【Words from a Distinguished Teacher】
In the arena of journalism, I am your teacher—and also your comrade-in-arms.
News reporting is a process of constant questioning. Therefore, journalism classrooms should also be spaces of continual inquiry. Please preserve your curiosity and critical spirit—these are the most precious and fundamental qualities of outstanding journalists.
When people speak of “anti–involution,” journalism courses are, in fact, pushing you outward—beyond the classroom and even beyond campus—to interview, to listen, and to think. Resisting involution through exploration, and resisting anxiety through critical thinking—this is the value of these courses far beyond GPA.
Affectionately known by students as “Teacher Yan,” Yan Xiaoying from the School of Media and Communication has captivated countless students with her compelling courses. She approaches every class with dedication, enabling students to “gain not only knowledge, but also invaluable life experience and ways of understanding the world.” The courses she leads have been recognized as National First-Class Undergraduate Courses and Shanghai Model Undergraduate Classrooms, and have received major honors including First Prize at the National Teaching Innovation Competition for College Teachers, Special Prize at the Shanghai Curriculum Ideological and Political Teaching Design Exhibition, Top Ten ‘Kaiyuan’ Teachers, and the Excellence in Teaching Award.
Bringing Frontline Journalism Practice into the Classroom: Teaching New Media Ecosystems in Real Time
Media Convergence and News Planning was the first course Yan Xiaoying launched after joining Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The course comprises five modules—Media Convergence Theory, The New Communication Environment, Integrated News Production, Convergent Communication Strategies, and International Communication in the Converged Media Era—all centered on the core concept of “integration.” It helps students understand the history of media reform, master media convergence theory, and enhance their journalistic production skills.
Yan introduced an innovative “immersive, scenario-based teaching” approach. From the beginning of the semester, students simulate real newsroom operations by forming “virtual editorial departments.” Each team develops its own brand identity and editorial strategy, competing collaboratively throughout the term. In addition to teaching journalistic techniques in class, Yan regularly visits students’ reporting and filming sites, leads discussions, revises plans, and guides students through the full workflow of planning–reporting–editing–publishing.
Over five years of implementation, successive cohorts of “virtual editorial teams” have focused on campus stories—telling scientists’ innovation stories, examining general education amid AI-driven reform, and documenting the lives of campus security guards, cleaners, and sanitation workers—while also engaging society at large. Students have analyzed juvenile crime through data journalism and portrayed rural revitalization in Wufang Village, Fengxian District, Shanghai, based on field research.
Under Yan’s meticulous guidance, course assignments evolved “from homework into publishable works.” Student projects have appeared in Wenhui Daily, China Central Television (CCTV), and other mainstream outlets, and have won awards in competitions organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Chinese Association of Journalism Education, and China Daily.
The course received an A0 rating in its first teaching evaluation, ranking among the top ten out of more than 540 humanities courses university-wide. Students frequently describe it as “substantial,” “engaging,” and “enjoyable.” Yan’s initial nervousness on the podium has been replaced by the joy of a genuine two-way connection with students.
“Learning at SJTU” is the most vivid impression the campus has left on Yan Xiaoying. She describes SJTU as a vibrant living organism that is constantly seeking innovation and change, creating an environment that encourages faculty to keep moving forward; this is why her courses continuously evolve and her case studies are updated every cycle. While such an environment requires her to invest significant time and effort in course preparation, she finds the process genuinely enjoyable, and believes that when teaching practice-oriented courses in a field she is passionate about, both preparation and teaching become a unique form of relaxation rather than a burden.
She currently oversees four undergraduate courses that together form a progressive learning ladder in journalism education: News Interviewing and Writing, which builds fundamental skills, cultivates news sensitivity, and shapes journalistic ideals; Video Technology and Multimedia Reporting, which focuses on video production and includes a dedicated AIGC module to ensure students master AI creative tools both conceptually and technically; Media Convergence and News Planning, which integrates core competencies to strengthen students’ news judgment and planning abilities; and Documentary Planning, Filming, and Scriptwriting, which provides hands-on guidance in producing micro-documentaries grounded in humanistic concern.
Three Consecutive Years as Head Teacher of the “Taofen Program”: Exploring New Pathways in Media Talent Cultivation
In 2023, under university and school leadership, the Taofen Program was launched to explore collaborative talent cultivation between universities and the media industry. Yan Xiaoying has served three consecutive years as head teacher, accompanying successive cohorts of Taofen Fellows.
Open to students university-wide, the program cultivates those passionate about journalism. Cohorts II and III included students from 14 schools, covering all humanities disciplines and prioritizing AI-related majors, spanning undergraduate to doctoral levels. The program does not aim to train everyone as journalists, but rather to shape “SJTU graduates with strategic communication knowledge and capabilities.”
Yan actively integrates industry resources, inviting leading media professionals to lecture and share experiences, and implementing a dual-mentor system pairing university faculty with senior editors and reporters.
The Taofen Program continuously delivers high-quality courses that nurture each participant’s pursuit of their aspirations. Within this program, students have listened to the deputy editor-in-chief of Kuaishou Technology explain how AI is applied in media content creation and dissemination; watched renowned documentary director Qin Bo detail every stage of filming and production; studied strategies for international communication; and witnessed firsthand how intelligent broadcasting systems can generate finished content in seconds, and how fingertips moving through the air can be transformed into refined visual works on screen.
Since its launch, the Taofen Program has earned praise from People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and other central media, while inspiring many participants to pursue careers in mainstream journalism.
Founding and Mentoring “Jiaodian SJTU”: Nurturing Ideals among Young Journalists
In 2021, Yan Xiaoying co-founded the student journalism platform “Jiaodian SJTU”, symbolizing the intersection of the times and ideals. Over five years, its influence has expanded across the university, with members from more than ten schools including the School of Computer Science, KoGuan Law School, and the Paris Elite Institute of Technology.
As the only faculty advisor of JiaoDian, Yan Xiaoying brings a professional eye to every planning session and carefully reviews every article. Every Tuesday evening at 8:30 p.m., JiaoDian holds its editorial meeting, turning this space outside the classroom into a “news classroom.” There, working with underclassmen and students from other majors, she not only teaches concrete skills such as interviewing and filming, but also leads by example in cultivating journalistic values—maintaining objectivity, pursuing truth, and engaging interviewees on an equal footing. Often, with more than ten story ideas moving forward at the same time, discussions stretch late into the night.
A focus on people is what she most frequently emphasizes from her experience as a former investigative journalist. When covering major campus events and student life, Jiaodian SJTU consistently adopts a people-centered approach, producing reports that are both in-depth and empathetic. In the first year of the “zero-threshold” major-transfer policy, Jiaodian published the feature story Changing Majors: A Moment of Choice, presenting diverse decisions and life paths; following the launch of the “AI+HI” teaching reform, it released Teachers and Students in University AI Literacy Courses, documenting authentic experiences from both faculty and students. Other pieces—such as The Ordinary Scholarship: An Anti-Meritocracy Practice or Elite Versailles?, All-Night Library During Finals Week, and Under Meritocracy: What Kind of Life Should We Live?—focus on the pressures facing young people and have sparked wide discussion among readers.
Jiaodian SJTU has produced widely discussed reports such as Changing Majors: A Moment of Choice, Teachers and Students in University AI Literacy Courses, and reflections on meritocracy and student pressure. Since its founding, many articles have been recognized in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Network Culture Festival and published in College Students magazine. More importantly, the platform has documented campus life from a youth perspective and given students a voice to society.
Embracing Innovation: Recognized as a National First-Class Undergraduate Course
To meet the demands of new media technologies, Yan continually updates her courses. From an AI+HI perspective, she integrates artificial intelligence with journalism theory to strengthen students’ critical thinking and practical application skills. Media Convergence and News Planning was recognized as a Third-Batch National First-Class Undergraduate Course, and has received SJTU AI-Empowered Course funding and Outstanding AI+ Teaching Case recognition.
In 2024, her team produced the promotional film The Future Proposal for the China International College Students’ Innovation Competition, created entirely using generative AI. It received high praise from Ministry of Education leaders and was broadcast globally during the competition’s championship night.
This year, she introduced more AIGC content into her courses, collaborating with course team members and Zhang Meng, the faculty member in charge of the AIGC Laboratory at the School of Media and Communication, to co-teach the end-to-end applications of generative artificial intelligence and multimodal creation, thereby continuously building a more systematic AIGC teaching framework. With a smile, she tells her students that they should always keep pace with the times and learn the latest technologies—being a media professional means doing one’s best to avoid “growing old.” After completing this module, student Aleraila remarked, “In class, I learned how to generate images using Midjourney, truly got hands-on experience with AIGC, and even incorporated text-to-image and text-to-video creations into assignments for other courses.”
She has since expanded AIGC content, collaborating with Zhang Meng, head of the School of Media and Communication’s AIGC Lab, to teach full-process generative AI and multimodal creation. She also participated in drafting the SJTU Guidelines on the Use of AI in Education (Trial), now released to the public with positive reception.
Beyond teaching, Yan serves as Vice Dean for Teaching at the School of Media and Communication and Party Branch Secretary of the Journalism Faculty Branch. Despite heavy responsibilities, she remains closely connected with students, offering guidance whenever needed.
Students often say: “Teacher Yan’s office is my favorite place. A hug after a setback or a conversation when I’m lost can smooth the turbulence of growth.” “With a coffee, a piece of cake, and an afternoon there, my problems start to find solutions—or at least I know someone is listening.”
【Profile of a Distinguished Teacher】
Yan Xiaoying is a recipient of the First Prize of the 2025 Shanghai Jiao Tong University Teaching and Mentorship Award. She is an Associate Professor and Vice Dean at the School of Media and Communication, head of multiple National First-Class Undergraduate Courses, and homeroom teacher of the Zou Taofen Excellence Program for Media Talent Development. She has received First Prize at the National Teaching Innovation Competition, Special Prize at the Shanghai Teaching Innovation Competition, Top Ten “Kaiyuan” Teacher, and the Excellence in Teaching Award. She is a four-time winner of the China Journalism Award, China’s highest journalism honor, and has been received by President Xi Jinping. She has won more than 30 national and ministerial-level journalism and documentary awards, including the China Radio, Film and Television Awards, Magnolia Awards, NPC Good News Award, Shanghai Journalism Award, and Silver Dove Award.
Source: School of Media and Communication ; Office of Faculty Affairs ; News Center
Translated by: Rebecca
Proofread by：Zara
