Prof. WEI Lu of Zhejiang University's College of Media and International Culture, gave a lecture on the creative approaches for journalism and communication to teachers and students of the School of Media and Law on March 11. Presided over by HU Luming, deputy secretary of the Communist Party Committee of the School, the event was also attended by Dean WU Fei, Deputy Dean WANG Junwei and Assistant Dean LI Yijie.

Focusing his lecture on the importance of creativity in paper writing and academic research, Prof. WEI expounded on four creative approaches, namely, new questions, new theories, new methods and new materials, as well as new knowledge, the result of the creative thinking. He believed that new questions should be important, novel and intriguing, and meanwhile relevant to major issues facing mankind; new theories not only refer to the theories never seen before, but also mean further improvement and proof of an existing one; new methods refer to creative research plans and diversified research methods; new materials need to be evidence-based and further analyzed in a progressive manner. Researchers thus obtain new knowledge, interpret new theories, put forth new concepts, explore new methods, and create a new theoretical framework via the above-mentioned four approaches.

His illuminating words are expected to encourage the students present to break new paths.

Starting from the second half of 2021, the School of Media and Law has been inviting renowned experts and scholars at home and abroad to give academic guidance, engage in cultural exchanges, and update teachers and students on the current industrial trends.

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Prof. WEI Lu obtained his Ph.D in communication at Washington State University. He currently serves as Dean of the College of Media and International Culture at Zhejiang University and President of China New Media Communication Association. He has been granted titles like New Century Excellent Talent (the Ministry of Education) and Changjiang Scholars Distinguished Young Professor. He is the recipient of the special government allowances granted by the State Council. He has led several projects at or above the provincial level, such as "The Image of China in the Big Data Era" and "The Visualization of Global Information and Communication Structure". With research interests covering new media communication, international communication and political communication, Prof. WEI has published articles in prestigious journals like Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Mass Communication and Society, Information Research, Telematics and Informatics, Newspaper Research Journal, Journalism & Communication and Communication & Society. He now serves as managing editor of Communication and the Public, editorial board member of Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, and reviewer of a number of SSCI-indexed journals.