Surrey International Institute, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics (SII, DUFE) closely aligns with the university's disciplinary development priorities and its own strategic positioning, and has been actively deepening comprehensive cooperation with the University of Surrey. With the joint support of both universities, the "DUFE-Surrey Joint Research Center" was officially established in January 2024. Affiliated to SII, the center is anchored to DUFE's "Double First-Class" construction objectives. It fully integrates high-quality resources from both universities, encourages faculty to conduct research targeting major national strategic needs and local development realities, and steadily advances the institute's "organized research" initiative.
1. Strengthening Research Capabilities: Dual Breakthroughs in Paper Publication and Project Approval
Since 2024, SII has witnessed remarkable improvement in its faculty's research capacity, delivering a series of landmark achievements. In terms of academic output, SII faculty have published a total of 55 academic papers, among which 48 appear in leading authoritative journals indexed in CSSCI, CSCD, SSCI and SCI, demonstrating high academic standards and outstanding research quality.
For research project approvals, SII has secured two national-level projects funded by the National Social Science Fund of China (NSSFC). In August 2024, the project led by Professor Fangfang Shi, jointly applied with faculty from the University of Surrey, Dialectical Leadership Behavior: Leadership Theory and Practice Rooted in Traditional Chinese Culture, was approved as a Chinese Academic Translation Project under the NSSFC. The overseas distribution of its translated version will strongly promote the global dissemination of traditional Chinese culture, Chinese-style management theories and localized management research, and enhance their international influence. In December 2025, the project led by Professor Da Shi, Multi-modal Data-Driven Mixed Paradigm Research on Tourist Behavior, was approved as a Post-Funding Project under the NSSFC. This research opens a new path for tourism studies, and carries significant implications for enhancing the competitiveness of the tourism industry and advancing its high-quality development.
2. Focusing on Social Needs: Delivering Evidence-Based Policy Recommendations
SII attaches great importance to enhancing its social service capacity. It actively organizes faculty to conduct in-depth research on key and challenging issues in national and local economic development, and produce high-quality policy recommendations. Centering on key areas including rural revitalization, elderly care and childcare service improvement, sci-tech financial system construction, duty-free economy development and low-altitude economy growth, SII faculty have given full play to their professional expertise and put forward targeted, practical suggestions, contributing "SII's wisdom" to support government decision-making.
3. Leveraging Educational Advantages: New Progress in Textbook Publication
SII gives full play to its strengths as an independent educational entity, pooling resources from multiple parties to promote the publication of English textbooks for specialized courses. By collaborating with domestic universities to co-edit and publish bilingual textbooks, SII facilitates the popularization of Sino-foreign cooperative education outcomes, expands its influence in relevant academic fields, and accelerates the construction of a Chinese-specific academic discourse system. In December 2024, the first set of national English textbooks for core tourism management courses, led by Professor Da Shi in collaboration with Yunnan University, Shandong University, Xi'an International Studies University and Beijing International Studies University, was officially published. The first batch of this series includes five textbooks: Tourist Consumer Behavior, Tourism Destination Management, Tourism Resources, Chinese Tourism Culture and Introduction to Tourism.
This textbook series fills the long-standing gap in English teaching materials for core compulsory courses in tourism management programs in China, marking a key breakthrough in the internationalization of China's tourism education. It provides critical teaching resources for cultivating tourism management talents with a global vision and cross-cultural communication competence, and injects new impetus into the internationalization process of China's tourism education.
4. Outstanding Teaching Outcomes: Provincial Awards Recognize SII's Strength
In March 2025, the Liaoning Provincial Department of Education announced the results of the 2025 Liaoning Provincial Undergraduate Teaching Achievement Exhibition Competition. SII stood out in the selection process, with two projects winning awards. The project led by SII Dean Professor Tao Meng, Innovation and Practice of“Local Internationalized”Talent Training Model Under the Guidance of Ideological and Political Education, won the First Prize. The project led by Professor Da Shi, Alliance Empowerment and Local Practice: Building a Collaborative Innovation Ecosystem for Internationalized Talent Training Serving Northeast China Revitalization, won the Second Prize. These awards fully demonstrate SII's profound accumulation and outstanding strength in undergraduate education and talent cultivation, and provide strong motivation and guidance for the institute's future teaching and talent development work.
Looking ahead, SII will continue to uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China, deepen its in-depth cooperation with the University of Surrey, and make sustained efforts in both scientific research and teaching, to continuously deliver new breakthroughs and remarkable achievements.