This is an ordinary class in Tianjin University ofScience and Technology. During the two hoursof the fashion design course, the classroomhas been soundless.

This is the first special higher education technologyinstitute for deaf people in China, andthe fourth of its kind in the world. Since itsfounding 11 years ago, over 400 students havegraduated from here, working in a variety ofindustries such as networking, fashion designand so on so forth.

The institute now provides two bachelor’s degreeeducations, which are Computer Scienceand Technology, and Art Design in Fashion,and one vocational diploma, which is FashionDesign and Craftwork. Presently, there are over200 deaf students from some 20 provinces,municipalities and autonomous regions studyinghere.

Based on the study on deaf students’ cognitivestructure and thinking patterns, the institute hasset up the goal of nurturing “competitive professionalpeople who are well-balanced in theirdevelopment of knowledge, competence andmoral making and who are self-esteemed, selfconfident,self-empowered and self-reliant andable to participate in social competitions” in theprinciple of equality, participation and sharing.

The institute has achieved a break-through in traditionalconservative special education in China,attaching importance to an “integrating and involving”education environment, letting ordinarystudents and special students share same livingenvironment and extra curriculum activities. Onlyduring classroom environment are special teachingmethods designed for students with hearingimpairment. As a result, the deaf students areable to integrate and involve into the mainstreamsociety emotionally and mentally.

Based on the psychological characteristics ofthis group, the institute has developed a comparativelystandardized, systematic educationsystem, which is that deaf students are supervisedunder School Roll Administration of GradeCredit System, the same as the ordinary students.Competent special students could studya second major and get relevant academic qualification.They should pass English tests as stipulatedby the institute and they can also competefor scholarships like the other students.

At present, among the Computer studentsenrolled in 2004 and 2005, five are studying asecond degree in management and quite a fewwish to study for a master’s degree. Some studentsenrolled in 2004 have taken the instituteorganizedtutoring classes for MathematicsGraduate School Examination. One studentsenrolled in 2006 has passed CET 4 Test.

The institute has established favorable intercollegerelationship with internationally renownedinstitutes of special education such asNational Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID)of America and Tsukuba College of Technology(TCT) of Japan. Sponsored by SasakawaFoundation, the institute has established PENInternationalProject with the above institutesin joint efforts.

Supported by the PEN Project, multi-mediaclassroom and long-distance convention systemdevoted to deaf students have been builtup and put into use. The institute has also sentaltogether over 20 teachers to run cooperativeprojects, receive training and have communicationwith NTID and TCT, and has received visitingdeaf teachers and students from Japan andAmerica. Both of its education and teachingare well connected with the rest of the world.

The cultivation of comprehensive competencehas enabled the deaf students to develop inan all-around manner. They have won bothdomestic and international awards in dancing,sports and arts: the dance Willows wonthe third prize on the Fifth National TheatricalCompetition; and the dance Happy Every Yearwon the first prize on the Sixth National TheatricalCompetition.