On January 15, the inaugural 2025 Joint Conference on Normal Program Construction occurred at the Normal Students’ Skills Training Center at the Main A Building of Jiangsu University. The discussion focused on the Jiangsu University Normal Education Revitalization Action Plan and the principal targets for the university’s standard education in 2025. Attendees comprised Deputy President Xiaobo Zou; Bifeng Yin, Director of the Academic Affairs Office; deans and deputy deans of colleges associated with standard education programs; department heads; staff from the Normal Education Center; and officials from the Normal Students’ Skills Training Center. The meeting was presided over by Jiajia Wang, Dean of the School of Teacher Education.
Vice Dean Cui Kang of the School of Teacher Education presented an overview of the current status of undergraduate regular education students at Jiangsu University, the Jiangsu University Normal Education Revitalization Action Plan (Discussion Draft), hereafter referred to as the Action Plan and the 2024 utilization statistics of the Normal Students’ Skills Training Center by faculty and students. Participants deliberated on the Action Plan, essential tasks for standard program development in 2025, and the use of the training centre.
Yunjin Qu, Party Secretary of the College of Liberal Arts, underscored the necessity to improve advertising for the training centre and deliver operational training for micro-classroom equipment. Shibing Zhang, Party Secretary of the School of Mathematical Sciences, suggested that the School of Teacher Education spearhead the organization of discipline-specific competitions for teacher training programs. Jianming Pan, Dean of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, endorsed the faculty recruitment and development strategies detailed in the Action Plan and proposed policy assurances and equitable remuneration to engage frontline secondary school educators in standard educational courses. Chongyue Li, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, advocated for the immediate formal release of the Action Plan to facilitate professional certification initiatives. Bifeng Yin, Director of the Academic Affairs Office, responded to concerns expressed by participants on standard program development.
In his concluding remarks, Xiaobo Zou, Vice President, outlined three key requirements:
1. The Normal Education Center must strengthen its service capacity to support the entire university community better.
2. Colleges related to typical programs should leverage AI empowerment to advance future-oriented training for regular students.
3. Alumni associations for standard programs should be strengthened, with coordinated efforts to engage local alums and harness their contributions.
The Normal Education Center, in partnership with eight colleges, has collaborated to strategically plan and promote the sustainable development of teacher education at Jiangsu University. This initiative aims to investigate novel methods for providing high-quality teacher education within a complete university context, enhancing Jiangsu University’s unique contribution to the discipline.
