On 29 September 2021, the Fall Semester Opening Ceremony for International Students was successfully held online. Professor Cheng Jinhua (Vice Dean of Graduate School of SJTU), Professor Hou Liyang (Assistant Dean of KoGuan School of Law), Zhang Chenguo (Associate Professor of Civil and Commercial Law), Wang Bin (Associate Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law), Wang Jie (Assistant Researcher of Intellectual Property Law), and teachers from the International Programs Office attended the ceremony along with international students around the world. The ceremony was hosted by Professor Hou Liyang.

Professor Cheng warmly welcomed all the international students. In his speech, Professor Cheng appreciated the efforts of all international students in pursuing their legal education in China in this special year. Having been in charge of the program with Professor Hou for four years, he expressed his hope that all international students can enjoy the unique enchantment of the Xuhui Campus and KoGuan School of Law on their own. Finally, He encouraged international students to take advantage of the opportunity to study in China to gain an in-depth understanding of Chinese laws and systems, and to explore the differences between various legal systems. Associate Professor Zhang Chenguo, Associate Professor Wang Bin and Assistant Researcher Wang Jie shared their teaching experiences in the program respectively. They expressed their welcome and expectations to the international students and encouraged them to build legal study groups, strengthen their cross-cultural communication, and to make full use of online course resources.

After that, student representatives Alexey Ilin, Marshall Lyon Olney, and Lachlan John Smith, shared their thoughts with us. As the representative of overseas PhD students, Alexey, from Russia, shared his mental journey towards his return to school. Marshall, from the USA, shared with us the story of his exchange in SJTU during the summer of 2019, and how the experience led him to choose SJTU to purse an LL.M after graduating from Santa Clara Law and Business School. He also expressed gratitude for all the work done by all the staffs of law school, who have enabled the program to run smoothly while facing so many challenges. Finally, Lachlan, from Australia, as the representative of the overseas LL.M students of 2020, gave a speech to us that included some of his favorite courses and experiences, and expressed his sincere gratitude to all the teachers and staff of KoGuan School of Law for their efforts and support. All three representatives are eager to return to campus as soon as possible.

Finally, teachers from the KoGuan School of Law’s International Office gave a detailed introduction to the school’s international programs.

The final Q&A session concluded the ceremony. Although many students are still unable to return to campus due to the pandemic, distance will not hold back their intellectual curiosity. As always, all the teachers and staff at KoGuan School of Law are prepared to welcome international students back to campus.