On May 18, 2021, the class meeting of the 20th-level Statistics Experimental Class was held in the 1114 report hall of the School of Statistics and Management, marking a perfect conclusion to the selection work of the 20th-level Statistics Experimental Class and commencing the cultivation of the new generation of outstanding talents.
The Statistics Experimental Class is positioned to cultivate academic interdisciplinary talents who possess a solid foundation in mathematics and computer science, a profound mathematical basis, and excellent statistical thinking abilities, while also mastering extensive knowledge in multidisciplinary fields such as economics, finance, and management. These individuals should have an innovative spirit and comprehensive academic literacy for discovering and solving problems. Relying on the national first-class statistics program development point and the leading project of Shanghai's first-class undergraduate construction plan, our school continuously improves and optimizes the training system for the experimental class, striving to create a multi-faceted innovation and capability enhancement mechanism, and vigorously promoting the cultivation of top-tier talents. The college attaches great importance to the selection of the "Statistics Experimental Class," with Vice Dean Wu Chunjie, who is in charge of teaching, coordinating the entire selection process in an orderly manner.
On March 30, the college held a mobilization meeting for the experimental class. The meeting was hosted by Vice Dean Wu Chunjie, attended by teachers Wang Ti, Li Tao, Zhao Haibing, Chang Ning, Li Ting, and others. During the meeting, Teacher Li Tao provided detailed information about the experimental class project to the students present, including the background of the experimental class, talent training objectives and positioning, achievements in cultivating top-tier talent, and the selection process for the experimental class, which students are most concerned about. Teachers Zhao Haibing and Chang Ning supplemented the introduction with the training plans for the Data Science and Economic Statistics majors, deepening students' understanding of academic planning in college. Finally, Teacher Wu Chunjie and Teacher Wang Ti emphasized the requirements for students' mathematical learning abilities and their capacity to independently complete projects, expressing their earnest expectations for the students.
After the presentation, our college issued a notice regarding the selection process for new students in the "Statistics Experimental Class" at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics to all undergraduate students of the class of 2020. The notice clarified the selection criteria and application method for the experimental class. Students from our college and the foreign language college who are interested in changing their major actively registered.
On April 16, after a strict selection process, the interview work for the experimental class selection officially began. Two interview groups led by teachers Wu Chunjie, Zhao Haibing, Li Ting, and Zhuang Mei, along with teachers Zhang Mingfang, Wang Ti, Wang Shaoli, and Wu Mengyun conducted assessments for students interested in applying to join the experimental class. The interviews mainly assessed students' communication skills, knowledge level, and overall quality. The new students generally showcased their excellent spirit and solid fundamental knowledge, and boldly introduced the activities and achievements they participated in during high school to the teachers. Students' courage to express themselves and their ability to present themselves were also recognized by the teachers. Through a scientific, strict, open, and fair selection process, 35 students were chosen. On April 27, through the school's transfer major selection, 6 students were selected, forming the final 41 students of the 2020 Statistics Experimental Class.
On May 18th, the college held the first collective class meeting for students in the experimental class since the selection process concluded. The college leadership attaches great importance to the training and development of talents in the experimental class. To enhance the cohesion of the experimental class and provide students with a deeper understanding of it, the college invited several experienced teachers to share their insights during the meeting. The meeting was hosted by the undergraduate counselor for the class of 2021, Teacher Zhuang Mei. Attendees included Vice Dean Teacher Wu Chunjie, Assistant Dean Teacher Bai Yang, Assistant Dean Teacher Huang Mian, Director of the Undergraduate Program Teacher Li Tao, as well as class advisors Teacher Song Xinyu and Teacher Li Ting. The teachers shared their suggestions and expectations for the experimental class students from different perspectives. Teachers Huang Mian, Bai Yang, and Li Tao reminded students to think ahead about how to plan their college lives; the
two class advisors not only offered advice on future studies but also encouraged students to engage with different people and fields, and to actively seek help from teachers when encountering problems. Finally, Vice Dean Wu Chunjie presented three hopes for the new cohort of students in the statistics experimental class: first, to balance study with other activities, prioritizing learning above all; second, to maintain harmonious relationships among classmates, learning both skills and how to interact with others in college; and third, to encourage participation in extracurricular projects, fully utilizing independent thinking abilities and individual opinions.
The Experimental Class of the School of Statistics and Management is positioned to cultivate a strong foundation, in-depth expertise, and top-tier composite talents urgently needed by society. While ensuring that students master the core knowledge and framework of modern statistics, it is dedicated to focusing on cultivating students' logical thinking ability, independent thinking ability, and innovative research ability. Since its establishment in September 2014, a majority of the graduates from the Experimental Class have received offers from renowned domestic and international institutions with outstanding results, continuing to delve into the research field of statistics. Students have also achieved excellent results in academic competitions and extracurricular activities; in May 2021 alone, students from the Experimental Class won two Shanghai Special Awards at the "Challenge Cup," as well as first and second prizes at the national mathematics competition, achieving historic breakthroughs that fully reflect the results of the school's long-term commitment to cultivating top-tier statistical talents. In the future, our school will continue to use the Experimental Class as a starting point to deeply promote comprehensive teaching reforms and comprehensively improve the effectiveness of education and teaching.
