The Shandong University Institute for Advanced Studies in Education was established on Oct 10. [Photo/Shandong University]

Shandong University established the Institute for Advanced Studies in Education on Oct 10 at its central campus, with the mission of cultivating high-quality teachers.

Shandong University was selected as part of the second batch of "National Excellent Primary and Secondary School Teacher Training Program" pilot universities. The program aims to encourage high-level universities to train high-quality teachers at the postgraduate level for primary and secondary schools.

The institute will strengthen interdisciplinary research and organized scientific research by establishing four research areas – higher education research and management, school curriculum and teaching, student development and education, and language education and cultural communication.

Within these areas, research institutions such as the Center for Research on Advanced Studies in Education, the Learning Science and Technology Laboratory, the Social and Emotional Competence Laboratory, and the International Chinese Education Research Center will be established. Chinese renowned educators Yu Yi, Gu Mingyuan and Lin Chongde were appointed as the institute’s consultants.

Ren Youqun, Party secretary of Shandong University, stated at the inauguration ceremony that the university would focus on promoting the development of an independent knowledge system in Chinese education studies and steadily advance theoretical research on improving the strength of the nation’s education system.

By leveraging the comprehensive advantages of a full range of disciplines and abundant practical opportunities, the university aimed to develop a top-notch innovative talent cultivation model that connects primary, secondary, and higher education, he added.

In his speech, Deng Yunfeng, vice governor of Shandong province, expressed hope that the institute would seize the opportunity presented by the national program to focus on training excellent teachers and steadily advancing the integrated development of industry, academia, and research.