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Chinese universities take interdisciplinary approach to cultivate doctoral students

Author  :  Zhang Qingli     Source  :    Chinese Social Sciences Today     2014-08-15

The first academic forum on cultivating doctoral students in an interdisciplinary approach was unveiled at Shandong University, Shandong Province, on August 2. Organized by the Chinese Graduate Interdisciplinary Collaborative Innovation Alliance, the forum was attended by young scholars and doctoral students from different fields. They conducted in-depth discussions on how to promote collaborative innovation by crossing interdisciplinary boundaries.

Ni Wan, an associate professor at the School of Literature and Journalism at Shandong University, claimed that the development of social and economic structures makes it hard to independently cope with problems within an interdisciplinary system. Researchers need to integrate interdisciplinary knowledge to reach comprehensive, open conclusions. More prominent achievements will be attained if interdisciplinary studies can be conducted well.

Some participants proposed that a large number of problems need to be resolved during the process of developing interdisciplinary studies, including how to clearly define basic concepts and research methods, as well as how to make progress in the interdisciplinary studies within the modern disciplinary mechanism.

In addition, cultivating the research ability of doctoral students in an interdisciplinary approach has become the most significant tendency in doctorate education reform. Some Chinese universities have started to lead the cultivation of interdisciplinary doctoral students through a proper mechanism. The Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies at Peking University and the Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Research Center at Zhejiang University have carried out effective trials on interdisciplinary studies.

An attending doctoral student from Beihang University in Beijing introduced that some related reforms have come into force at the university, including offering more interdisciplinary courses for doctoral students to choose among different schools. It not only perfects the knowledge structure of doctoral students, but broadens their research visions, the student added.

 

   

The Chinese version appeared in Chinese Social Sciences Today, No. 629, August 4, 2014.

 

 

  Translated by Chen Meina

  Revised by Tom Fearon

Editor: Du Mei

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