Shanghai Dian Ji University

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gonzo

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Shanghai Dian Ji University
« on: April 24, 2007, 09:57:58 AM »
On the SW outskirts of Shanghai, in the district of Minhang, this former technical college attained university status a few years ago.
I finished there in 04, and their page on chinatefl:
http://www.chinatefl.com/shanghai/teach/shauc.htm
is just as dated, but I've kept up some contact with the place, so information should be fairly accurate.

The School: more than 10,000 students, with two main campuses a short school bus ride apart. You may be required to teach at both. The place has undergone extensive modernisation over recent years. The main campus has some impressive facilities, though its still possible to find yourself in a Soviet style classroom woth a lectern at the front. The biggest majors on offer are electrical, supplying technicians to feed China's growth. You'll see earnest young men [mostly] in blue boiler suits attempting to master a c.1960 lathe. However, on the bright side, the biggest demand for FTs is in the female dominated Economics and Business streams. Lots of bright young female things, many who will surprise with their English. There's some good classes to be had, and generally of spoken English only. That doesn't rule out getting a dreary reading or writing class, however!

Administration: Despite constant presonnel changes, the FAO office was always accommodating, and took the welfare of the FTs seriously: and some of these folk were demanding, I can tell you.
Most recently, academic management of FTs had moved from the English Dept to the Economics Dept, which made sense as that was where most of FT teaching time was spent.

Salary and conditions:
It was a base 8,000 when I was there. They now seem to offer a range from 7-8K. Airfare is not paid, BUT a standard contract clause was an 8,000 bonus after one year: much the same. Salary was paid into a bank account, with only a few minor glitches. The contract stipulates up to 24 hours a week. I only taught this in one semester of five. Twenty was an average. Extra work with affiliated businesses [the school is owned by Shanghai Electric] was regularly available. Housing is on campus. A refurbished wing of FT apartments offered three main rooms, all with AC, and "Western Style" plumbing and kitchen. The school was good with repairs and updating. Free computer and internet were provided. Security is excellent, and students are unable to access FTs out of hours without your express permission.

The District:
Good range of local facilities, and a pleasing supply of blue skies and fresh air. Supermarkets big and small, Maccas and KFC, a wide range of local restaurants, major bank branches are all there. "Downtown" is about an hour away with two fast, clean, convenient train rides doing the job. Heading the other way, a 5 mao ferry trip finds you in farming country.

In summary, the school gets a good few applicants. They have recently shown an aversion to young males, after one ran amok, and fifty plus females, due to one shreiking harpie from hell. However, they may have gotten over these by now. They prefer people with a background in education - dare I say teachers - but if you have a good university track record in China, hold more than a TEFL, and want to live in the big smoke, but minus the smoke, for a while, its a place worth considering. BTW, if you use the link above, don't  go through China TEFL/ Hangzhou Helen [some horror tales there], but direct to the school. They get lots of emails, so a faxed CV may gain more attention.
RIP Phil Stephens.
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