A student plays the accordion at the 2015 International Culture Festival held by Donghua University.

Shanghai-based Donghua University will launch two new master's programs to overseas students in 2016, a move to further promote its international development.

The two programs are Information & Communications Engineering and Power Electronics & Power Transmission, which will be fully taught in English. The programs' design has fully considered overseas students' language and cultural background, as well as their employment needs upon graduation, said Liu Chunhong, vice president of Donghua University.

In addition to classroom study, overseas students are also given opportunities to do an internship at enterprises. After graduation, these students can choose to work in an enterprise in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and Zhangjiang High Technology Park, according to the university.

Donghua University is among the first universities in China to enroll international students. After decades' of development, more than 4,700 overseas students from 140 countries and regions are studying at the university.

In 2007, the university held its first International Culture Festival, which aims to form an exchange and communication platform for its Chinese and international students, and cultivate students' global perspective.

This year, Donghua University announced the establishment of a base for overseas students to experience Chinese culture. The base will cooperate with local cultural organizations to jointly carry out Chinese cultural programs for overseas students. For example, the Changning Folk Culture Center has arranged a series of Chinese culture-related courses for overseas students, such as tea arts, Guqin music (Chinese stringed instrument) and, Chinese painting.

wanghongyi@chinadaily.com.cn