At noon on January 20, 2026, the International College of Zhejiang University held the launch meeting for its Interdisciplinary Co-Advising Mechanism for Undergraduate Chinese Language Theses (International Students). The meeting was attended by Vice Dean Li Siyue from the College of Media and International Culture, Vice Dean Yang Gaoju from the School of Economics, Professor Liu Shuhua from the College of Education, Associate Professor Jin Jun from the School of Management, Professor Wu Jinqun from the School of Public Affairs, Professor Li Yonghua from the College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, and Professor Zhang Kejun from the College of Computer Science and Technology. The meeting was chaired by Chen Weiying, Vice Dean of the International College.

Vice Dean Chen first extended a warm welcome and expressed gratitude for the support of all attending faculty members, followed by an overview of the project's overall strategic plan. Bringing together top-tier faculty members from seven major colleges and schools, the project aims to establish a “dual-advisor” co-advising mechanism for undergraduate theses in Chinese Language (for international students). The project will select candidates from high-achieving junior students. Selected students will have the opportunity to engage deeply in interdisciplinary research and internship programs under the guidance of cross-disciplinary advisors, while finalizing their thesis topics and completing their writing. The “dual-advisor” co-advising mechanism is designed to help students enhance their research capabilities, broaden their academic horizons, and lay a solid foundation for their growth into high-level composite talents.

During the exchange session, the attending experts and faculty members engaged in an in-depth and productive discussion. Drawing on the international student recruitment, cultivation, and project practice experiences of their respective colleges, the teachers highly commended the project's prominent value in attracting high-quality international students and innovating cross-cultural, interdisciplinary research and cultivation models. They noted that this model solves the challenge of mutual selection between outstanding international students and advisors. Meanwhile, they actively put forward constructive suggestions, such as encouraging students to focus on cutting-edge research directions, solidifying their foundation in quantitative research methods, and enrolling in micro-specialties. They also suggested that the project further optimize the student selection mechanism, emphasize practical training components, and continuously deepen exploration in fields such as international student education and “Chinese +.”

Vice Dean Chen Weiying expressed her sincere gratitude to all advisors for their valuable suggestions regarding the project and addressed the detailed questions raised concerning the thesis advising process one by one. She stated that periodic seminars will be organized moving forward to ensure the high-quality advancement of the project. She expressed hope to use this project as a pilot to explore an effective path for interdisciplinary co-advising of international students' graduation theses, allowing a greater number of international students to benefit from it.