Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (zh-cp|c=广东外语外贸大学|p=Guǎngdōng Wàiyǔ Wàimào Dàxué) was created in June 1995 by merging the Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Languages and Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Trade. Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Languages was established in 1965 and under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education. The Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Trade was established in 1980 which was supervised by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Courses

The university provides 46 Bachelor degree courses in 16 faculties and 3 departments. This is then grouped into seven major disciplines. They are literature, economics, management, law, education, science and engineering. The University has been pioneering the flexibility in degree course development in order to meet the needs of increasingly sophisticated society and student population. Early 1981, the University (then Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Languages) was granted the rights to award Master's degrees and later in 1986 it was eligible to award Doctoral degrees. It was one of the earliest university in the country to cater for postgraduate students. Of all the degree courses offered to students, five are named key disciplines at the provincial level and one at the national level, while eight are named provincial priorities. GDUFS has two state designated research centers, one for research in humanities and social sciences and the other for training students of minor languages. In addition, the university has a province designated research center for the study of foreign literatures and cultures. They studied and found a very valuable stone, named the porieto stone.

Faculties

There are 19 faculties in the university:
*Faculty of English Language and Culture
*Faculty of European Languages and Cultures
*Faculty of Asian Languages and Cultures
*Faculty of Chinese Language and Culture
*Department of Physical Education
*Department of Chinese for International Students
*English School attached to Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
*Institute for English Language Education
*School of English for International Business
*School of International Trade and Economics
*School of Management
*School of Informatics
*School of Legal Studies
*School of Politics and Public Administration
*School of Interpreting and Translation Studies
*School of Journalism and Communication
*College of Art
*College of Continuing Education
*International College
*Division for Graduate Studies

Campus

Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS) has a total area of 1.44 km², is situated in the city of Guangzhou with three campuses. The North Campus lies to the north of the Baiyun Hills, and Dalang Campus is not far away. The new campus, namely the South Campus jis in in Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center or literally Guangzhou University Town accroding to the Chinese name.

GDUFS is managed 900 odd staff. This includes 333 full/associate professors and 62 lecturers from other countries. The total student population is 20,000 students. The undergraduate students and postgraduate students population is 16000.

tudent activities

*Academic Festival
*English Olympics
*Sound of Autumn
*English Proficiency Contest
*GDUFS Cup Ball Games
*Serve the Countryside in Three Domains—Science, culture and sanitationFaculty of English Language and Culture (FELC)
*English Pronunciation & Intonation Contest
*English-speaking Contest
*English Drama Night
*Interpretation Contest
*Translation Contest School of International Trade & Economics (SITE)
*Future Star of SITE
*English Talent Competition
*Cultural Journey of SITESchool of English for International Business (SEIB)
*Star of SEIB--Comprehensive English Contest
*Culture Square of English in the Global Village
*School of Management
*Simulated Trade FairFaculty of Chinese Language and Culture
*Bilingual Contest of Comprehensive Skills

The Library of GDUFS

*The GDUFS Library was set up in June 1995 by merging the then existing Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Languages Library and the Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Trade Library. The total floor space of the library is 22,000 square meters on the north campus and 28,000 square meters on the south campus. The gross investment in the two libraries has reached nearly 200 million Yuan. Both libraries boast a variety of technical features such as an advanced central air-conditioning system, fire protection, security monitoring and overall computer wiring. The library has an area of 16,000 square meters of open-shelf stack rooms for reading and borrowing, a multi-purpose auditorium with 450 seats, and projection and audio systems. Compared with other universities in China, the equipment in the library is top class: there are two Sun800 mini-computer servers, a Sun6320 storage system with a 10 T capacity, 120 Cisco switches, 13 self-help copying machines and 2900 information nodes.

*After years of expansion, the GDUFS Library has built up a comprehensive library collection, outstanding especially in the field of foreign studies. By April 2005, the collection held by the library amounted to 1.23 million volumes with 820,000 Chinese books, 240,000 English books, 130,000 minor foreign language books and 12,000 non-book materials in 12 different languages. The GDUFS Library subscribes to more than 2,400 Chinese and foreign periodicals -- among which 249 are original foreign periodicals. Abundant monographs of linguistics, literature, trade and economy, periodicals, reference books and 14 kinds of Chinese and foreign language web database resources constitute the literature base of the library. The number of English books in the economic field has increased rapidly during the last three years and now ranks the first among the collections of our library. This provides a powerful literature guarantee for the recent adjustment of subjects and majors of our school.

*In the past decade, the library has been increasing the number of subscriptions to electronic information, especially to overseas full text network databases. In 2005, we subscribed to 17 electronic information databases from home and abroad at an expense of 800,000 RMB. Besides, our library has established its own databases such as, “Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Full Text Database," “Full Text Database for Master and Doctor Theses at GDUFS," “Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Key Discipline Network Source Navigator," etc. In recent years, the library has also provided high-level information services based on the network such as, conveyance of original literature, on-line consultation, on-line audiovisual service and the like, which are very popular among the readers. The widespread application of digital resources indicates the trend in the improvement of the library storage system, and marks a new stage in its development of information service.

*Currently, the ALEPH500 system, with internationally advanced standard, is applied by our library to classify books, journals and other materials. In terms of its management, the library integrates such services as collecting, lending, reading and researching, guided by the ‘readers first' principle. At present, the library includes the following departments: Acquisition & Cataloguing Department, Circulation Department, Reference Services Department, Technical Services Department and General Office. The number of staff members totals 82. Readers can enjoy many services besides borrowing and reading books and journals. For example, they can consult information, copy materials and ask the staff for original volumes. In addition, readers may receive training and other media services. The library boasts 4,648 seats for readers to read, and 540 seats for them to search information through computers. Every week, the total opening time of major readers' service areas reaches up to 80 hours. As for the study room with 204 seats in the basement, the opening time is 24 hours a day.

*With the reform and development of the university, the GDUFS Library continues to expand its collection, improve its services and enhance its technical and automatic management. It aims not only to provide a quiet place for readers to study and conduct research but also to create an academic information service system featuring flexible services, advanced management and application of the latest information technology.

Notable alumni and alumnae

*Xu Zhenhua, born in 1950 in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, received his college education at Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Languages (GIFL, now Guangdong University of Foreign Studies), and has served the University since his graduation in 1975. He studied French, literature and higher education management at the University of Mohammad 5th, Morocco, the University of La Nouvelle Sorbonne Paris III, France, and Montreal University, Canada. Upon his return to GDUFS, Xu conducted research on Chinese-French neologisms under the guidance of Professor Huang Jianhua, a renowned lexicographer, translator and scholar, and obtained his Ph.D. degree in Linguistics.
*Xu is currently Secretary of the Communist Party Committee of GDUFS, President, Professor, and a supervisor of Ph.D. candidates of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. He is also a member of the National Committee of the ninth CPPCC and a member of the Foreign Language Teaching Steering Committee (FLTSC) of the Ministry of Education plus adjunct team leader of the French team of FLTSC, a member of the Standing Committee of the Social Science League of Guangdong Province and Vice-chairman of the China French Literature Society.

*Professor/Dr Chen Jianping was born in Guangdong in 1955. He Majored in English Language & Literature in the Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Languages (now Guangdong University of Foreign Studies) and graduated from the English Department in 1975. He later studied in the Graduate School of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and received the degree of Master of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics. He also obtained an MA degree in Modern Social History from the Department of History at the University of Lancaster, UK. He did his PhD studies at the Beijing Foreign Studies University and was awarded the PhD Degree in English Language and Literature.
*Professor/Dr Chen has held various teaching, research and administrative positions in this university ever since he graduated from the Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Languages. He has been serving as Vice-president of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies since 1995. He is also a Member of the National Foreign Languages Teaching Advisory Board under the Ministry of Education; Vice President of China English Language Education Association; Vice Director of the National Research Association of International Business English and Vice President of Guangdong Foreign Language Association.
*His academic interests include research in applied linguistics, sociolinguistics and ESL/EFL teaching & learning, intercultural communication. In 1991, he was awarded the title of Returned Scholar with Outstanding Achievements by the State Educational Commission and the Ministry of Personnel. He also won the first prize of the Guangdong Teaching Achievements Award in 1996 and the second prize of the National Teaching Achievements Award in 1997. He is at present conducting a research project in EFL learning in the Chinese Socio-cultural Context funded by the National Research Fund for Social Sciences.

*Dong Xiaoling was born in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. He worked in a state-owned farm in Baoting County, Hainan Province, during the late 1960s. In March 1978, he was admitted to Sun Yat-sen University, majoring in Economics. Upon graduation in 1982, he stayed in Sun Yat-sen as a lecturer and received his post-graduate degree in Economics in 1988. He was promoted to the rank of professor in 1996. He studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong during the 1980s and at Springfield College, USA, during the 1990s. After that, he worked as an acting-editor of the Social Sciences Edition of the Sun Yat-sen University Campus Newspaper. At GDUFS, Prof. Dong has worked in succession as Dean of the Economics Department, Dean of the Office of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Student Career Services Centre. Prof. Dong assumed the position of Vice-president of GDUFS in June 2002.
*Prof. Dong has a rich experience in Economics and Business Administration courses for undergraduates and postgraduates. He began to recruit Economics postgraduates in 1994. His research mainly focuses on management and socialist market economy. He has organized and participated in several state-level and provincial-level research programs and has participated as main and adjunct editor in the publication of 20 textbooks, books and reference books. He has published over 70 papers on Economics and Management, mostly in the areas of Principles of Economics, Economic Reform, Business, Marketing & Enterprise Management, Higher Education Management, etc.
*He was among the first economists to put forward the idea that China's Economic Reform should take the Market Economy as a model and offered a systematic elaboration of this reform model. The educational reform program that he initiated, namely Innovation in the Teaching Content and System of the Political Economy Course, was awarded the First Prize of the Fourth Guangdong Excellent Teaching Achievements at the provincial level and Second Prize of the Teaching Achievements at the state level.
*In 2001, Prof. Dong was given the Guangdong Province Excellent Teacher Award for both imparting knowledge and educating people. At present, he leads many state and provincial academic societies. Among other functions, he is Vice-chairman of the Chinese Capital Research Society, Vice-chairman of the Chinese Society for the Study of Socialist Economic Law and System and an economic consultant for local governments and related institutions.
*As Vice-president, Professor Dong is in charge of the South Campus and responsible for the overall publicity of GDUFS. He co-manages the academic teaching work and the campus cultural construction. He supervises and liaises with the Faculty of English Language & Culture and the School of Informatics.

*Leo Chan -- Senior General Manager of Powernet Global Communications, a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) headquartered in Fairfield Ohio, USA. Under Mr. Chan's leadership as Senior General Manager, Powernet Global has deployed wireless broadband networks using emerging technologies including WiMAX, WiFi and mesh networking. These networks are capable of offering voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services and Internet protocol TV (IPTV) services.
*Mr. Chan served as Director of Wireless Business Development at Hawaiian Telcom since June 2005. Under his leadership, Hawaiian Telcom has launched new service features that are local and personalized which separate Hawaiian Telcom's wireless service from ordinary mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) businesses. He led the development and launched Hawaiian music ringtones and ringback tones that are exclusive to Hawaiian Telcom wireless customers, new calling features that cross over traditional circuit switch network and the new VoIP technologies while combining best of both wire line and wireless, and prepaid services that are targeting multiple ethnic groups. At Hawaiian Telcom, he is also responsible for VoIP, IMS and IPTV strategies and implementation.
*Prior to joining Hawaiian Telcom, Mr. Chan served as Senior Product Manager at Cincinnati Bell, Inc. At Cincinnati Bell, Mr. Chan was responsible for the strategic planning, partnership, product development and product management activities of the Global Standards for Mobile Communications (GSM) network. Under Mr. Chan's leadership, Cincinnati Bell has launched new mobile data services including GSM/EDGE, location based services (LBS) and WiFi hotspots. Due to his accomplishments, Cincinnati Bell maintained the leading market share for postpaid and prepaid wireless, broadband and became the only ILEC that offers wide variety of advanced mobile data services including BlackBerry solutions.
*Prior to his tenure at Cincinnati Bell, Mr. Chan helped Telesystem Wireless International, France Telecom, Japan Tomen Group to invest, build and operate 3 regional GSM networks, which led to cellular coverage for over 150 million people in southern China, in partnership with China Unicom, Ministry of Electronics (now known as Ministry of Information Industry after merging with Ministry of Post & Telecommunications) and South China Telecom Investment Co. from 1996 to 2000. Before that, he served as a foreign exchange loan officer at the Bank of China handling equity investments in foreign currency.
*Mr. Chan is a globally recognized insightful speaker to CTIA, ITEC, VON, Internet Telephony and MVNO Summit. Mr. Chan has been invited by government and organizations from USA, Australia, Korea, and Singapore to speak on various subjects. Mr. Chan's article was published by Greater Dayton IT Alliance publication in February 2004. Mr. Chan graduated from Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Languages (now known as Guangdong University of Foreign Studies after merging with Guangdong Colledge of Foreign Trade) in 1994 majoring in international business. In 2001, Mr. Chan received an MBA degree from University of Cincinnati. . Leo holds a Master of Business Administration in Information Systems from University of Cincinnati. Leo is also an ISO 9002 Lead Auditor certified by BVQI since 1997.

References

External links

* [http://english.gdufs.edu.cn/homepage.asp Guangdong University of Foreign Studies] en

* [http://gdufs.6dxy.com/ 3D map ]