hanghai Academy of Global Governance and Area Studies (SAGGAS) helped young scholars of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) publish 50 antivirus articles in the column Oriental Thinktank of news website Eastday since the outbreak of COVID-19.

These articles themed COVID-19 and relevant culture differences have been viewed nearly seven million times from March to May. For young scholars who don't deal much with the media, SAGGAS is a timely channel.

Zhao Bi, researcher of the Center for British Studies of SISU, published several articles in “Eastday”, with the total views reaching over 1.95 million. Her articles, including Would British Be Next Italy and How Long can Rab Resist After Johnson Absent for Illness, comforted many parents of oversea students.

“My parents have been worrying about me since the COVID-19 outbreak in Britain. However, they became more relieved after reading your articles and knowing more about my situation,” a student now studying for Ph.D in Britain sent a WeChat message to Zhao in mid-March.

Zhao said she was surprised and pleased that her articles could offer helpful facts.

The article named Discrediting China Should Not Be the Main Theme of Western Media was written by Gao Jian, a researcher of SISU’s Center for British Studies. It has been heard more than 117,000 times in Himalaya, a popular audio platform in China. Ten articles written by other SISU scholars were heard more than 450,000 times in total.

During the outbreak of COVID-19, teachers from SAGGAS collaborated 15 students majoring in international politics, translation and journalism to issue epidemic-related reports, which have earned over 25,000 views. The reports were to conclude briefings from different research centres including European Collaborative Research, China-Arab Research Center on Reform and Development, and School of Asian and African Studies.

“I’m glad my expertise helps the public understand foreign situation, public opinions and think-tank ideas about COVID-19,” said Chen Yixin, a senior majoring in International Politics. “SAGGAS has provided us with chances to build our academic capacity under the idea of Global at Home.”

Having worked at SAGGAS since 2018, Chen is now responsible for translating news on epidemic situation in South Korea.

SAGGAS was established at SISU in September 2018, supported by China’s Ministry of Education and the Shanghai Municipality. With the principle of “Global at Home”, it focuses on China's participation in global governance and foreign exchanges.