On the afternoon of March 27, 2026, the international student club recruitment for the new semester at Shanghai Normal University (SHNU) was vibrantly held in front of the International Student Center. Compared to previous years, this year’s recruitment featured several highlights: the scale was expanded, and participation reached a new record, attracting over 300 international students from more than 60 countries. The club matrix was also optimized and upgraded. While retaining classic fields such as artistic performance, cultural experience, and sports competition, a new Language Performance Club was added to further enrich interest options and meet the diverse developmental needs of international students.
During the preparation stage, the International Student Center, in collaboration with the International Students Association, organized club leaders into a task force. They conducted a detailed multilingual survey to understand the interests and preferences of international students, which informed the optimization of club categories and site layout. Meanwhile, bilingual application forms in Chinese and English and diverse promotional posters were designed, while the event’s influence and participation range were continuously expanded through WeChat official account posts and poster displays.
Before the event began, leaders from 10 clubs—covering singing, dancing, language performance, martial arts, table tennis, basketball, football, volleyball, dragon boat, and badminton—completed their booth setups and material preparations, welcoming arriving students with great enthusiasm.
The atmosphere at the event was lively. At each consultation point, club leaders introduced their activities, schedules, and member benefits using a combination of images and text. They patiently answered various questions and provided specific, professional advice based on the individual needs of the students.
Participating students showed high interest and great passion for the diverse club options, creating an atmosphere that was relaxed, enjoyable, and well-organized.
Driven by the active organization of the leaders and the variety of club choices, this recruitment event saw more than 200 students eagerly sign up. The Dragon Boat Team was the most popular, with 68 applicants, while the newly established Language Performance Club attracted 36 students. Other clubs also received enthusiastic registrations from new members.
This recruitment activity is an important practice for Shanghai Normal University to deepen the brand construction of “Study at SHNU” and create an internationalized, diverse campus ecosystem. Currently, all clubs have progressively completed their first member meetings and have orderly launched routine activities such as regular training and themed salons. In the future, the clubs will collaborate to launch signature projects like cross-cultural exchange activities and friendship matches between Chinese and international youth. They also plan to showcase their club achievements during the “International Cultural Festival” in May, continuing to release the infinite possibilities of an internationalized campus.
