On the afternoon of December 24, 2018, the Institute of International and Area Studies (IIAS) of Tsinghua University held a New Year’s networking event for students at Office 205 of the Central Main Building, which is the first major event held by all students since the opening of the new office. The networking event also invited the presence of Gu Binglin, Academician and Chairman of IIAS Council. Prof. Zhong Weimin, Executive Deputy Chief Editor of the Journal of Tsinghua University, was also invited to share his academic experience. Prof. Liu Dong, Prof. Jing Jun, Prof. Wang Yong, Zhen Shuning and Zhao Jinsong also participated in the event.

Before the event started, the students visited IIAS office. The office is located on the west side of the Central Main Building of Tsinghua University, with a total area of about 220M², equipped with Researcher Office, Administrative Office, meeting room and reception area. After nearly a year of renovation, the office was officially opened in November 2018.

The networking event was hosted by Prof. Zhang Jing, Deputy Dean of IIAS. Prof. Zhong Weimin first shared his academic experience with the theme “How to write and publish a paper”. Prof. Zhong emphasized that, in addition to fieldwork experience, academic writing for area studies must also be supported by discipline expertise. Afterwards, Chairman Gu Binglin and the students and faculty on site reviewed the history of IIAS’ development stareting from the establishment of the Doctoral Program in Developing Country Studies (DCS). During the event, the faculty and the students exchanged New Year gifts and greetings. Afterwards, the students also played various games and took photos together. The celebration ended in a happy atmosphere.