On the afternoon of February 26, the first academic salon of the semester was successfully held in Conference Room 308. Professor Zhuo Wuyang, Dean of the school, along with over 30 faculty members, attended the event. Hosted by Professor Song Xiaolong, Associate Dean for Research, the salon invited Dr. Yu Jiali—who recently secured funding from the Ministry of Education's Humanities and Social Sciences Fund—and Dr. Yu Huan, recipient of a Shanghai Soft Science Project grant, to share insights and experiences on research proposal development with early-career faculty.

In his opening address, Dean Zhuo affirmed the significance of the academic salon series and expressed high expectations for young faculty’s scholarly development. He emphasized that early-career academics represent the core force driving the school’s future growth, and the salon, as a carefully designed platform for exchange, aims to provide more opportunities for learning, sharing, and collaboration—helping everyone achieve breakthroughs and progress together on their research paths.

Dr. Yu Jiali then elaborated on key aspects of proposal development—including topic selection, proposal writing, and research design—drawing from her successful application for the Ministry of Education fund. She stressed that topics should align with both disciplinary frontiers and national strategic needs, while balancing innovation and feasibility. Dr. Yu Huan, focusing on the characteristics of soft science projects, shared her reflections on the application process. She noted that Shanghai Soft Science Projects require integration of theoretical frameworks with real-world issues in Shanghai, suggesting that topics should address pressing regional challenges.

Wrapping up the event, Professor Song Xiaolong shared his experience applying for the National Natural Science Foundation of China and encouraged young faculty to refine their proposals, persist in submissions, and never give up easily. He particularly highlighted interdisciplinary collaboration as a vital way to enhance project competitiveness and urged early-career scholars to actively expand academic networks and strengthen exchanges with researchers from other fields.

The salon provided significant guidance for young faculty in applying for vertical research projects and established a robust platform for interdisciplinary academic exchange and collaboration.