On the afternoon of 25 November, an exclusive interview and the 7th Coffee Time 2022 (No. 15) Academic and Cultural Exchange event was held in R. 107, Dianzi Building. Prof. Chang Xiaomei, Vice Dean of Joint Science College, SDU was present in person. Ms. Zhou Junxia, from the academic English teaching group, and nine student representatives from 2022 cohort attended onsite.
First of all, Chang Xiaomei expressed her sincere thanks to Prof. Paul Francis for his accepting the interview and introduced to him the nine student interviewers. Then Zhou Junxia introduced Paul to the students. He is working in ANU Research School of Physics, ANU Distinguished Educator, ANU Educational Fellowship Scheme Co-Chair, a physicist and astrophysicist. He was honoured with a Carrick Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning in 2006, a nomination for the global edX Educator Award and an Australian Award for University Teaching - Award for Teaching Excellence in 2016. He has just finished teaching the course “Free Style Science” to the 2022 cohort students in JSC this term.
In the interview, Chang Xiaomei raised the first question, “As a distinguished educator committed to education for years, what makes a good university teacher in your opinion?” Paul’s answer let the students feel warm, to listen to students and try to help them solve problems instead of boring and dull teaching only. To all the interview questions like how he insists on doing physical research, his spare time hobbies, how to choose a research direction for the future and what critical thinking is, Paul gave his answers in a gentle and genial manner. His talk was easy to understand but contained profound meaning, which has enlightened and inspired the interviewers greatly. The interview was going in a friendly and harmonious atmosphere.
As a result from the joint endeavour of Shandong University and Australian National University, the two world renowned universities with complementary strengths, SDU-ANU Joint Science College has been adhering to a global advanced educational philosophy, facilitating a favourable international environment for better education. It attaches importance to disciplinary literacy and knowledge structure aiming to cultivate first-class talents with international outlook and competitiveness. The college makes full use of the advantages of Sino-foreign cooperative educational institution to create a platform for the students to have a real-time dialogue and communication with famous ANU professors. This interview is not only an extension of classroom teaching but also a supplement to what has been taught in class. It plays a positive and constructive role in helping the students with self-exploration and way of thinking.
