Qinghua University to Enter into Online "Network Era"

Computer and network has become an indispensable part in the students' life of Qinghua University. This prestigious academy of learning is taking advantage of its high-tech to turn it into a virtual campus space.

Today, a person in charge of the university announced that Qinghua had scored a break-through progress in its information and computer infrastructure project. That means the students can realize their study and research through the campus network.

The project started in 1996 and now an advanced campus network was completed. It includes an electronic library which can be paired to any of the first rate university in the world, an extensively applicable system for office automation and an online PC-laboratory, the largest of its kind in the country. The most outstanding result of the project is that the network has linked up all dormitories for postgraduate study and all students can enjoy services offered by the students' service center on the net, and a network college also formally opened. In all 11 dormitories for the postgraduates in the university there are several computers in every chamber, namely a total of 2500 computers have been linked up with the Internet, and from this year onwards all the four-year students will have their own e-mail boxes.

Even the work of the logistic department in the university, which used to be regarded as having the least knowledge, has turned out to be an orderly one due to the networking service. Students can register for boarding, book a room for conducting some activities, report for repairing and reserve tickets and buy things on the campus network.

It is learned that 40 % of students in the university have computers, and 100 % of them use the Internet. It's impossible for you not to be on the net, as you have to get to know the curriculum arrangement through it. Otherwise, you'll be lurched in the dark.

But will the online university affect the traditional university education? Dong Yongbing, a person in charge said that the online education and the traditional face-to-face education could be complementary to each other. "Many proficient Internet users will go to class, because network is just a tool, which can't replace the long-accumulated major thoughts", he said.

Hu Dongcheng, Vice-president of Qinghua University, said what the online colleges can afford was not only the new method for traditional education, but also a strong impact on the education concepts. "Our teaching method and target will take a great change, what we should do in the future is to combine the virtual college with the real one", said the vice-president.



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