On a tense Monday in mid-May, 14 final-year Global Business Journalism students completed their oral defenses of their academic theses and journalism portfolios – another significant moment in their master's journeys. Two weeks later, on May 29, the final revised versions of their projects were submitted to the Tsinghua University academic office successfully, clearing the path for university-level graduation on June 30.

Over the course of a year, the students from 12 different countries dedicated themselves to intensive research and portfolio development on a wide range of topics, including social media, branding, supply chains, Chinese traditional medicine, disinformation and cryptocurrency.