On the afternoon of 22 April, Zhou Yin'e, Deputy Party Secretary and Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and Zhang Weiling, Deputy Party Secretary and Vice President, conducted a special research meeting on the employment and entrepreneurship work of the Department of Directing. Participants included the leadership of the Student Affairs Department, Academic Affairs Office, Graduate School and Department of Directing, as well as the head teachers for graduating classes, and the counselor.
Zhou Xiaoyang, the full-time counselor of the Department of Directing, first reported on the employment and entrepreneurship work of the department in recent years. He elaborated on five aspects: work objectives, methodologies, analysis of employment and entrepreneurship status of graduates, work measures and achievements, existing problems and improvement measures. With the concern and support of the university leadership and the joint efforts of teachers and students, the employment and entrepreneurship work of the Department of Directing has achieved remarkable results in recent years, with a steady improvement in the job placement rate of graduates and continuous improvement in the quality of employment.
Shi Jun, the Deputy Secretary of the Party General Branch at the Department of Directing, pointed out that low rate of BA graduates taking MA admission examination, inadequate qualification for directing positions, and unclear career planning for students are all important factors affecting the job placement of graduates.
Professor Lu Ang from the Department of Directing expressed that the internship and practice base construction of the department is effective. Currently, strategic cooperation framework agreements have been signed with theaters such as the National Theatre of China, Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, Shanghai Opera House, Shanghai Yueju Opera Theatre, Shanghai Huju Opera Theatre, Shanghai Comic Troupe, Nantong Art Theater, Zaifen Huangmei Opera Art Theater, Shanghai Xiandairen Theatre Troupe and Shanghai Xiaoweibo Troupe to jointly build an industry-education integration platform and an internship and practice base. In the near future, further cooperation with the Beijing People's Art Theatre will be promoted.
Yin Yuerong, the Secretary of the Party General Branch at the Department of Directing, mentioned that the department is currently focusing on building the party building brand of the Yan'an Road Directing Youth Vanguard Team and using it as a carrier to promote and recommend graduates, and to guide students to establish confidence in employment. Meanwhile, based on winning two Shanghai-level gold awards and a national-level bronze award, the department is actively mobilizing students to participate in this year's innovation competition, thus further stimulating the enthusiasm of young people in the Department of Directing for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Huang Bokai, the Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Office, suggested that the Department of Directing should focus on the development of high-quality courses for industry-education integration. Wen Tao, the Deputy Dean of the Graduate School, expressed encouragement for cross-disciplinary integration explorations.
Zhang Guoli, the Deputy Director of the Student Affairs Department, expressed her deep impression of the Department of Directing's full commitment to employment and entrepreneurship work, which has achieved good results. However, she also emphasized the need to guide students to change their employment concepts through negative examples, to secure initial employment before pursuing desired career path. She also emphasized leveraging the comprehensive abilities of students in the Department of Directing to further stimulate their innovative and entrepreneurial capabilities, and to effectively guide graduate students in their career development directions as early as possible. Li Dongmei, the Director of the Student Affairs Department, affirmed the unique work of the Directing Department in employment and entrepreneurship and suggested focusing on positive publicity to play a leading and exemplary role.
Zhang Weiling, the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice President, emphasized the need to approach the employment and entrepreneurship work of the Department of Directing from the perspective of a unique cultivation chain for specialized talents. He highlighted the importance of career planning for students in their first year of enrollment, encouraging them to clarify their career directions as early as possible and constantly revise their goals during the learning process. He emphasized the need to formulate individual career development plans for each student from the first year onward.
Zhou Yin'e, the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary, put forward the work guideline of "seeing the people, seeing the issues, and seeing the results." She pointed out that employment and entrepreneurship work should be viewed from a higher perspective, focusing on comprehensive education, with full attention paid by head teachers, teachers of specific courses, teaching and research offices and counselors throughout the entire chain from the enrollment process to career planning. She emphasized the importance of strengthening interdisciplinary abilities while focusing on the learning of their own specialty subject.
After the meeting, the Department of Directing will adhere to the principle of "bringing hearts and efforts together to promote employment, undertaking targeted education to assist development", continuously build and explore unique employment and entrepreneurship brands, and promote higher-quality and fuller employment for graduates.
