New generation, new campus life

Birds of a feather

Universities, on the other hand, are keeping pace to provide better services for these millennial students.

Customized dormitory distribution takes the lead in meeting student demand for a comfortable dorm life at Shanghai University.

"We conducted an online survey on students' basic information, including habits, schedules for study and rest, and hobbies, to generally avoid possible dormitory strife," said Sun Yuhua, deputy Party secretary at the university's school of sociology and political science.

"For instance, people in one dorm share similar bedtime schedules and study goals," Sun adds.

Wang Ziqing at Shanghai University favors the new system, because he wants roommates who "keep early hours" and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

New technology has been applied to facilitate the admission process for international students.

Fudan University established an online bilingual student information system in Chinese and English for more than 300 foreign freshmen from 46 countries.

At Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the identity of international students can be recognized, when they stand in front of an AI device which collects real-time images and compares the information with that in the database.

Yang Zecheng, a freshman at East China Normal University, agrees that the development of the internet has led a more convenient and colorful life for the new generation.

"Thanks to mobile payments, everything is cashless at campus, either paying for tuition or using washing machines," said Yang.

"Compared with former generations, most of my friends choose online shopping for new things, instead of packing all their stuff at home."

To diversify extracurricular life, new rooms for multiple functions, like yoga, calligraphy and chess, have been constructed at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Also, at Fudan, 31 buildings for undergraduate accommodation, which are equipped with more than 1,000 items of environmentally friendly furniture, have been renovated during the three-month-long summer holiday.

"I hope these changes will help students easily adjust to the challenges and changes," said Li Shuhua, instructor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.