A Third Lecture for China Media Leaders took place at Shanghai Jiaotong University on Monday.

Organized by the Shanghai Academic Degrees Committee, the two-week event has attracted more than 350 postgraduates from domestic and overseas universities who are studying journalism and communications.

More than 50 experts and scholars from academia and the media will give lectures on media related topics such as new media and social development and the roles opinion leaders play in society.

Besides that event, a Sino-US meeting is to be held on July 24 and provides a forum for discussing types of new media and their changes and developing trends.

"Researchers in academia and industry are now paying more attention to questions about how media play a role in spreading China's voice and improving its soft power in the world as China steadily improves its international political and economic status," said Xie Yungeng, deputy director of Shanghai Jiaotong University's institute of arts and humanities.

"The primary goal of the annual event is to build a means of communication for experts from academia and industry and for students, as well as to break down the school and geographical restrictions that exist in media education," he said.

wanghongyi@chinadaily.com.cn