Program Spotlights

1. Institutional Setup

The Center has established a Steering Committee, chaired by ShaoBo Ren, Secretary of Zhejiang University, with several committee members.

The Center operates under a director responsibility system led by the Steering Committee. The Committee is composed of renowned experts in human rights and related fields from within the university, and is responsible for making major decisions concerning the Center’s work, determining primary research directions, and deciding on routine operational matters such as major conferences, international exchanges, and research projects. Adhering to the overall management principle of “taking the lead ourselves while promoting openness and mutual learning”, the Center provides opportunities for academic exchange among distinguished scholars and practitioners in the field of human rights at home and abroad, and aims to become an important academic hub for Sino-foreign human rights research in the Yangtze River Delta region. The Center will actively explore innovative approaches in operation management and open collaboration mechanisms, leveraging Zhejiang University’s strengths as a comprehensive university to bring together a group of high‑level interdisciplinary experts and scholars. It will contribute intellectual insights and build consensus on key human rights issues, achieve significant theoretical outcomes and practical impact, and cultivate a cohort of human rights researchers and practitioners, including doctoral and master’s students.

The Center has one Director and two Deputy Directors, each serving a term of three years.

The Director is responsible for organizing the annual academic conference, managing visiting researchers, overseeing the use of operating funds, and providing a favorable environment for scientific research and office work. The Center also has an Administrative Office to assist the Director with daily administrative tasks, conference organization, document and archive management, foreign affairs reception, and other related duties.

According to research directions and domains, the Center appoints several Chief Experts; currently they are Sun Xiaoxia, Xiong Minghui, and Wang Guiguo.

2. Actively Exploring Innovations in the Center’s Management Model

The Director and Deputy Directors are responsible for implementing specific tasks, reviewing progress plans for various human rights research themes, managing projects, and coordinating scientific research across different research directions.

The Center establishes corresponding research topics based on research directions and organizes research teams, each operating under a chief professor responsibility system. The Chief Professor determines the research content within their direction, formulates implementation plans, and oversees their execution.

3. Establishing and Implementing the Center’s Rules and Regulations

Directly affiliated with Zhejiang University, the Center is a relatively independent research entity with its own personnel and financial authority. It has established a fairly comprehensive set of rules and regulations covering personnel, finance, materials, teaching, research, and services. Building on existing frameworks, the Center will further refine operational regulations such as the Evaluation and Reward Measures for Research Achievements, Management Measures for Projects and Research Funds, and Administrative Office Management Regulations.

4. Fostering a Harmonious and Enterprising Center Culture