On April 22, Mr. Mei Ciqi's first meeting with students after he assumed the post as the Dean of Xinya College was held in the lobby on the ground floor in the No. 10 North Building. Over 50 students from all grades came to talk with Mr. Mei on issues of common concern. Mr. Zhang Weite, Deputy Dean of Xinya College, presided over the event, with the staff of Xinya College Office present.

The students extended a warm welcome to Mr. Mei and shared opinions on some specific issues, including ideas of general education, inheritance of Xinya College's features, optimization of education and teaching, development of interdisciplinary majors, and the building of the Xinya College Culture.

Mr. Mei spoke highly of the general education offered by the College and encouraged students to explore more possible general education models at Tsinghua University or in other places across the world together with their predecessors and teachers at Xinya.

Asked by students, Mr. Mei first elaborated on his understanding of general education. He explained that general education should help students figure out "what kind of person to be", which has been the aim of Xinya College since its establishment eight years ago. At the same time, general education should be practiced in diverse ways, which can be enriched by the classics. Mr. Mei called for special attention to be given to the relationship between general and discipline-based education. He said it was necessary to recognize the roles of independent disciplines while connecting them, to find possible "chemical reactions" among disciplines. Students also shared their understanding and expectations of general education.

As for the problems pointed out by students on curriculum construction in Xinya College, Mr. Mei said the College would stay in line with and keep striving toward high standards. Based on previous courses and thorough discussions with teachers and students, the College tries to open more courses, further optimize the structure, and systematically integrate all courses, to improve learning quality and efficiency.

The two interdisciplines, Creative Design and Intelligent Engineering (CDIE), and Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE), have always attracted the spotlight. Students proposed ideas and suggestions for improving interdisciplinary courses. Mr. Mei wrote down key points and said he would study and discuss them with professors-in-charge of different majors and the Teaching Committee of Xinya College and mobilize resources in and out of Tsinghua University to make greater curriculum and training programs.

Some students also mentioned the building of Xinya College Culture and science and technology innovation activities. Mr. Mei stressed that rich and distinctive extracurricular activities should be one of the main fields for Xinya College to educate people. Effective practices in this regard include Spirit of Idealism, Speculative Dialogue, Anti-involution, Interdisciplinary Communication, Hardworking Spirit Cultivation, and Art Education, which all have their own characteristics and have produced rich results. Xinya College will put more effort into holding featured cultural and sports, academic, and practical activities. As result, the educational role of the College is expected to be played to the full and further enrich the connotation of the collegiate system.

At the end of the three-hour Dean's Afternoon Tea, Mr. Mei promised that the activity would be held every Friday in richer forms integrating cultural, sports, and science and technology innovation activities.