Chinese Version

Paying Attention to the Construction of Dormitory Culture to Help Students Grow and Become Talented

USTB is seeking to foment a good student dormitory culture that enables students to grow and develop their talents. This is done to create a positive, diligent, and realistic dormitory atmosphere in accordance to the School of Materials Science and Engineering’s objectives of encouraging growth and building a popular and long-term environment that is conducive to higher education.

First on the agenda is to display in the dormitory USTB ideals. In order to promote the school mantra of “to learn is to do,” encourage students in their education and social responsibility, and promote the ideals of the Communist Party in a grassroots context at SMSE, the university displayed a series of posters and activities designed to celebrate the identity of student party members, the general student body and the “to learn is to do” philosophy. Student party members in the dormitory were listed, along with their roles and responsibilities, so that general students could have the opportunity to clearly identity party members, enhancing the student party members’ responsibility and image. At the same time, through the combination of online and offline methods, information was posted indicating the student party members’ "success rate" with various projects as a means to establish an open accountability system. Also, WeChat and other social media platforms were used to promote party membership, make public announcements, and enable students, the Communist Party and student party members’ classmates to carry on appraisals. To increase access between student party members and the student body on a daily basis, a “zero distance” policy was implemented, through which students could reach party student members regarding academic difficulties or to participate in community work that is inspiring and representative of party ideals.

The second agenda objective is to make dormitory culture to create a positive environment. With the goal of promoting the development of dormitories and students' personality, students are encouraged to participate in the construction of dormitories and establish the collective idea of “the dormitory is my warm small family.” The School of Materials has made great efforts to innovate on the basis of the dormitory quality of life, and the characteristics for the ideal dormitory model, one which adheres to the principles of fairness, openness, innovation, “social family” and “a home for public servants,” have all been put forward to meet multidimensional standards that nurture students’ personal growth and a positive collective atmosphere. For the freshmen students, a "Bedroom Culture Festival" was held, which included a series of activities covering dormitory bedroom culture, dress and features, in addition to a comprehensive presentation on dormitory styles and characteristics aimed at creating a positive living environment.

The third objective is making the dormitory a comfortable place to live in. Looking to build a good student dormitory space and interpersonal atmosphere – as well as to ensure student safety – SMSE developed a “School of Materials Science and Engineering Dormitory Convention Guide.” The guide focused on students’ everyday needs, layout of services and facilities available at the dormitory, study amenities, daily management, health, dormitory morality and other aspects of guidance provided by the members of each student building. The guide was designed after democratic discussions in a student convention, and ultimately reflected the convention’s most important elements that senior students thought needed to be shared to the rest of the student body. The convention was organized to promote self-discipline of students in the dormitory, and to effectively promote the communication between the members of student housing, with the goal of enabling open communication while at the same building a harmonious “home away from home” for dormitory occupants.

Fourth and finally, a “dormitory talk” program was developed to nurture students’ personal growth. The School of Materials Science and Engineering aims to achieve the multi-dimensional development of breadth, depth and precision of student counseling work, and insists on forming a comprehensive network of student coverage and tutoring opportunities. Counselors visit dormitories on a weekly basis and maintain a dynamic relationship with students through talks and regular checkups. At the same time, according to counselors, there are plans to carry out one-on-one sessions and “dormitory group talks,” provide more in-depth counseling, make use of SMSE’s conversation room (with presentations carefully designed to address specific themes), follow up on student psychological dynamics, foster learning, and assist with career-planning. Among these goals, perhaps the most ambitious is to ensure that each student receives personalized counseling at least once a year to help them grow as a person and define short and long-term objectives beyond their academic education.