Xie Jingru, a teacher at the School of Art and Design at Tianhua College, Shanghai Normal University, conducts online thesis defenses with her students May 11. [Photo/jiading.gov.cn]

Xie Jingru, a teacher at the School of Art and Design at Tianhua College, Shanghai Normal University, invited her students to do online thesis defenses May 11.

The online edition has the same sections as traditional offline defenses, with students first introducing their works, inspirations and methods of creation, and then the teachers raising questions and offering suggestions for revision.

Cao Xinguang, a senior student, designed a series of digital paintings called Sand Sea, which shows the spirit of a group of people facing difficulties, continuing to move forward and not being afraid of sand and death.

Remarks from Xie went straight to the point: "Whether it is fantasy or realistic art, it must be supported by a real architecture, and your research on that part is never enough." She also shared a picture as a reference and instructed Cao to improve his works in certain aspects.

The whole defense ran smoothly as teachers could see the students' works more directly and clearly from the screen, while a teacher named Zhang Chi said lack of face-to-face interaction was one problem of online defenses .

"Physical and eye contact between students and teachers are common in traditional defenses but almost impossible on the internet. So, students may be more nervous and less interactive online," Zhang said.

This year, 600 students from the school will attend online thesis defenses. They will be divided into 30 groups with each student sharing their work and answering question in 15 to 20 minutes. The students need to improve their works according to the teachers' suggestions. Their defenses will also be videoed and kept as documented materials.

The school will open an online exhibition of the students' works, displaying their efforts and achievements over the past four years.

Graduation works designed by students at the School of Art and Design at Tianhua College, Shanghai Normal University, are exhibited online. [Photo/jiading.gov.cn]