On September 3, students of Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) began to attend classes. That morning saw Room 302 full as Humanities Center Instructor Yang Li was working on the “Writing and Communication” class. In this class, she taught the students some practical writing skills and conducted some writing training with the class. The students were able to digest and master the knowledge through practice.

All students are very concerned about the cultivation of Chinese writing and communication skills. They expressed the hope that by taking this course, they will acquire better writing skills and lay a solid foundation for their future studies.

The Humanities Center has specifically added 2 credits of “Writing and Communication” courses for the 2018 undergraduates this semester. This was done in order to improve the writing ability of science and engineering students, along with their appreciation for subjects from the humanities. There are 14 such classes in this semester that can take 30 students per class. This is a compulsory course, and students must complete it during their freshman year.

The 2018 freshmen began to select classes from 1pm on August 27th. The 420 places in the “Writing and Communication” classes snatched up shortly after the course was made available to students. In order to further meet the learning needs of students, more courses will be offered in the next semester for all 2018 students to study and develop their Chinese writing and communication skills.

In addition, courses offered by the Humanities Center include “Science Fiction: From Novels to Films,” “Humanities Masters Series Courses” and “Art History in Space.” Courses offered by the Social Sciences Center includes popular courses like “Archaeological Discoveries and Chinese History,” “China’s Industrialization and Social Transformation,” and “Architecture, Space And Culture.” It reflects the students’ love of scientific research and a strong interest in studying the humanities. In studying the humanities, it also improves student’s cultural quality and understanding.

Why teach students research writing? Humanities Center Director Chen Yuehong believes that the reason for doing this is because top science and engineering universities must provide an excellent education in the humanities. When Chinese students come to universities, they lack stylistic awareness when writing emails or laboratory reports, preparing project designs or completing their graduation theses. With most of the top universities around the world mandating guiding courses on academic writing, SUSTech is continuing to be a leader in higher education reform in China. By requiring the class of 2018 freshmen to take this class, the students will be better prepared for the future. Students will be enhanced with improved research writing skills, academic standards, and set of guidelines to use in a variety of areas in the future.

As a science and engineering university, SUSTech attaches great importance to the cultivation of students’ cultural quality. Literacy in the humanities is a critical part of the modern university students’ overall education. By offering a variety of culturally significant subjects across the humanities, students will be able to enhance their professional development, providing benefits for their personal and career progression.