Student Associations of Sichuan University are organizations established by students to encourage and nurture their art interests as well as improve their aesthetic sense and comprehensive quality. As of July 2018, there are 929 registered student associations which can be divided into eight categories: language and culture, public welfare, art, sports, science and technology, practice, theoretical learning and academic associations. Of the 929 associations, 716 are academic associations, 188 non-academic associations, and 25 corporate clubs. The supervisory units include 36 colleges and 15 departments. They have conducted over 6,600 cultural and artistic performances, public services and science and technology activities.

SCU avails herself of the students culture festival “Chasing Dream in Youth” to integrate moral education, intellectual education, physical education and aesthetic education, creating a culture atmosphere characteristic of “Letting one hundred flowers blossom”. In this way, SCU develops students’ interests and hobbies and nurture their ability to recognize, love and create beauty. Traditional culture associations study subjects ranging from crosstalk, opera, calligraphy and painting, and tea art, etc. Art associations cover art study, musical instrument appreciation, music appreciation, art appreciation, stage performance, traditional cultural performances, art design, fashion design, film and television art among others. Sports associations practice soccer, basketball, volleyball, roller-skating, archery and so on. What’s more, XiaoXiao Crosstalk Club has got invited to participate in the CCTV program “The More Fight, the More Brave”.

Sichuan University has promulgated policies and regulations to award special programs in its undergraduate teaching prizes and count the hours that teachers spend advising student academic associations as part of their annual workload. The university endeavors to innovate its second classroom which draws upon multidisciplinary resources, takes the spirit of science as its core principle and expand the pattern of talent training. For instance, the university fulfills students’ different needs by establishing a variety of student associations, providing interdisciplinary training by means of various academic associations of different academic subjects. Students who cannot transfer to another major can pursue their interests and hobbies by joining an academic association of their preferred discipline. Regarding the development of student associations, the university’s fundamental principle is professional training. For instance, a professor will lead a research project and advise the academic association, thus, consolidating laboratories and the resources of a research team. A good example in case is the iGEM Association of School of Life Sciences. iGEM members have won a gold prize in International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition. Additionally, the university takes advantage of the International Course Week and encourages academic associations to participate in first-class academic exchanges. Alan Macfarlane (renowned anthropologist), David Mcmullen (world famous sinologist) and Harry Dickinson, former president of the Royal Historical Society of the UK, have all given lectures at different times at SCU.

Besides, the university imbues its construction of student associations with an innovative ideology, nurturing in students independent thinking, innovation, entrepreneurship and teamwork. Specifically speaking, the university has encouraged the students of academic associations to apply for 1,416 projects of “College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Project”. SCU has implemented a talent training mechanism called “To build a personalized and innovative talent cultivation space-Sichuan University to nourish the growth of young learners with the construction of academic associations”. And this policy has won SCU the Excellent Achievement Prize of the Eighth University Campus Culture Construction Prize by the Ministry of Education.

The following is a part of student associations..