SIGI

About Us

School of International Governance Innovation (SIGI) is a teaching and research institute of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS), integrating the university’s multidisciplinary advantage of language, economics, management, law and other studies. It specially aims to further strengthen the study of international trade regulations and speed up the training of high-level comprehensive and compound talents involved in global economic governance. SIGI hired distinguished Mr. Sun Zhenyu, the former deputy minister of the Ministry of Commerce of the P.R.China, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of China to the WTO, Chairman of China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, as the honorary dean; and the leading Yunshan scholar of GDUFS, professor Zhao Longyue as the dean; and professor Sui Guangjun, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of GDUFS, professor Zhang Yuejiao, former president of the WTO Appellate Body, Su Guangming, director of China International Talent Exchange Foundation of State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, are members of the Academic Advisory Committee of SIGI.  

 

1. Capacity

 

1.1 Teaching and training

SIGI is committed to training comprehensive and compound talents who are familiar with the policy of CCP and P.R.C., who are with global vision, who are proficient in foreign languages, who thoroughly know well international rules, who are masters of international negotiations, to be able to participate in making international regulation and governing global economy.SIGI gives high priority to moral values establishment and people cultivation, aiming to cultivate a group of more courageous and dedicated youth of the new era who have lofty goals, firm beliefs, and always remember his/her own country.

 

1.2 Researching and communicating

SIGI focuses on some major strategic issues including international rules and global economic governance, and has undertaken major projects, key projects held by National Social Science Fund, more than ten research topics of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Guangdong Provincial Department of Commerce, the Foreign Affairs Office and other national-level, provincial level departments.

 

1.3 Decision making and think tank supporting

SIGI conducted systematic, in-depth and advanced research on key issues and hot issues at home and abroad, and actively provided suggestions, consulting services and decision supports for governmental departments at all levels and other related institutions. In addition, SIGI has built long-term cooperation with the Guangdong Provincial Foreign Affairs Leading Group Office, the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, the Guangdong Free Trade Zone Office, providing decision-making consulting services for the economic and social development for Guangdong province.

 

1.4 International cooperation and pursuit of excellence

SIGI actively promotes exchanges and cooperation between Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and world-renowned universities and international organizations. SIGI held a number of “Advanced Seminar of International Negotiation and invited American professor Jonathan Wilkenfeld, an well-known international negotiation expert, as keynote speaker, attracting experts, scholars, teachers and students from all over the country to participate in the study and simulation practices of international negotiation.

 

2. The International Governance Innovation Graduate Program

 

In accordance with the needs of Chinas participation in international rules reconstruction and global governance, supported by the China Scholarship Council, SIGI launched “the International Governance Innovation Graduate Program ”. As a national key innovative project, it’s another major measure of GDUFS to promote the education internationalization strategy, and to implement the demands of the party’s 19th National Congress report on strengthening global governance and building a community of human destiny. The project, through cooperation with internationally renowned universities, aims to cultivate professionals who is familiar with international politics, diplomacy, law, economy and management as a way to further increase China's participation in international economic rule-making and global economic governance. Besides, SIGI is committed to delivering more high-end professionals and managers for middle- and senior-position in international organizations, to be an active member in reforming and managing work.

 

3. Characteristics of Innovation

 

3.1 Innovation in training objective

Centering on the requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping on "strengthening the construction of global governance talent team, breaking through the talent bottleneck, and building a talent reserve", SIGI aims to cultivate comprehensive and compound high-end professionals to participate in global governance on behalf of China.

 

3.2 Innovation in selection model

Through the language ability test, specialized and comprehensive knowledge assessment, expert panel interview and other procedures, SIGI selects the most qualified candidates from current master students.

 

3.3 Innovation in training model

According to students’ professional background, we customize training program for every single student. A new curriculum system is built with the core of strengthening professional knowledge and improving practical work ability, adding cross-disciplinary knowledge learning on the basis of retaining the original professional knowledge.

Current education mode is "2+1+1", which means that students should finish the study of former major, the international governance courses and scientific research task set by SIGI in the first two academic years; In the third year, student will study for another master's degree in Public Policy or International Relations at the University of Maryland, Georgetown University or Princeton University. In the fourth year, some selected top graduate students will be recommended to the World bank, International Monetary Fund or World Trade Organization for internship.

 

3.4 Innovation in teaching methods

The teaching method is to combine systematic teaching with special lectures, classroom learning with independent research. SIGI Invites authoritative experts in relevant fields to teach relevant courses; and experts and scholars to hold academic lectures irregularly; The students combine the course of their original major and of the International Governance, deciding research topic, organizing research team, forming research report, and organizing academic seminar, all by themselves.

 

3.5 Innovation in expert team

Expert team members are hired from inside and outside GDUFS, from both home and abroad, academic research institutions and government management departments, which includes professor Yan Xuetong from Tsinghua University, professor Jin Canrong from Renmin University of China, director Shen Danyang from Policy Research Office of the Ministry of Commerce, deputy director general Huang Zheng from the Department of Policy Planning of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, American expert on international negotiation issues, Jonathan Wilkenfeld and professor Bernard Hoekmanz, professor from the European University Institute , etc.

 

4. Remarkable Successes

 

4.1 Serving the decision-making of government ministries

The experts of the institute have undertaken a number of national and provincial research topics, such as the Study on Global Governance Mechanism and Coordination of International and Domestic Rules and Strategies, the Study on International Rule Making and China's Countermeasures, etc., which has provided quality decision-making consultation for the central and local governments, and received the attention and instructions from the central and national leaders for many times.

 

4.2 Advancing GDUFS’s Double First-rate construction

With the full support of China scholarship council (CSC), the International Governance Innovation Graduate Program has become a breakthrough point for GDUFS to become a "double first-rate" school, striving to build the International Governance major into a "first-rate discipline" in the world, and driving innovations in the upstream undergraduate education and the downstream doctoral education.

 

4.3 Organizing academic conferences at home and abroad

The School has organized many academic conferences with far-reaching influence. The advanced seminar on international negotiation is a rare one in China that applies online system of the university of Maryland to conduct simulated negotiations, and boasts a wide range of participants and whose topic is the latest environmental product negotiation. In addition, the School also invited a number of famous professors from home and abroad to deliver lectures to students.

 

4.4 Organizing seminars by students themselves

Under the guidance of tutors from inside and outside the School, students can independently choose research topics, organize research teams and hold academic seminars, which greatly improve their own research ability and organizational ability. Research topics completed include: (1) the influence of "One Belt and One Road" on EU’s policies towards China; (2) cyberspace governance and sovereignty establishment; (3) the research on relations between Sino-US BIT negotiation and China's direct investment to the United States; (4) a comparative study between Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and international bay areas; (5) whether China's foreign aid is neocolonialism and so on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Guangdong ICP, 09086675  
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