(Correspondent: Cheng Peng)

To learn from the experience of a peer institution and advance the development of its Public Administration discipline and programs, a delegation from the School of Management visited the School of Public Affairs at Nanjing University of Science and Technology on the morning of June 4.

The delegation comprised Zhang Zongxiang, Vice Dean of the School of Management; Zhu Zhe, Assistant to the Dean; Cheng Peng, Head of the Department of Public Administration; and Wu Shiman, academic leader of the Public Administration discipline.

Participants from the School of Public Affairs at Nanjing University of Science and Technology included Zhao Qidong, Member of the School’s Party Committee and Vice Dean; Zhang Rongjun, Head of the Department of Public Administration; Xu Zhiguo, Secretary of the Party Branch of the Department of Public Administration; professors Cheng Qian and Fan Weifeng; and Associate Professor Xue Meiqin.

At the meeting, Zhao warmly welcomed Zhang and the delegation and provided a brief overview of the School of Public Affairs, including its history, departmental and institutional structure, disciplinary development, and distinctive educational strengths.

Zhang Rongjun then gave a systematic account of the application and development of Digital Public Governance as one of China’s first demonstration programs in the field. From the perspective of national strategy, he also offered an in-depth interpretation of the development direction and prospects of this emerging interdisciplinary discipline.

Zhao noted that the School of Management at Wuhan Institute of Technology has developed distinctive strengths in interdisciplinary integration by drawing on the University’s established advantages in chemical engineering, materials science, and related disciplines. He expressed the hope that the visit would serve as an opportunity to strengthen interaction between the two schools and jointly explore new pathways for the high-quality development of Public Administration at industry-oriented universities.

Zhang expressed his appreciation to the School of Public Affairs for generously sharing its experience and introduced the development of the School of Management in terms of its disciplinary structure, faculty, and talent cultivation.

He noted that, as a university included in China’s “Double First-Class” Initiative, Nanjing University of Science and Technology has closely aligned the development of its School of Public Affairs with national strategic needs. Guided by its distinctive strengths in national defense, the School has promoted the high-quality development of Public Administration and established a talent cultivation system with clearly defined characteristics.

In particular, the newly established Digital Public Governance program closely follows the strategic direction of digital reform and demonstrates disciplinary foresight and innovation by integrating Public Administration, information technology, and data science. These practices provide valuable references for the School of Management in refining its disciplinary directions, optimizing and upgrading its academic programs, and improving the quality of talent cultivation.

The two sides subsequently held in-depth discussions and reached consensus on disciplinary and program development and talent cultivation. They agreed to strengthen cooperation in faculty exchanges, joint curriculum development, case database development, interdisciplinary integration, and innovation in talent cultivation models. Through these efforts, the two schools will jointly cultivate high-level management professionals capable of serving national strategies and the modernization of social governance.

(Reviewed by Zuo Hui)