On November 8, 2025, the School of Media and Communication (SMC) at Shenzhen University hosted a celebration and academic forum to commemorate the 40th anniversary of its journalism and communication discipline. The event brought together more than 200 attendees, including university leaders, government officials, media executives, renowned scholars, alumni, faculty members, and students.
At the opening ceremony, President and Academician of Shenzhen University Junfa Mao welcomed participants and highlighted the School’s growth alongside the city’s rapid development. He urged SMC to uphold its ideals, embrace interdisciplinary innovation, and shoulder greater responsibilities in shaping public discourse. Rongcai Su, Deputy Director General of the Publicity Department of Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the CPC, acknowledged SMC’s achievements and called for greater international outreach to tell compelling stories of China and the Greater Bay Area. Yong Zhou, Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication at Renmin University of China, praised SMC’s development for its remarkable speed, sharpness, and strength. Speaking as an alumni representative, the acclaimed director Fenqiang Ouyang reflected on his experiences at SMC and expressed confidence in the School’s continued progress.
Professor Guang Yang, Acting Dean of SMC, delivered a keynote report reviewing four decades of journalism and communication education at Shenzhen University. Since its establishment in 1985, the School has pioneered a number of national initiatives, including launching China’s earliest public relations program and developing a widely recognized practice-oriented capstone project model. Today, SMC offers three national first-class undergraduate majors, a complete undergraduate-to-doctoral training system, and a distinctive approach to experiential media education. The School has also expanded its research strengths across six major directions, publishing more than 1300 papers in Chinese journals and 200 papers in international journals, and has established multiple provincial and municipal research platforms.
The celebration also featured the release of two major initiatives: the China Reform and Opening-Up News Data Platform, comprising millions of archival news and policy records, and the Computational Communication Large Language Model, designed to support advanced research in data-driven communication studies.
To deepen industry–university collaboration, SMC signed new agreements with Shenzhen Press Group, Shenzhen Media Group, and Tencent Cloud to co-develop academic platforms, training programs, and technological innovation projects.
In the afternoon, three parallel academic forums were held to explore the future of journalism and communication in an era shaped by digital transformation and artificial intelligence. During the forums, the Intelligent Marketing Communication Laboratory and the Intelligent Marketing Communication Research Center, jointly established with Mininglamp Technology, were officially launched.
The afternoon alumni convention featured tributes to retired faculty, heartfelt speeches from graduates across four decades, and reflections from founding figures including Professor Yumin Wu. Alumni from journalism, advertising, film, and public relations shared how their education at Shenzhen University shaped their careers and contributed to a vibrant shared legacy.
The day concluded with performances of SMC’s original productions Rising Tide of the Bay Area and Dear Red Army, showcasing the School’s commitment to integrating artistic innovation with civic and moral education.
Looking ahead, the School remains guided by a culture of bold experimentation, practical innovation, openness, and sustained excellence—values shaped by Shenzhen’s unique development trajectory—as it embarks on a new stage of development.
