Xiamen University’s School of International Relations was established in December 2006.It was based on its predecessor Academy of Southeast Asia Studies which was founded in 1956 as the earliest research institute on Southeast Asia and international affairs. In 1996,the institute was upgraded to Research School. Afterwards, the school became a branch of sub-item of “University of 211 Project”. In September 2000, Xiamen University’s Center for Southeast Asia Studies, whose base was Research School for Southeast Asia Studies, was approved as the “Key Institute in University of Humanities and Social Science” by Ministry of Education. In November 2004, the Research School was elected to the National Research Center for the “985 Project” Philosophy and Social Science Innovation Base.
Currently, School of International Relations/Research School for Southeast Asia Studies has The Department of International Relations, The Department of Diplomacy and Overseas Chinese Affairs, The Institute for the Study of Politics and Economy in Southeast Asia, The Institute of Overseas Chinese Studies, The Center of History of China’s International Relations. Besides, there are the STUDIES OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN AFFARIS and SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES editorial department, the library and the administrative office.
The School set 2 bachelor’s major(International Relations and Diplomacy); Master’s programs(world economy, international relations, specialized history); Ph.d programs(history of relations between China and Southeast Asia, economy of Southeast Asia, international relations). And the School also has 1 subproject in national “211 Project”, 1 Philosophy and Social Science Innovation Base in the “985 Project”, and 1 provincial priority discipline.
The Institute of Malaysia Studies, established in December 2004, is the corresponding to the China Research Institute, University of Malaya under the suggestion of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. Established in May 2008, the Saw Centre of Southeast Asia Studies was sponsored by Professor Su Ruifu of National University of Singapore.
There are 43 employees in service including 30 full-time teachers in the School. Among these teachers, all of them have got their doctoral degrees, accounting for 100%; There are 8 professors , including 6 doctoral advisors, 13 associate professors. Associate professors and above account for 70%; Young teachers under 45 account for 56.67%; 16 teachers possess overseas education backgrounds accounting for 53.33%. Professor Li Yiping serves as the Dean, Fan Li as the Secretary of the Party, Professor Wang Qin, Shi Xueqin, Fan Hongwei as associate Deans.
In“11th Five Year Plan”period, the School undertook 35 research programs as the leading person, 32 of them are provincial or above, 3 are international cooperation projects; There are 36 monographs or translated works, 373 published papers, 205 of which are published in CSSCI. The School also obtained 9 provincial and above outstanding social science achievements as well as outstanding teaching awards. It provided consulting services for Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Ministry of Commerce, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, and was finally adopted. Up until September 2011, there are 157 undergraduates, 151 graduate students, including 95 graduate student and 56 doctoral students(17 international students, 36 international masters).
In recent years, the School actively implemented international strategy, expanding foreign academic exchanges. It received dozens of international scholars every year, including those who are well-known in the field of international issues and Southeast Asia studies; large international academic conferences and dozens of seminars delivered by foreign scholars were also been held. Both teachers and researchers would do field research for a month or more, and publishing over 10 papers in foreign countries.
The School possesses advanced facilities, being generally considered to have the best collections on Southeast Asia in China. The separate library accumulate an extensive collections of 53,000 volumes of books including more than 20,000 books both in Chinese and foreign languages; SOUTHEAST ASIAN AFFARIS(started publication in 1974) and SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES(started publication in 1957) are academic publications the Research School publish at home and abroad. Meanwhile, the teaching laboratories and multimedia classrooms have been built, as well as an English academic website (http://nanyang.xmu.edu.cn) and a Southeast Asian research data base.
In recent years, the School focuses on basic research, paying attention to application research, strengthening discipline and team construction, improving levels of postgraduate education, participating in government decision consulting, accelerating the construction of data information systems, and gradually form a multidisciplinary, comprehensive system of Southeast Asian study and teaching, becoming the center of Southeast Asian basic research, talent training, decision consulting and data information. Stepping into 21st century, the School will continue to be guided by national development target and great demands, aiming at academic frontier of Southeast Asia study, keeping and enhancing the subject characteristics and advantages of Southeast Asia study, improving comprehensive strength and international competiveness continuously, to pay efforts to construct the School to be nationwide first-class and world famous academic institution.
