The event of “The Humanities Education and Academic Exchange Month for UESTC Graduates " was lunched for 2 weeks since June 19. During this period, a large number of well-known experts and scholars came to the UESTC to deliver up to 30 high-level lectures with 61 courses offered for graduate students. Among all the lectures and courses offered, the lecture titled “Brexit and International Trade” and the course titled “International Relations in a Changing World” organized by School of Public Affairs and Administration and Center for West African Studies enjoyed high popularity.  

Professor Nora Ann Colton, who is from University College London communicated with tutors and students from UESTC on the theme of “Brexit and International Trade”. She initially introduced it from “Brexit” and  its role played between the EU and the UK, and used the British foreign trade as an example to illustrate the relationship between the UK and other EU countries. Later, Professor Nora Ann Colton explained the reasons, history and impact of Brexit on Europe. She believed that Brexit was caused by special political, economic and cultural factors, and she analyzed the process of Brexit through the Brexit voting data. Then, she focused on the regional development imbalance caused by the geographical location and historical factors in the UK, and looked forward to the trade and global economy after the Brexit. She also believed that the UK should focus on reducing the regional development gap in the future. During the lecture, Prof. Nora used examples and theories to explain the relationship between Brexit and global trade. She said that in current world ,changes from any country would influence the world. During the session for Q and A, Prof. Nora responded them one by one, and she encouraged everyone to pay more attention to focus on international politics, expand  their horizons and actively cultivate global thinking.

Professor Fawaz A. Gerges from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) offered a high-level humanities course titled “International Relations in a Changing World” to UESTC graduate students. The course focuses on changing international relations, explaining the historical development and evolution of international relations with basic concepts and frameworks and he analyzed its disputes, such as the subjective nature of international relations, differences in foreign policy and international relations and the main theories in international relations. The course provided an  explanation of international relations profiles, the concept of power in international relations, collective security and international relations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their impacts on international relations and the new international order.