Dr. ZHANG Xiaoqiao Invited As the 1st Speaker at SJTU "Bridge Builders" International Students Forum

In order to promote culture construction of international campus, provide more cultural activities and experience for international students, and present compelling China stories, the Graduate School of Shanghai Jiao Tong University held the SJTU "Bridge Builders" International Students Forum on March 29th, 2023. More than 50 international students from 26 countries including Italy, France, Brazil, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Costa Rica and so on participated in the event. Dr. ZHANG Xiaoqiao, from SOE was officially invited as the 1st speaker of this forum.

As an important lecture for international students to cultivate their cross-cultural communication ability, with the theme “Let’s Talk!”, the first phase of the SJTU “Bridge Builders” International Student Salon invited Dr. Zhang Xiaoqiao from the School of Education to have a face-to-face conversation with international students. After mutual self-introduction, starting with the topic of “acculturation”, Dr. Zhang shared her personal experience in dealing with challenges that international students may face in their early stages of studying abroad, such as anxiety about the second language, identity recognition, and interpersonal relationships. Also, she shared the solving strategies and some public psychological counseling resources to help international students adapt to their life in China and promote cross-cultural communication. Her words full of humor sparked active discussion among the students and created a lively atsmosphere.

SJTU and our school will continue to provide broader stage for international students to tell their stories of studying in China and show the charm of studying in SJTU, helping international students to spread the voice of China and tell compelling Chinese stories to the world.