“When I graduated in 2008, I came to Jilin University of Foreign Languages to teach. I had many choices at that time, but I was from the Northeast, and that is where I have my roots. I admire the responsibilities of teachers, so I am determined to be a good teacher.” Yang Shurui of the “China-Italy Education” team has been with the Italian department for twelve years. She said with emotion, “JISU was the first and the only university in the province of Jilin to open the Italian major at the time, and now it is also the first university to offer postgraduate education in Italian interpreting for the Master of Translation. For twelve years, JISU has designed a development plan for each of our teachers, and then I finished the job training at the enterprise, went to the University of International Business and Economics to study for a master's degree, and went to Italy for academic visit and exchange.”

The biggest attraction of education comes from the sense of accomplishment in teaching and student cultivation. Under the training of teachers, students from the Italian Department won the championship of the “Italian Bridge” competition held by the Italian Embassy in China and the third prize of the national Italian speech contest. The employment rate of graduates reached 100%, and the counterpart rate of employment majors reached more than 95%. Thanks to the joint efforts of the teachers, the MOOC “Into Italy” was officially launched in 2018. In 2019, it was rated as a provincial-level quality online course and landed on the “Chinese University Foreign Language MOOC Platform”. In 2018, the Italian major became a special high-level major in Jilin Province (Category B); in 2019, it was approved as a provincial first-class major.

The exchange and cooperation among international colleges and universities are powerful arms for foreign language teaching. At present, the Italian Department has carried out educational cooperation with the University of Venice, Università per Stranieri di Siena, University of Turin, University of Picasso, etc., and has reached a cooperation agreement with the University of Turin and Università per Stranieri di Siena for “2+1+2” Bachelor and Master's Continuous degree and for “1+1+0.5” Double Master Degree. The rate of students going abroad reaches 100%, and thirty Italian students are accepted every year to study Chinese and Chinese culture.

In order to serve the development of the local economy, the Italian Department has explored a compound talent training model of “Italian + English + Economics and Trade” around the cultivation of applied, compound, and export-oriented scholar. The matching rate of internship and professional internship reached 100%. The Italian Department also offers courses in international trade and practice, e-commerce, and tour guide practice for students, and provides volunteer service opportunities to participate in various trade fairs and exhibitions in the province during the school year, so that students can have a more comprehensive understanding of the local economic construction in Jilin Province and at the same time develop stronger adaptability to social needs. According to statistics, nearly 35% of graduates choose to work in enterprises and institutions in Jilin and Northeast China.

The leader Zhang Mi said, “We have always been on the road of Italian teaching with love for education, caring for students, gratitude to JISU, and loyalty to the motherland. We put a lot of effort into our work because we hope to pass this love and responsibility to every student’s heart, to illuminate their way forward, to accompany them to become mature, talented and successful, to give them the greatest support and encouragement in learning, and to return to society, so that they can strive to become a strong cornerstone in the process of Sino-Italian cultural exchanges. This way they become useful asset for the country and society. This is our pursuit and dream.”