling about the cultural differences between the two countries and the harvest in academic and cultural.

Persons in  higher education circles both at home and abroad believe that internationalization is an important trend of development for higher education in the 21st century world. Conventionally, higher education refers to university education. At the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, universities and education management institutes in economically advanced countries held a large variety of seminars discussing countermeasures for higher education internationalization in the new context of the integration of the world economy. Many colleges and universities in America have come out with specific solutions for the internationalization strategies for the 21st century. The basis is as follows: (1) As colleges and universities are organizations for imparting knowledge to students and knowledge is stateless, internationalization is an important historical mission for university education. (2) Nowadays, in the background of the economic globalization (including trade globalization, production globalization, consumption globalization, transportation and communication globalization), university students are required not only to adapt to and survive in the environment of economic globalization but also to have the ability for self-development in the environment. Therefore, colleges and universities should be able to provide internationalized language, curriculum and knowledge systems, conduct international exchange and cooperation in research (including exchange among teachers and among students) and furnish a plethora of services for the cultivation of international competitive talent through the university management. (3) Owing to this economic globalization, universities in all countries are competing with each other in the unified world education market. For the sake of self-development and competitiveness of universities, the internationalization of university education is imperative.

Universities in developed countries need to be internationalized while those in developing countries are much more in need it. There are gaps in discipline (teaching and research) levels and management levels between universities in developing countries and universities in developed countries. Therefore, internationalization for universities in developing countries is a long-term and arduous task. Although no specific and publicly accepted definition is given to university education internationalization by academic circles both at home and abroad, we still hope to give an operable definition about university education internationalization in the angle of university education internationalization management so as to carry out the work based on the definition. As far as we are concerned:

In terms of meaning, “University education internationalization refers to the concept, policies and measures for the construction and management of teaching, learning, research, service and management in the education and culture at the world level.” This is a conceptual definition about the internationalization of university education given from the standpoint of management.  

Internationalization is not merely a concept, policy or measure. It is more important in its process. The internationalization degrees and objectives of different universities in different countries and at different periods are not the same. Therefore, the operable definition of university education internationalization should be proposed so as to master the development level and degree of objective realization in practice.  

In terms of denotation, “university education internationalization refers to the openness, exchangeability and universality of universities in teaching, learning, research, service and management”. This definition is given from the angle of results and may be used as a measure for the degree and level of internationalization of a university in different periods.

“Openness” refers to the policies and results of opening up of a university with respect to teaching, learning, research, service and management. First, we need to answer the question whether a university has formulated relevant policies for allowing the opening up of the university in the foresaid aspects. Second, results of the relevant policies should also be considered. For example, the number and proportion of teachers and students abroad each year and the number and proportion of teachers and students introduced and enrolled in foreign universities in each year should be taken into account. Openness is the foundation and prerequisite for the university education internationalization.

“Exchangeability” means the peer-to-peer exchange between a Chinese university and a foreign university with respect to teaching, learning, research, service and management on the basis of openness for mutual learning, with the goal of offsetting weaknesses by applying/learning from the strong points of the other party and making joint progress. Exchangeability is an important sign of the degree of university education internationalization for the reason that the “exchangeability” of a university indicates the level of “openness” of the university in language for teaching, knowledge systems, curriculum design, teaching materials and scientific research.

“Universality” means that the university of a country may be recognized and accepted by other universities in other countries. This includes the interoperation of disciplines and subjects, curriculum planning, mutual recognition of teaching standards, educational background, credit and university service and management standards. Universality is a relatively advanced stage of university education internationalization. Only when a university achieves a relatively high level of teaching, learning, research, service and management may it be recognized by famous universities abroad.

Developing countries and developed countries have different channels and objectives of university education internationalization. Many universities in developed countries have been internationalized while many in developing countries have not. Therefore, universities in developing countries need to make more efforts in cooperating with famous foreign universities, expanding the width and depth of openness, raising the level of foreign exchange and, based on the opening up and exchange, establishing the universal standard parallel with international practice with respect to teaching, learning, research, service and management. The basis for measuring the universality is whether the university is able to pass the international evaluation and certification in the world.  

China is the largest developing country and has the largest population of people who are at the age for attending universalities. However, the internationalization degree of Chinese universities is low in general. It is necessary for Chinese universities to learn and borrow experience from famous international universities and make more effort in terms of openness, exchangeability and universality. Dongbei University of Finance & Economics is a famous university specialized in economics and management in China. We are trying to understand and realize internationalization in ten ways: (1) Establish and strengthen the cooperation relationship with excellent universities abroad; (2) Increase the number of teachers and students in the exchange; (3) Cooperate with famous scholars aboard in research; (4) Publish articles in foreign famous journals; (5) Use original high-level teaching materials in English; (6) Introduce advanced university organization and management modes from aboard; (7) Earn recognition for curriculum, credit and diploma of the university; (8) Promote international exchange to grass-rooted colleges and departments and deepen the general exchange into interdisciplinary substantial exchange; (9) Strive for joining relevant international education institutes or associations, participate in activities of the institute or association and apply for international certification; (10) Make effort to cooperate with famous foreign universities in managing schools. (Author: International Business College of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics)

                                                          Media: Guangming Daily

                                                          Date: June 3, 2003

The mind-blowing or astonishing? century slogan of “Economic globalization and education internationalization” opens the door to the world for higher education in China. However, the method of realizing internationalization of education is still in the process of exploration. Sticking to the philosophy of “All rivers run into sea”, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics opens the way for colleges and universities to march forward in education internationalization.

Decision of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics: Open education and internationalized school operation  

At the end of the 1970s, studying abroad was popular in China. Tens of thousands of excellent students left their hometowns to study in foreign countries. People have always been worried about the “brain drain” but were unable to stop the pace of students leaving the country. At that time, a new way of thinking was nurtured during the work meeting of the party committee of Liaoning Finance & Economics College in Dalian – a coastal city along the Bohai Sea: It is more important to develop education than recover the education and education should cater to the requirements of the world. The college was then developed into Dongbei University of Finance & Economics – the cradle of “Chinese economists”.

As a university specialized in finance and economics which has a number of economists, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics predicted that it is an irreversible trend for the national education system to crossover national culture and boundaries and go into the arena of internationalization due to the acceleration of global economic integration.

What course to follow?

DUFE holds that practice keeps one always fit and that throwing away the apple because of the core will only lead to the result of losing opportunities. In the context of global economic integration, education internationalization is not optional but inevitable. Although we lag behind at the start point, we may accelerate the pace and make leap-forward development to win at the destination. Dongbei University of Finance & Economics always has the internationalized insight, comprehensive manner and the courage of “daring to be the first of all”.  

It takes a long time to cultivate talent. There is no ready-to-use way for Dongbei University of Finance & Economics. The only way for Dongbei University of Finance & Economics is exploration:  

In 1981, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics introduced the first foreign teachers.  

In 1982, a group of members of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics went abroad for the first time to visit 15 colleges and universities specialized in finance and economics in Europe.  

In 1984, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics started to cooperate with foreign colleges and universities, establishing inter-university relationships with Kyushu University of Japan, George Brown College of Canada, Burley International Economics College of the former Soviet Union, Moscow Finance College and Meredith College of the USA in sequence and invited excellent teachers from abroad to give lectures in the university. Renowned economists at home and abroad came to the campus frequently, expanding our teachers and students field of vision. Dongbei University of Finance & Economics absorbed international advanced theories in economic management disciplines and compiled over 100 sets of new teaching materials. Sticking to the principle of “fusion generates benefit while separation brings about disadvantages” in the development of sciences in the contemporary era, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics adjusted the disciplinary structure and established the disciplinary system based on theoretical economics and dominated by applied economics and management science; furthermore, it set up international specialties including international tax, international finance and international accounting. The farsighted actions of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics made it the cradle of “Chinese economists”. When recalling the course of the students ‘growth, successful graduates from Dongbei University of Finance & Economics all hold that their success is the result of the advanced concepts taught and learned at Dongbei University of Finance & Economics.  

In 1994, the school management idea of “high standard and internationalization” was put forward by Dongbei University of Finance & Economics. This idea shows that the aim of the university was not limited only to utilizing foreign teachers and sending students to study abroad. The university was also devoted to absorbing and borrowing advanced school-management concepts from the world and transforming and innovating school-running modes on the basis of carrying on the excellent education tradition of the Chinese nation to admit the world to Dongbei University of Finance & Economics and walk out with the objective of building Dongbei University of Finance & Economics into an internationalized university. For this purpose, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics always abides by four basic principles when practicing international cooperation: First, adhere to maintaining the education sovereignty and the principle of equality. Second, adhere to providing education services for public welfare instead of profit, enhancing exchange and improving the internationalized education level. Third, adhere to implementing high-standard internationalized school operations, choosing partners with care and introducing quality education resources. Colleges and universities cooperating with Dongbei University of Finance & Economics should be famous colleges and universities, and have famous specialties and professors. Fourth, adhere to running the university in accordance with relevant regulations and ensuring the continuity and stability of cooperation in the management of the school which is based on the long-term principle of “It takes a decade to cultivate a talent and three generations to establish a university”.

Forging ahead with the above-mentioned principles, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics has conducted substantial exploration with respect to international cooperation and exchange, faculty introduction and dispatching, student source introduction and expansion teaching material introduction and publication, expert introduction and research cooperation.

Practice of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics: diversified cooperation rooted in China

In 1996, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics and the University of Mainz, a university with a history of 500 years, took the first step in equal exchange and cooperation in the form of exchanging teachers and students without compensation. For the cooperation between the two universities, the International Academic Exchange Committee of Germany provided funding for the University of Mainz for eight years. The successful cooperation expanded the thinking of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics in internationalized school operations and made Dongbei University of Finance & Economics famous. The University of Cologne and the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences were attracted by DUFE’s reputation, thus proposing working together by mutual dispatching of scholars and students.

The gateway to the university was open, therefore the mysteries of China were no longer unsearchable and foreign countries were no longer out of reach. In only a few years, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics had established cooperation relationships with nearly ten famous international universities including Ritsumeikan University of Japan, Huron University College of University of Western Ontario of Canada, University of Surrey of UK and The University of Adelaide of Australia for the joint cultivation of students in the fields of national economy, enterprise management, tourism and hotel management and international trade. Dongbei University of Finance & Economics became one of the first universities engaged in international cooperation projects, thus laying the foundation for diversified cooperation with foreign universities.

For the purpose of accelerating the making of internationalized talent, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics decided to establish the International Business College in 2002, intending to develop a “forerunner zone” and “experimental field” for managing an internationalized school in the university. Leaders of the International Business College had a defined historical goal for the college: The day when Dongbei University of Finance & Economics becomes an internationalized university is the day of realization of historical mission of the International Business College.

Most leaders of the International Business College have studied abroad. From the time of taking office, leaders of the college were aware of the mission of pushing Dongbei University of Finance & Economics onto the internationalized education stage and the aim of realizing internationalization locally and the ultimate objective of building up the international brand of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics.  

The internationalization of a university is the process changing from a quantitative to a qualitative state. Compared with famous universities in China which are included in international ranking systems, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics is not highly internationalized. However, this is exactly the where Dongbei University of Finance & Economics can fill the gap.

There were only more than ten teaching and administrative staff at the beginning of the establishment of the college. In addition to the heavy teaching load, the staff members were required to explore and establish the teaching, management and student service system for interconnecting with partner universities to raise the overall level of management at an internationalized school. Due to the time difference between China and foreign countries, the staff often worked on a time schedule that was very different from China’s. Semesters, vacations and times in different countries vary from each other. The eight-hour work system and summer and winter vacations were unrealistic for them. However, they made painstaking efforts without any complaints.

Three steps of the International Business College:

First step: Conduct integrated, standardized and normalized management of international cooperation projects of the university. The University provides the International Business College with advanced facilities (hard environment). First-rate teaching management resources (soft environment) are formed for the long-term teaching practice which is not available in the International Business College. The leadership team of the International Business College believes that internationalized education is based on the concept of sharing quality education resources. It is not essential to own the resources as the “best resources” may be obtained through the establishment of unique management modes. Under the support of leaders of the university, the International Business College has innovated the management system and integrated the overall advantages of the university. Colleges and departments of the university also exert their utmost effort in the “experimental field” and offer their best teachers. On this basis, the International Business College further integrates quality international education resources, cooperates with partner universities in the study and design of specialties and curriculum systems and introduces excellent teachers from abroad. The joint effort and diversified international cooperation enables the International Business College to achieve rapid success. The International Business College not only establishes cooperation projects in relation to undergraduate education but also expands the scope and raises the level of cooperation in managing the school. Cooperation relationships have been established with the University of Surrey of UK, The University of Adelaide of Australia and the University of Cologne in Germany for candidates studying for a master’s degree and with University of Mainz in Germany for doctoral students. During the diversified international cooperation, the university has introduced considerable quality education resources, expanded channels for teacher training and scientific cooperation, trained the management team and improved the school management level.

Second step: The International Business College has created an internationalized transformation to existing specialties based on the demand for high-grade business management talent brought about by rapid economic development. The design of this discipline and specialty was carried out in the international environment and based on mainstream disciplines and specialties in the principle of universality so as to make the concepts of “internationalization” and “localization” compatible with each other. The International Business College a trying to march forward in its internationalization by utilizing a multi-language and multi-culture approach. Based on Chinese-foreign school management cooperation, the International Business College uses four languages (Chinese, English, German and Japanese) for teaching and has set up three specialties (international finance, international accounting and international business management) with internationalized features. Students, who don’t go abroad, have been able to have contact with outstanding domestic and foreign teaching resources, to learn features of higher education both at home and abroad and to be involved in cross-culture exchange and communication. In May 2004, the International Business College of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics was approved by the Department of Education of Liaoning Province as one of the pilot colleges of Liaoning for cultivating international business talent. In October 2006, an expert group was sent by the Ministry of Education to carry out a field evaluation of the ability of the International Business College in running a school under international cooperation. The International Business College was fully recognized by the expert group.  

The third step:  For the purpose of improving the ability in cultivating international business talent, the International Business College in 2006 reached an agreement with the University of Surrey in the UK (a university famous for the cultivation of practical talent based on a university-enterprise cooperation strategy) for the establishment of “Surrey International College of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics”. In August 30, 2007, the Ministry of Education issued the [2007] No.69 Document, approving the establishment of the Surrey International College of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics. As an educational institute established under Chinese-foreign cooperation and approved in accordance with laws, Surrey International College is allowed to provide undergraduate and master education services, launch teaching activities independently and issue corresponding diplomas as the Chinese party and University of Surrey of UK. It was an all-round high-level cooperation. The mode of “integrated introduction and localization of international first-class education” signified that the international cooperation carried out by Dongbei University of Finance & Economics has shifted from simple cooperation in teaching cooperation and off-site joint cultivation to comprehensive internationalized cooperation with in both the management system and education resources. This has also shown that Dongbei University of Finance & Economics has been able to cultivate high-standard international talent locally. More importantly, the mode Surrey International College of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics broken down the original education management framework. Surrey International College has applied the market-oriented operation mode in the international education market, participated in international competitions and enrolled students from around the world, starting the leap-forward development from “education resource introduction” to “education resource export”.

Creativity of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics: train of thought leads the way out

Confronted with numerous forms of cooperation in school management, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics has its own understanding: Education internationalization is neither the simple form of “1+1” or “2+2” nor the single-way student source export. The essential part of education internationalization is the process of talent training.

There is a case in the International Business College: Professor John Hunter, the main lecturer of the course of marketing of the international finance specialty, gave an assignment in his first class to students who were ready to take notes. He told the students: go to find an enterprise within a week to be a case study. This is the content of this course in this semester. Students were all startled: why didn’t he teach us the content in the book? However, the students did as professor John Hunter said. They worked in teams, went into the society and enterprises, conducted market surveys and brought about schemes. The students analyzed their cases in the first half of the class and professor John Hunter commented on the cases in the second half of the class. In this way, students were dominant in the class. They were increasingly interested in the course and gained a practical knowledge of marketing. During the analysis and summarization of the individual teaching cases, teachers of the International Business College became aware that the process of teaching based on cases, asking students to think and do and directing and commenting about the results of students is the process of cultivating students’ ability in innovation, communication, cooperation and practice. This is called ability-oriented education.

Internationalized education should start from updating the concept of education and introducing an advanced teaching mode. The International Business College changes the traditional teaching mode where the teacher is regarded as the center of the classroom to the small-class teaching mode where case study and class discussion are conducted and students dominate in the teaching activity. Teachers and students of the International Business College all value the saying of Einstein: “The mere formulation of a problem is far more essential than its solution.” Students are encouraged to raise questions and to discover and create for the purpose of forming innovative thinking, converse thinking and critical thinking. Xu Yinpeng, Zhang Jiyuan and Rao Subin who were students in the class of 2004 and majored in international finance were called by their classmates “The question boys” because they were capable of raising questions. It was these boys who formed a team formed that beat teams formed by postgraduate students and won first place in the case study contest which had over 70 teams participating. They attributed the success to the presentation in the class. Students of the International Business College are required to make presentations on the platform. The tone, intonation, speed of speaking, body language and even eye contact will be evaluated by classmates and the teacher. According to the three students, their success in the contest was attributed to what they had done in the class. If what we learned before was knowledge, then what we were learning in the International Business College was the ability and confidence of acquiring or putting into practice? knowledge.

Positioning of “internationalization” by the International Business College: internationalization of language for teaching, internationalization of teaching materials, internationalization of the curriculum system, internationalization of student sources, internationalization of teacher resources and internationalization of teaching management.

Following the principles, the International Business College has taken the initiative in exploring how to reform teaching alongside how to cultivate internationalized business talent, optimizing the curriculum system, adopting original teaching materials in foreign languages and conducting bilingual teaching. Courses taught in English and courses taught in two languages account for 50% respectively. From the angle of globalization, language is “an economic force”. Traditional way of English teaching is dismissed and replaced by cultivation of application ability. The philosophy of “learning English while using English instead of using English after learning English” was proposed by the International Business College. The original English training materials of Ulster University are used by the International Business College. The teaching method has been by the innovation and cooperation of Chinese teachers and foreign teachers aa they have reflected on teaching. The English writing ability of students has improved to a great extent by means of improving writing ability via reading and combining reading and writing in practice, which solves a big problem bothering Chinese students for long term. On the language test of Ulster University, study has really surprised many European students.

The International Business College has also set up “menu-type” selective courses to satisfy the individualized needs of students. People from the business circle are often invited to the college to give lectures for improving skills of student. This helps them to adapt to the society and expand the job hunting space for students. The International Business College forms a national, diversified and internationalized atmosphere by holding German Film Lecture, English Calligraphy Lecture, Night of Chinese Music and other academic and cultural activities to enhance students’ ability of accepting and blending into diversified cultures for so as to adapt to the international environment.

Internationalized education is in need of a faculty which is capable of mastering international academic dynamics, proficient in specialized knowledge and able to teach in two languages. In each year, the International Business College will employ over 40 foreign experts and professors from England, America, Canada, Australia and Japan to work as teachers. Meanwhile, the International Business College is active in developing the exchange with foreign universities and academic institutes and has dispatched dozens of teachers to the oversea for further study or giving lectures. A number of teachers who are able to trace the international academic dynamics, stand at the front edge of disciplinary development and adapt to internationalized standards reveal themselves, which not only provides support for the curriculum reform, content update and cross-border cooperation in study of internationalized specialties but also realizes the back feeding to and interaction with traditional dominant disciplines of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics.  

Style of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics: social responsibility and academic spirit

The teaching quality is the lifeline of a university. What is quality? Dongbei University of Finance & Economics believes that quality is not a score. According to the report of McKinsey in 2005, the proportion of talents cultivated in China who are capable of working in multinational corporations is less than ten percent. These Chinese employees were found to be poorer than employees in emotion quotient other than in intelligence quotient. With respect to the improvement of education quality, the International Business College focuses on the enhancing both the quality and ability of students and has devoted itself to improving learning ability, innovation ability, practice ability, communication ability and society adaptability of students.

On May 13, 2007, a number of university students wearing red ribbons with the characters of “爱洒人间 (Love Heals the World)” and holding carnations in their hands appeared on Xi’an Road and attracted many citizens.

“Miss, can you be kind enough to help?”, “Little boy, it is Mother’s Day today, will you buy a flower for your mum?”

It was the bazaar held by volunteers of the volunteer worker station for the purpose of “helping lonely and poor mothers by raising funds from selling carnations”.

The volunteer worker station of the International Business College was surprised, but enlightened by the fact that over 3 million university students work as volunteers in the USA every year. Universities in the USA often encourage students to work as volunteers both in terms of administration organization and cultural awareness. Many universities even treat voluntary service as a formal course, so they can get credit for it. Being a volunteer becomes one of the signs of receiving higher education. This is not only to advocate making a contribution to society but also to encourage students to live a more positive life by helping fellow human beings, thus establishing a harmonious social relationship among people.

The interfusion of a moralistic and humanist attitude is another important part of an internationalized education – Leaders of the International Business College came to understand that students should not be limited to learning knowledge from books alone. In conjunction with the cultivation of international field of vision and cross-border skills and knowledge, students should also learn how to help their fellow human beings, know about the society in China and foster a national sentiment. Unexpectedly, the volunteer worker station has received a great welcoming from people on campus. Over 300 Chinese and foreign students have joined the station and foreign teachers are also enthusiastic about the volunteer work. Foreign teachers believe their project of “volunteer teachers” is a long-term task of the volunteer work station. On May 31 2005, volunteers of the volunteer work station went to Dalian Lvshun Baoyudu Primary School. Paul Furseth offered to give a lesson on spoken English to students in the village. Afterwards, the volunteers of the station went to Baoyudu Village periodically to work as volunteer teachers. The students who worked as volunteer teachers will never forget the eyes of those children. The thirst for knowledge in their eyes provided the volunteer students with the wealth that would benefit them their whole life – They have learnt to consider others’ needs and this in turn has infused them with love in their hearts.

In view of the fact that many Chinese students lack the humanistic quality that other candidates in the international talent market possess, the International Business College has implemented a compulsory course which helps students develop a better sense of cooperation, confidence, reverse resisting and team spirit. Over 300 students have participated in the training. The project of “Escape from an Electrified Wire Fence” is designed to test the team spirit of students. Students who are unfamiliar with each other are required to form a team within 40 minutes, and during this time they must finish these tasks: picking a team name, choosing a leader, creating/choosing a team song and compiling and forming a team slogan. The team is required to go through the “electrified wire fence”(I don’t understand what this means) within 20 minutes. If anyone gets an electric shock, the whole team will be knocked out. Students who are usually buried in books perform very different. They raise classmates up to go cross the “kill line” and allow their partners to step on their shoulders to seek for life – Xu Yinpeng, a student from grade 2004 who majored in finance wrote in the letter: “cooperation is increasingly in need in modern society. However, only a few people know how to cooperate with each other and fewer understand the way of cooperation just because we always work alone and seldom cooperate with others. The International Business College taught me how to work in a team.”

In the International Business College, students are often required to form a team to work together on a topic. It is these continued experiences of cooperation that help students to build team spirit, learn self-sacrifice and understand how to make their respective advantages complementary to each other, how to listen to and accept opinions of partners and how to maximize the efficiency of relying on the power of the team. There is a project named “Bomb Clearance”- this is on way IBC uses to grow student’s awareness of working together. This project aims at training reverse resisting ability and rarely possible to complete. To everyone’s surprise, a team cleared the bombs successfully with the intelligence and cooperation of members of the team. It was a small game only, but the success reflected the mental outlook of students of the International Business College.  

The ratio of Chinese teachers and foreign teachers in the International Business College is 1:1. Diversified faculty structure expands the field of vision of students. Ian Henry, a teacher of the academic writing course for students of grade 2005 majoring in international finance, was a journalist in England. His popular question to students was, always “What is your evidence?”. If a student gives any deduction without any basis or is involved in plagiarism in his paper, the student got a zero. Diao Boyang, a student of the International Business College, said that he the rigorous attitude towards academic studies formed in the International Business College was most beneficial for him.

Team awareness, practicality, tolerance, love, confidence…All these non-knowledge elements constitute the distinguishing characteristic of the International Business College of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics. Education is successful not merely because students have mastered the knowledge. Most importantly, successful education lies in stimulating the high-quality potential of students and enabling students to unearth themselves and become sustainable independent learners. Wang Zhaoxue, a student of grade 2002 who majored in international finance participated in the civil service examination for a post of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Most applicants were in possession of a master’s or doctorate degree. However, Wang Zhaoxue was confident because of the quality and ability the International Business College had instilled in him. Confronted with challenges, he was completely at ease and finally revealed himself in the competition.

Horizon of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics: internationalization and career development  

Dongbei University of Finance & Economics believes that internationalized education is an interchangeable concept. Countries have different national conditions. However, difference is not equal to disparity. China is one of the regions with the most potential in global economic development. Internationalization is out of the question in the event of lacking of knowledge of the economy and economic system in China. Dongbei University of Finance & Economics will not only send Chinese students out but also attract foreign students to its campus. Dongbei University of Finance & Economics will enable people of the world to learn about China and create the atmosphere of internationalization locally. From the year of 2002, the International Business College started to receive foreign students from the University of Mainz, the University of Cologne and Anhalt University of German and Kufstein University of Austria to study the Chinese industrial and commercial system, foreign trade system, financial system, taxation system and accounting system as well as Chinese laws. The International Business College established a cooperation relationship with Salisbury University in USA in 2005. Three batches of foreign students from the USA and Canada have taken courses at Dongbei University of Finance & Economics for credit. Chinese students and foreign students learn transnational company management, global human resource management, financial institute management and international economics in the same classes. Carolyn Hipo, a history professor of Meredith College said when she visited Dongbei University of Finance & Economics: “China learns management experience from America 17 years ago. America is learning management experience from China now.” Currently, the number of foreign students in the International Business College accounts for 10% of the total number of students. The “quantity” is not considerable. However, a diversified atmosphere has been created due to the ten percent. Students from different countries interact with each other in the classes, which is the embryo of internationalization. A fundamental change is taking place unobtrusively and imperceptibly in the course of exchange and fusion.

Higher education internationalization is not the ultimate destination. It is a way to cultivate excellent talent with an global vision and compete internationally in quality, knowledge and ability. A number of students of the International Business College of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics are sent to universities in Germany, Canada, England, Australia, Japan and other countries for learning courses for credit and degree with the aim of cultivating the international communication ability and international vision of students. These students who are nurtured in the fusion and interaction of these diversified cultures all have the print of internationalization. Except for those choosing to conduct further study aboard, most of the 61 graduates cultivated under the cooperation of the International Business College and the University of Mainz of Germany are now employed by internationally renowned transnational companies, including Siemens, BASF and BMW. The vice-president of the University of Mainz, Falk, valued the cooperation of the two sides as the “model of cooperation projects between a Chinese university and a foreign university”. Among the 18 graduates of grade 2001 cultivated under the cooperation of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics and the University of Western Ontario of Canada, 16 were admitted to the University of Western Ontario, the University of Toronto, the University of Victoria and the University of Albertus to study for a master’s degree. All of them were awarded a scholarship. The famous economist, Professor Xu Dianqing from Huron University College wrote and said that “those students break the historical record of the University of Western Ontario”. All of the 31 graduates of grade 2006 majoring in international finance obtained employment after their first interviews. One of them was recruited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, four entered famous transnational companies and eleven worked for renowned financial institutes both at home and abroad.

Dongbei University of Finance & Economics is of the opinion that internationalized education is actually endowed with a kind of spirit of human being. Humans share the same earth and the world stage belongs to all people. The International Business College should base itself on the cultivation of high-standard internationalized business talent to cater for economic development at local level, state level or even global level. Thousands of excellent Chinese are active on the international economic stage, which is the honor of the nation. They firmly believe that Dongbei University of Finance & Economics is not cultivating “bananas”. They always bear China in their mind whenever and wherever they go. Only with the mind of accommodating different cultures will they be able to “keep their roots”.  

Tuo Ling, a grade 2002 student of the “Canadian economics class”, was the vice-chairman of the student union of the International Business College. She entered University of Western Ontario in 2004 and received the first-grade international scholarship from Huron University College of the University of Western Ontario twice in two years and was included on the dean’s list. Tuo Ling was excellent not merely because of her academic achievement. She also provided service for the country with a strong sense of responsibility. In her spare time, Tuo Ling worked as a volunteer in the library and taught the handicapped to use computers; taught students in duty drawback in the students’ duty drawback center of the University of Western Ontario; and also represented the University of Western Ontario as an international volunteer worker in Honduras. She always has the belief of winning glory for Chinese students and for her alma mater – Dongbei University of Finance & Economics and University. In May 2006, she successfully passed the exam for entering the Business College of the University of Toronto for studying a master’s degree and obtained the first-grade entrance scholarship. In the “credited and paid practice” in the first year of her master’s program, Tuo Ling submitted an application to the BIG FOUR for practice and then received the invitation of three of them after three weeks. It needs to be emphasized that these companies all chose Tuo Ling out of a thousand applicants. However, Tuo Ling was not immeasurably self-satisfied. She said that her success in receiving the offers was in connection with her confidence and social experience which are directly related to the internationalized education background created by Dongbei University of Finance & Economics and University.  

Zhang Huanyu, majored in German economics, and went to the University of Mainz in April 2005 to finish courses of the last year. During the vacation, he tried to compete for a post for practice in the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. He found that over 400 applicants from different countries, including masters and doctors from Harvard, Oxford and other famous universities, would compete for the 20 posts. Frankfurt Stock Exchange did not merely focus on educational and occupational backgrounds. It attached more importance to the comprehensive quality. Zhang Huanyu went through the brutal fourteen-day continuous training relying on histough will, vigorous energy, firm attitude and high-efficiency methods, so he stood out among the many gifted students and predecessors with work experience and became the only one out of eight employees selected to stay at the headquarters in Germany. Afterwards, He took charge of the listing service of the company for the Asia-Pacific region. He went to many countries and became a genuine internationalized talent. Several large companies offered to employ him one after another. However, when he was asked about the future, he answered without hesitation that he would go back to China after practicing for a few years as he found the motherland the most beautiful. This is the common heartfelt wish of many overseas Chinese students.

The favorable prospects for advancing to a higher school and for employment make the International Business College of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics a famous and influential internationalized college in the cultivation of internationalized business talents in northeast China. However, the International Business College has set a new target instead of being satisfied with the current situation: is has set up an internationalized business talent cultivation base to provide education service for the society and undertake the responsibilities of scholastic and social education.  

The road opened up by Dongbei University of Finance & Economics always has the by virtue of the internationalized insight, comprehensive manner and the courage of “daring to be the first of all” refracts the inevitable course for colleges and universities in education internationalization. Dongbei University of Finance & Economics has set its goal of realizing comprehensive internationalization in ten years and establishing Dongbei University of Finance & Economics into a genuine international university.  

Media: Guangming Daily

Date: October 15, 2007

Journalist: Song Yanrong

Six years ago, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics located in Dalian, an increasingly internationalized city, put forward the train of thought for school management – “high standard and internationalization”. From then on, the university has been on the road of internationalized development and has experienced the most flourishing time ever in the 50 years since the establishment of the university.

What is “high standard and internationalization”? According to Yu Yang – secretary of the Party committee of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics, high standard refers to how the university will be run with the orientation of “high grade, high level, high quality and high effectiveness”; as for internationalization, school-managing concepts of high-level universities in the world will be absorbed and borrowed and school-operation system will be reformed and innovated relying on diversified higher education activities and based on excellent education traditions of the Chinese nation. This will improve the school management level and participation in high-level international competitions and cooperation. Yu Yang said that this train of thought would lead “the world to Dongbei University of Finance & Economics and Dongbei University of Finance & Economics to the world”.  

It should be mentioned that Dongbei University of Finance & Economics is a vanguard among colleges and universities in thinking and practice of the modernization of higher education. In the era when the economy is still developing among complications and education internationalization is still disputed, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics has determined to operate with the orientation of “high standard and internationalization” and stepped out with determination. Yu Yang summarized the practice as follows: The leap-forward development of education with respect to finance and economics in China relies on the absorption of advanced education ideology from foreign countries, satisfaction of new requirements of knowledge-oriented society for talent quality and cultivation of a new generation of “modern people” and “entrepreneurs”; establish the disciplinary system which is based on theoretical economics, dominated by applied economics and management science and with harmonious development of five major disciplines (economics, management, law, literature and science) and other humanities and social sciences in tune with the trend of interfusion of modern art and science and sticking to the principle of “fusion generates benefit while separation brings about disadvantages”; pay close attention to disciplinary transform, shift disciplinary direction connected to traditional planned economy to the direction consistent with market economics and international mainstream school of thought and make efforts to interact with international mainstream school of thought. Since several years ago, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics has increased its efforts in English teaching, promoted bilingual teaching, introduced and used original English teaching materials and invited excellent teachers from abroad to give lessons and lectures in the university. Renowned economists at home and abroad have appeared on the campus frequently. It has also established the cooperation relationship with over 40 universities abroad and launched joint cultivation projects with many famous colleges and universities in Germany, Canada, Japan, Singapore, America, England and Australia. Dongbei University of Finance & Economics keeps increasing the number of teachers and students engaged in the exchange and developing the education for foreign students. Furthermore, it attaches importance to the experience of teachers in studying abroad. Nearly a hundred teachers and students will be exchanged between itself and other countries and universities. Dongbei University of Finance & Economics launches extensive cooperation in studying with renowned foreign scholars and encourages teachers and researcher of the university to publish papers in high-level academic journals abroad. Research findings of scholars of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics have been published in SCI, EI and ISTP many times. Up to now, Dongbei University of Finance & Economics has held seven large-scale international seminars to promote the cooperative study with foreign scholars to fairish width and depth. It also makes an effort to join relevant international education institutes and associations and strives for receiving international recognition for the credit and diploma of the university. Dongbei University of Finance & Economics has become a branch of ACCA chartered accountant education center and the examination center of LOMA (Life Office Management Association).

Today, achieving “high standard and internationalization” has become a common view and target of all teachers and students of Dongbei University of Finance & Economics. According to Yu Yang, the establishment of an international business college in the university has been approved. Teachers of the international business college will teach in English and most of them will be employed from abroad. The international business college will become another brand of the university in addition to the MBA education (in second place in national comprehensive ranking). Yu Yang said that efforts would be made to establish Dongbei University of Finance & Economics into an internationally famous university specialized in finance and economics in five years or so and that Dongbei University of Finance & Economics sets the goal of realizing  internationalization as soon as 2015. When the time comes, students who are economically incapable of studying abroad will also be able to receive the international advanced education in modern economic management.  

Media: Guangming Daily

Edition: Edition A2

Date: October 8, 2002