On the morning of 15 September, the 2026 Top-Table Final Competition of T-Week and Scholarship Awards Ceremony was held at TB201 of the Sino-British College. Attendees included Laura Bishop, Executive Dean of SBC; Zhang Zheng, Deputy Party Secretary and Vice Dean of SBC; Gordon Callan, Head of the School of Languages, Education and Cultures; and EAP lecturers Jon Cooper, Elizabeth Mitchell, and James Leggate. Freshman tutors, student mentors, and all T-Week participants were also present.
Group photo
The nine-day T-Week centred on the theme What benefits does AI offer society and what problems should we try to avoid?, blending academic learning, practical exploration, and cross-cultural exchange to create a rich and multifaceted growth experience for participants. Seven faculty members — Adrian Chong, Head of School of Engineering and Computing, Jeffrey Wang, Head of School of Business and Management; and Jon Cooper, Lela Arizanovic-Pancic, James Leggate, Ella Fan, and Elizabeth Mitchell — delivered a series of courses covering English language enhancement, principles of management, engineering design practice, academic research methods, and cross-cultural communication. These courses inspired critical thinking from cutting-edge perspectives and deepened students' capabilities through practical tasks, helping freshmen quickly adapt to an international learning environment.
During T-Week, Executive Dean Laura Bishop welcomed all participants in her opening address, providing a detailed introduction to the University and College's distinctive features, faculty strengths, campus resources, and student support and development systems. She highly commended the students' solid academic foundations and positive learning attitudes. She encouraged them to make full use of Shanghai's resources as an international metropolis, to immerse themselves in the historical and cultural heritage surrounding USST's Fuxing Road campus, and to embark on a fulfilling, diverse, and challenging university life at SBC. She stated that SBC will fully support every student's growth and development and welcomed open communication at any time.
Executive Dean Laura Bishop addresses the students
Centred on the AI theme, T-Week culminated in the Top-Table final competition, which assessed academic inquiry and comprehensive communication skills. In line with T-Week's academic requirements, students independently completed literature reviews and research projects, drawing on the professional knowledge and research methods acquired in class, and presented their findings in English. Throughout the process, they honed academic thinking, logical expression, and critical reasoning. During the Top-Table final, judges conducted a comprehensive evaluation of students' learning outcomes, research capabilities, and overall competence based on their presentations and on-site defence performance. Meanwhile, student mentors provided one-on-one tutoring outside class hours, helping participants refine their research approaches, improve their project frameworks, and optimise their presentations. Students repeatedly polished their research content and presentation skills, striving for rigorous argumentation and fluent delivery, demonstrating a scholarly spirit of pragmatism and enterprise.
T-Week courses
After two rounds of competition — preliminary and final — ten students advanced to the Top-Table final stage to compete for scholarships. At the final, contestants presented their research in English, exploring AI's value and risks across fields including education, healthcare, business, arts, and publishing. Their clear thinking, fluent delivery, and confident composure fully demonstrated the academic calibre and comprehensive abilities of SBC's newest students. The judging panel conducted a comprehensive assessment based on content rigour, presentation delivery, language proficiency, and adaptability, ultimately determining the various awards.
Finalists deliver their presentations at the Top-Table final
In their speeches, student representatives Ma Yunmeng and Huang Xin expressed gratitude to SBC for providing the learning platform and to faculty and student mentors for their careful guidance. They noted that through T-Week, their research, presentation, and teamwork skills improved significantly, and they pledged to continue striving forward without disappointing expectations. Student mentor Zhang Siyan, a 2024 Event Management student, also shared her reflections. She said the Top-Table experience gave her a sense of the power of legacy — from beneficiary to supporter, she was delighted to accompany the new cohort's growth and hoped this spirit would continue to flourish at the College.
The successful hosting of this T-Week and Top-Table final competition not only provided freshmen with a quality platform for academic enhancement, self-expression, and exchange and cooperation, but also further demonstrated SBC's educational characteristics of internationalisation, practice orientation, and capability building. In 2026, which marks the 120th anniversary of USST and the 20th anniversary of SBC, the College will continue to leverage its strengths in Sino-foreign cooperative education, uphold its educational philosophy of Responsible Leadership, Enterprise and Innovation, and Cultural Empathy, and continuously optimise its talent cultivation model, injecting stronger momentum into student growth and the College's high-quality development.
Various awards presented
