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CHANGSHA, March 26-- Du Xu, a postgraduate from Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CSUFT), turned on his laptop and prepared for his dissertation pre-defense online. While at home in eastern China's Shandong Province, Du presented his dissertation to five professors for the first time through the remote video connection. "Half a month ago, the university informed us to prepare an online pre-defense, find out the tutors' opinions on the first draft and then revise it," the 26-year-old said. Although he had experience with an opening thesis defense and other face-to-face forms, he was not familiar with the process of online defense, which made him feel nervous. According to the CSUFT, all the postgraduate dissertations must be pre-defended before being submitted for examination to ensure the quality. The graduate school of the university adjusted the arrangement amid the epidemic. Online defense started on Feb. 10 to ensure that the graduate students could graduate on time. "Since our defense is open and anyone can click the link to join, there were 55 students online when I spoke," Du said. The open online defense can help us check missing key points and learn from each other. Some students also recorded the defense process to follow up on the comments of the tutor to further modify their dissertation, according to Du. The university said the pre-defense would be submitted via the Internet, and the degree management office has set up an online platform for it. | 
