On the afternoon of 14 September, the first Staff-Student Liaison Committee (SSLC) meeting of Dundee International Institute of Central South University (DIICSU) took place in Room DIICSU 601. Present at the meeting were Dr. Gao Dongbo, General Secretary of the Party Branch of DIICSU; Prof. Karen Petrie, Executive Vice Dean; Charlotte Mahoney, Head of English; three UoD-dispatched lecturers, Dr. Hanhe Lin, Dr. Dimitrios Kontziampasis and Dr. Pengpeng He, together with 20 student representatives. The meeting aimed to gather student feedback on the first week of teaching, allowing staff to answer students’ questions in person.
At the start of the meeting, Secretary Gao Dongbo shared his own study experience in the UK, encouraging students to stay confident, resilient and patient. Prof. Karen Petrie gave students an overview of all Semester 1 modules and outlined core educational values underpinning student development: Working together, Making a difference, Valuing people, Integrity and Excellence.
Student representatives had collected questions from their classmates in advance and presented them by programme. Key concerns included challenges in learning academic content through English, lack of confidence when communicating with teaching staff in English, and requests for further information about programme structure.
Teaching staff responded to each query in turn. They encouraged students to practise English actively and engage with their teachers, and to access teaching resources on MyDundee ahead of classes to build familiarity with English technical terminology. The academic team noted that Semester 1 focuses primarily on language development with relatively low technical content. Learning across disciplines is designed to strengthen students’ scientific thinking and broaden their academic perspectives.
Following the meeting, all teaching staff attended Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training themed Observation and Lesson Study, to enhance teaching practice through peer classroom observation.
