Fudan University will further develop its general education through exploring new interdisciplinary courses, multinational university cooperation and pragmatic curriculum optimization in the field over the next three years, according to the university.

General education refers to an educational program to develop students’ skills, knowledge and values that prepare them for future success after graduation, rather than merely training specialists.

“Over the next three years, we will set 10 new interdisciplinary courses and establish a comprehensive curriculum regarding general education,” said Sun Xiangchen, director of general education center at Fudan and dean of the school of philosophy, at a forum held in Shanghai on Nov 17.

“More pragmatic courses that enable students to learn from outside the classroom and universities, as well as to get to know the society, will be developed at Fudan. We will also design four domestic study tour programs for students to obtain deep insight of Chinese culture,” said Sun.

According to Sun, Fudan University holds the general education seminar every three years, summing up and sharing educational experiences in the field among Chinese universities, and promoting development of general education in China.

“Questions such as how general education can be better integrated with vocational education, or how we can create high quality courses on general education, need to be solved urgently,” Sun added.

Fudan has been offering general education courses since 2006 with the aim of cultivating talents with critical thinking skills and a unique understanding of key issues related to human civilization, culture and modern society. More than 150,000 students took these courses as of 2017.