“Tapping into Philosophy and Cultivating Intellectual Thinking”- A “World Cafe” Seminar was Held by QMES

On December 31, 2020, a “World Cafe” seminar was held by QMES at Room 406, East Teaching Building A. Student Representatives from QMES, School of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, School of Physical Science and Technology, and School of Foreign Studies were invited to attend the seminar. Dean Kong Jie, Associate Dean Fan Xiaoli, Associate Dean Cheng Yin and Director of Teaching Office Yang Ye attended the seminar as guests.

The seminar was hosted by Li Can, a 2019 undergraduate student from QMES. He first introduced the theme of the seminar – “Tapping into philosophy and cultivating intellectual thinking” and introduced the seminar mode to the students present. The “WorldCafe” adopts the seminar mode of “solving problems and finding ways through dialogue”, creating a relaxed and casual atmosphere of gatherings of friends, where studentscollide and sublimate their thoughts and ideas in dialogues. After each round of presentation, participants will randomly change seats to discuss the next topic with new group members and share the results of the discussion.

During the seminar, Yan Dong fromtheSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering presented his views on engineering ethics and the principles needed to implement them. Yan Dong pointed out the importance of engineering ethics in engineering practice. The process of implementing engineering ethics must be people-oriented, safe, reliable and to be focused on protecting the natural environment. He emphasized that university students should do more for their own benefit in the limited time and constantly improve their abilities.

Zheng Zhi from QMES started with the problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, explaining the law of the unity of opposites in contradiction. He emphasized that when we encountered difficulties and problems, we must calm down and take the initiative to resolve contradictions and turn disadvantages into advantages. Based on philosophical elements, Du Jinbo analyzed the development history of nanotechnology from the perspective of materialism. He believed that the use of materialist dialectics in learning was of great benefit to the study of professional knowledge.

In this session of full participation, everyone felt the differences in thinking modes and learning methods in the exchanges, deepening the understanding of the “philosophical elements” in engineering ethics and professional learning with communication. At the same time, the seminar also cultivated the teamworking ability of students. Teachers of QMES also took part in the discussion. During the presentation session, representatives from each group expressed their opinions and participants gained a lot from various presentations.

After the seminar, Kong Jie summarized this meeting and had acordial exchange with the students. He expressed his views on topics of “philosophical elements” in engineering ethics and “philosophical elements” in professional learning and illustrated the importance of engineering ethics with the example of Three Gorges Dam, emphasizing that university students should communicate with empathetic thinking and develop intellectual thinking ability in their daily study and life. Finally, he congratulated the success of this “World Cafe” seminar.

This seminar is the third “World Cafe” seminar held by QMES, which provides a platform for students to learn, exchange and discuss, enabling students from different schools and grades to communicate and learn from each other, and helping them to reach a consensus and form a joint force. Through multi-perspective, multi-level and multi-faceted discussion, it also provides a new idea and scheme for “Ideological and Political Education” under the mode of Sino-foreign cooperation in running schools. At the same time, it is also an important measure for QMES to adhere to the fundamental task of strengthening morality and cultivating people, to improve the quality of talent training, and to comprehensively promote the discussion of talent training for NPU.