Learning Institute for Future Excellence (LIFE) is dedicated to the promotion and development of lifelong learning at XJTLU and in the wider student community to respond to the opportunities and challenges of future society. To achieve this, LIFE first aims to transform students’ experience from exam-oriented learning to the learner-centred and research-led approach.
Through the transformation of the learning model, LIFE also aims to promote students’ awareness and skills as Global Citizens with capacities in digital literacy, sustainable development, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility.
LIFE provides a range of programmes covering students’ university journey from registration to becoming alumni, and includes degree years and careers. LIFE connects all contributions to lifelong learning in systematic ways, including IBSS employability, Taicang entrepreneurialism, the Extended Education System, English continuing support, modern languages, Think Tank initiatives on research-led teaching and teaching-led research, Centre for Student Affairs projects, and networks of all advisors to students.
In addition, LIFE works with the Centre for Knowledge and Information to widen participation and offer free or affordable lifelong online learning opportunities to Chinese communities, especially those in SIP and Suzhou.
VISION
Promote and develop lifelong learning for students at XJTLU and in the wider community to respond to the challenges and opportunities of future society.
MISSION
Enable students to become lifelong learners by transforming education to be more learner-centred, research-led, and interest-driven;
Support students in developing the awareness and skills of global citizens;
Facilitate exchanges within XJTLU and with external partners to support the development of lifelong learning and global citizenship to contribute to the future-oriented learning society.
KEY PROGRAMMES
Industry and Enterprise Tailored Education (IETE)
The Certificate in Industry and Enterprise Tailored Education (IETE) is a pilot programme of XJTLU’s Syntegrative Education system, an innovative model that develops sought-after industry talents.
The programme provides students with an additional educational path to conduct in-depth and systematic learning about industries or enterprises. With the co-advising by teachers from XJTLU and mentors from industries, students enrolled in IETE focus on a practical project and adopt interdisciplinary and research-led learning skills to develop comprehensive cognition of the industries, based on which they may further explore and propose solutions to the real issues and problems existing in the industries.
XJTLU Student Symposium of Research-led Learning (SSRL)
Knowledge is updated at such an unprecedented rate in the contemporary era that developing active and effective learning capabilities has become essential to both academic studies and professional development. This presents challenges to the traditional education model that focuses mainly on disseminating knowledge.
Research-led Learning, an innovative education method advocated by XJTLU, is an exploration of the active learning process. The model leads students to start with a specific problem or phenomenon and take the initiative to search, integrate and analyse relative sources and data, and eventually, propose possible explanations or solutions.
Effective Learning with WING+
Effective Learning with WING+ is a learning support project for undergraduate students jointly provided by LIFE, the Student Development Advisory team, English Language Centre, and the Department of English. The purpose of this project is to help students with learning difficulties better understand and master student-centred learning skills and improve learning efficiency.
With the support from professional academic advisors, the project invites graduate students from education-related majors as the main body of tutors to mentor undergraduate students in customised groups to improve the learning efficiency in an all-round way through the process of learning status analysis, learning strategy adjustment, and learning habit formation.
Presessional and Transitional Programme for UG Students: Global Citizenship and Research-led Learning Series
Cultivating the global citizenship of contemporary youth has been identified by UNESCO as a key value of future education, and transforming the learning model from exam-oriented to research-led is key to achieving this. Therefore, developing students’ global citizenship and research-led learning capacity has long been advocated by XJTLU.
To enable XJTLU students, especially Year One students, to develop such capacity effectively, LIFE has developed the Presessional and Transitional Programme for UG Students: Global Citizenship and Research-led Learning Series via collaboration with several departments such as the Centre of Student Affairs and English Language Centre in the School of Languages.
The series extends from a presessional programme to Year One optional modules and summer practicals that integrate the cultivation of global citizenship with the development of research-led learning skills. By guiding students to explore the four pillars of global citizenship – an awareness of sustainable development, digital literacy, a sense of social responsibility, and entrepreneurship – students will experience and explore the potential of research-led learning by themselves to develop the awareness and skills of lifelong learning.
Interdisciplinary Social Innovation Course
In today’s era, the social problems faced by human beings are both important and complex. It is not enough to rely on a single discipline or major. Instead, it is necessary to integrate the views of multiple disciplines and build a more comprehensive understanding.
In addition, with the rapid development of the economy and artificial intelligence technology in recent decades, how to solve and deal with existing or possible social problems more effectively still requires innovative ideas and new technical means.
In order to break down the barriers of communication and cooperation between disciplines; improve the research-led learning ability of XJTLUers to discover, analyse and solve complex practical problems; and cultivate students’ innovation ability and social responsibility, Learning Institute for Future Excellence (LIFE) launched an interdisciplinary social innovation learning programme, named Interdisciplinary Social Innovation Course.
The course starts with real-world examples, allowing students to discover and analyse real social problems, and use innovative thinking to solve problems through interdisciplinary teamwork and practice.
By participating in this course, learners will be able to:
understand research-led learning methods and turn the gained knowledge into practical solutions for real social problems;
re-understand the progress of society from a broader perspective, based on sustainable development goals proposed by United Nations (UN);
gain learning experiences with peers from various disciplines through collaborative work across disciplines;
have the opportunity to exchange ideas with teachers and students from partner universities, thereby broadening the horizons; and
participate in the programme competition to gain more opportunities and resources about innovation practices and further achievement transformation.
Learning Institute for Future Excellence (LIFE) is dedicated to the promotion and development of lifelong learning at XJTLU and in the wider student community to respond to the opportunities and challenges of future society. To achieve this, LIFE first aims to transform students’ experience from exam-oriented learning to the learner-centred and research-led approach.
Through the transformation of the learning model, LIFE also aims to promote students’ awareness and skills as Global Citizens with capacities in digital literacy, sustainable development, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility.
LIFE provides a range of programmes covering students’ university journey from registration to becoming alumni, and includes degree years and careers. LIFE connects all contributions to lifelong learning in systematic ways, including IBSS employability, Taicang entrepreneurialism, the Extended Education System, English continuing support, modern languages, Think Tank initiatives on research-led teaching and teaching-led research, Centre for Student Affairs projects, and networks of all advisors to students.
In addition, LIFE works with the Centre for Knowledge and Information to widen participation and offer free or affordable lifelong online learning opportunities to Chinese communities, especially those in SIP and Suzhou.
VISION
Promote and develop lifelong learning for students at XJTLU and in the wider community to respond to the challenges and opportunities of future society.
MISSION
KEY PROGRAMMES
The Certificate in Industry and Enterprise Tailored Education (IETE) is a pilot programme of XJTLU’s Syntegrative Education system, an innovative model that develops sought-after industry talents.
The programme provides students with an additional educational path to conduct in-depth and systematic learning about industries or enterprises. With the co-advising by teachers from XJTLU and mentors from industries, students enrolled in IETE focus on a practical project and adopt interdisciplinary and research-led learning skills to develop comprehensive cognition of the industries, based on which they may further explore and propose solutions to the real issues and problems existing in the industries.
Knowledge is updated at such an unprecedented rate in the contemporary era that developing active and effective learning capabilities has become essential to both academic studies and professional development. This presents challenges to the traditional education model that focuses mainly on disseminating knowledge.
Research-led Learning, an innovative education method advocated by XJTLU, is an exploration of the active learning process. The model leads students to start with a specific problem or phenomenon and take the initiative to search, integrate and analyse relative sources and data, and eventually, propose possible explanations or solutions.
Effective Learning with WING+ is a learning support project for undergraduate students jointly provided by LIFE, the Student Development Advisory team, English Language Centre, and the Department of English. The purpose of this project is to help students with learning difficulties better understand and master student-centred learning skills and improve learning efficiency.
With the support from professional academic advisors, the project invites graduate students from education-related majors as the main body of tutors to mentor undergraduate students in customised groups to improve the learning efficiency in an all-round way through the process of learning status analysis, learning strategy adjustment, and learning habit formation.
Cultivating the global citizenship of contemporary youth has been identified by UNESCO as a key value of future education, and transforming the learning model from exam-oriented to research-led is key to achieving this. Therefore, developing students’ global citizenship and research-led learning capacity has long been advocated by XJTLU.
To enable XJTLU students, especially Year One students, to develop such capacity effectively, LIFE has developed the Presessional and Transitional Programme for UG Students: Global Citizenship and Research-led Learning Series via collaboration with several departments such as the Centre of Student Affairs and English Language Centre in the School of Languages.
The series extends from a presessional programme to Year One optional modules and summer practicals that integrate the cultivation of global citizenship with the development of research-led learning skills. By guiding students to explore the four pillars of global citizenship – an awareness of sustainable development, digital literacy, a sense of social responsibility, and entrepreneurship – students will experience and explore the potential of research-led learning by themselves to develop the awareness and skills of lifelong learning.
In today’s era, the social problems faced by human beings are both important and complex. It is not enough to rely on a single discipline or major. Instead, it is necessary to integrate the views of multiple disciplines and build a more comprehensive understanding.
In addition, with the rapid development of the economy and artificial intelligence technology in recent decades, how to solve and deal with existing or possible social problems more effectively still requires innovative ideas and new technical means.
In order to break down the barriers of communication and cooperation between disciplines; improve the research-led learning ability of XJTLUers to discover, analyse and solve complex practical problems; and cultivate students’ innovation ability and social responsibility, Learning Institute for Future Excellence (LIFE) launched an interdisciplinary social innovation learning programme, named Interdisciplinary Social Innovation Course.
The course starts with real-world examples, allowing students to discover and analyse real social problems, and use innovative thinking to solve problems through interdisciplinary teamwork and practice.
By participating in this course, learners will be able to: