Latest news with #SCMP
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Chinese university demands PhD for canteen manager role. Netizens ask: 'Since when does a cafeteria need a doctorate?'
A Job Post That Left the Internet in Disbelief Salary Offers Stability, Not Sensibility You Might Also Like: How a PhD dropout became the Indian Forest Service topper: Kanika Anabh's journey of grit and persistence University Responds, But Questions Remain Broader Concerns About Employment Discrimination You Might Also Like: PhD student rejects a career-defining opportunity at NASA. The reason will shock you Golden Rice Bowl or Just Stirring the Pot? A prestigious university in eastern China has come under fire after advertising a canteen manager job requiring a PhD, fluency in English, and even Communist Party membership. According to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Southeast University in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, published the controversial recruitment notice on its official website on May University, one of China's elite institutions is known for academic excellence. However, its latest job post appears to have blurred the lines between scholarly achievement and routine administration, sparking widespread debate across Chinese social position, officially titled office manager for the university's canteen operations, includes responsibilities such as overseeing food preparation, managing canteen contractors, supervising hygiene and safety, and handling routine paperwork. While those duties are fairly standard, what shocked many was the academic threshold: a doctoral SCMP reported that candidates are also expected to be proficient in English and office software. Additional weightage would be given to applicants with majors in food, nutrition, or culinary arts, relevant work experience, and those with cooking certificates. Membership in the Chinese Communist Party was listed as a annual salary attached to the position stands at 180,000 yuan (approximately ₹20.8 lakh or USD 25,000). While this is significantly higher than the national average income—urban employees in non-private sectors earned 124,110 yuan on average in 2023—it has done little to justify the high academic SCMP noted that many online users were baffled by the listing. 'Since when does a canteen need a PhD to operate?' one user asked, while another cited 'neijuan', a term describing the intense and often irrational competition for limited resources and opportunities in Chinese response to the backlash, a staff member from Southeast University clarified to local outlet Shangyou News, as reported by the SCMP, that candidates would not be expected to cook themselves. The high qualification bar was intended to attract those with formal training or research backgrounds in food sciences or related this clarification has not stemmed public criticism. Some online commentators speculated that the post might be 'custom-built' for a specific candidate, noting the improbability of someone holding both a PhD and a culinary canteen job posting has reignited debates around educational discrimination in hiring. While Chinese laws protect against employment bias based on ethnicity, religion, and gender, academic qualifications are not covered. Given China's rising youth unemployment—15.8% for those aged 16 to 24, excluding students—the job market is increasingly under scrutiny. Netizens argue that job postings like this one reflect systemic issues that push young people toward overqualification without meaningful managerial role at Southeast University is seen by many as a 'golden rice bowl'—a term used to describe secure, high-status jobs in the public sector. With such positions becoming more desirable amid economic uncertainty, competition has intensified, and so have the standards, often at the cost of fairness and the university revises its listing or not, the debate it has triggered around educational inflation and employment policy is likely to simmer for some time. As one social media user aptly commented:'When a canteen needs a PhD, perhaps it's the hiring system—not the kitchen—that needs a rethink.'
India Today
16 hours ago
- Business
- India Today
PhD needed to run a canteen? Chinese university's bizarre job post goes viral
A university in China's Nanjing raised eyebrows after it listed a canteen manager role requiring a doctoral degree on its official University, one of China's top-tier institutions, recently found itself in the middle of a heated online debate in the country. According to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the university advertised a vacancy for an office manager to oversee its canteen operations, but what stood out was the requirement: a to the report, the role involved managing food preparation, monitoring canteen contractors, handling administrative work, ensuring food safety, and overseeing general operations. Candidates must also be proficient in English and office software. While preference will be given to those with experience in food and nutrition, the listing also noted that Communist Party membership would be an added advantage, the report annual salary? Around 180,000 yuan (Rs 20.8 lakh approximately). What sparked widespread online backlash in China was not the job profile, but the qualifications attached to to the report, social media users in China questioned the need for such a high academic standard for a role that, on the surface, seems response to the criticism, a staff member from the university clarified that the candidate was not expected to cook, SCMP reported, citing a local news outlet. The preference was simply for those with academic backgrounds in food, culinary arts, or nutrition, and ideally, relevant the internet debated the qualifications, one thing remained clear: landing this role might need more than just kitchen experience.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
Chinese University's Job Ad Requiring PhD For Canteen Manager Role Sparks Debate
A university in China has sparked controversy after posting a job advertisement for a canteen manager that requires a doctoral degree. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the listing was posted on the official website of Southeast University in Nanjing. The institution is part of government-backed initiatives and is one of only 39 universities on the mainland considered a gateway to better job prospects or further study opportunities. The university triggered a heated online debate after the advertisement went viral. As per SCMP, the position is for an office manager overseeing the university's canteens. Responsibilities include supervising the development and preparation of dishes, managing canteen contractors, ensuring food safety, and handling administrative paperwork. Applicants must also demonstrate proficiency in English and office software. Preference will be given to candidates with relevant work experience and Communist Party membership. The expected annual salary for the position is 180,000 yuan (approximately $25,000), according to the listing. It was the requirement of a PhD that drew intense criticism online, with many questioning whether such a high level of education is necessary for the role. "Since when does a canteen need a PhD to operate?" one social media user asked. Some users also speculated that the position may be designed for a specific individual. "It seems too coincidental that a PhD graduate also holds a cooking certificate. It looks like the post is tailored for someone with connections," one person commented. Following the backlash, a university staff member clarified that candidates are not required to be cooks, but preference would be given to those with academic backgrounds in food, nutrition, and culinary arts, as well as those with cooking certifications. Notably, SCMP reported that competition for the position is expected to be fierce, as such a role at a prestigious university is viewed as a "golden rice bowl"-a stable job with excellent benefits.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
‘Transcend zero-sum mindsets': global legal body set up in Hong Kong
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP's journalism by subscribing . New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended a signing ceremony in Hong Kong on Friday morning to mark the establishment of the world's first intergovernmental legal body focused on mediation. Police deployed about 100 officers, including some from their counterterrorism unit, for the event. High-level representatives from nearly 60 countries and about 20 global organisations attended the ceremony at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Wan Chai. Renovation works are being carried out at the old Wan Chai Police Station, where the International Organisation for Mediation will have its headquarters. The site is expected to open by the end of this year or the beginning of 2026. Officials and legal experts have said that the new organisation will boost the city's standing as an international legal hub. Follow our live blog below for the latest updates from the ceremony. More from our coverage: Reporting by Jess Ma, Natalie Wong, Willa Wu, Harvey Kong and Joshua Kwok.
The Star
3 days ago
- Science
- The Star
China plans to arm Tiangong space station with self-defence bots: scientist
Sun Zhibin says robotic thruster could latch onto unidentified object approaching critical Chinese space infrastructure and push it away. — SCMP China is developing a rapid-response space defence system to intercept suspicious spacecraft and push them away, according to a senior scientist. If an unidentified object approaches China's Tiangong space station or other critical space infrastructure, a small robotic thruster could be deployed to latch onto the intruder and push it to a safer distance, said Sun Zhibin of the National Space Science Centre in Beijing. 'Sometimes another spacecraft may deliberately come close – maybe just to take a look – but it can still interfere with our operations,' Sun said during a public talk on the technological progress and plans for Tiangong, at Nanjing University of Science and Technology on Tuesday. 'In such cases, we first try to assess their intent. Then we choose how to respond – whether by dodging, adjusting our orbit, or releasing a small robot to grab and redirect the object,' he said while answering questions from the audience. In December 2021, China reported to the United Nations that its space station had to perform two evasive manoeuvres that year to avoid potential collisions with SpaceX's Starlink satellites. According to the submission, Starlink-1095 and Starlink-2305 descended from their usual 550km (342-mile) orbits and entered Tiangong's operational zone around 380km, prompting emergency avoidance actions on July 1 and October 21. Harvard astronomer and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell confirmed the encounters using US space tracking data, estimating that the Starlink satellite might have come within just 3km in the October incident. Both near-misses occurred while Tiangong was occupied – by the Shenzhou-12 crew in July and the Shenzhou-13 astronauts in October – at a time when the station was still under construction in low-Earth orbit. China's note to the UN said the events 'constituted dangers to the life or health of astronauts aboard the China Space Station'. Under international law, states were responsible for all national space activities, including those conducted by commercial operators, it said. The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has also developed related technologies. One of its ongoing programmes, which aims to build robotic systems capable of inspecting and servicing satellites in geostationary orbit, could be adapted to approach or manipulate other spacecraft. China's pursuit of in-orbit defence capabilities comes amid heightened global focus on space security. In the US, President Donald Trump recently proposed a space-based missile shield known as the 'Golden Dome' – a US$175bil initiative aimed at intercepting threats such as hypersonic weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Golden Dome project, which explicitly identifies China as a key concern, reflects a broader shift towards viewing space as a contested domain and highlights a shared priority among space powers to protect their critical assets in orbit. – South China Morning Post
