As the back-to-school season approaches, “roommate allocation” has become a hot topic among the freshmen of the Class of 2023. Under the previous mainly random allocation system, the identity of roommates to share the same roof for several years was unpredictable beforehand. The location and arrangement of dormitories were also like “opening a blind box”.

Nowadays, this traditional approach is gradually being disrupted as more and more universities are experimenting with methods such as “resume-based roommate search”, “online mutual selection”, “big data recommendation algorithms”, and “couple dormitories” to empower students with the “roommate selection right”.

Despite the start of the new semester being some distance away, Zhang Qing, a first-year graduate student at the Communication University of China, has already chosen her dormitory and found her roommates through an online system. From August 20^th to 21^st of this year, Communication University of China opened a self-service dormitory selection system for new students. Zhang Qing chose the bottom bunk of a four-person dormitory and selected options such as “window orientation”, “ethnicity”, and “bedtime preferences”.

Currently, several universities have provided students with the option to select dormitory beds online. For example, at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, freshmen can use the online bed selection feature to choose their rooms and bed numbers within their college or class area. During the online room selection process, students can view information about their chosen roommates, including daily schedules and sleep quality. Prior to selecting dormitories, students often create “resumes” and seek like-minded peers in freshmen groups to form roommate teams.

In addition, several universities in recent years, including China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Central China Normal University, and Guangzhou Institute of Science and Technology, have successively introduced similar dormitory self-selection systems. These systems allow students to search for dormitories and roommates they consider suitable.

Different from self-selection, some universities are also trying to use big data to find more compatible roommates for freshmen. For example, this year, before the dormitory allocation for new students, the Beijing Institute of Technology conducted a questionnaire survey. The survey included topics such as daily schedules, whether students take afternoon naps, wake up during the night, their regional background (North or South China), and even details like MBTI personality types, interests in anime, and celebrity fandom.

This year, targeting full-time doctoral and master’s students enrolled in 2023 (excluding directed training doctoral and master’s students), Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics continues to offer an online dormitory bed selection feature. Song Jun from the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Logistics Group stated, “We believe that the method of ‘choosing roommates’ similar to ‘opening a blind box’ allows university students to select dormitories based on fate. Everyone should cherish this connection and seek true friends, soulmates, and kindred spirits among a great number of freshmen. This will be a ‘social asset’ for students after they step out of the university gates.”

中国大学用大数据算法帮助学生分配舍友

临近开学季，“宿舍分配”成了2023级新生们的热议话题。在以往随机分配为主的模式下，要同檐生活好几年的室友是谁，事前无法预见，宿舍位置、床位如何也像是在“开盲盒”。

如今，这种传统模式正被逐渐打破，越来越多的高校尝试用“发‘简历’找室友”“网站互选”“大数据推荐算法”“夫妻宿舍”等方式，将“室友选择权”交给学生。

尽管距离开学还有一段距离，但中国传媒大学广告学院研一新生张晴（化名）已经通过线上系统选好了宿舍，找好了室友。今年8月20日至21日，中国传媒大学向新生开放自助选房系统，张晴选到了一间四人寝室的下铺，并选好了“窗户朝向”“民族”及“早睡晚睡”等选项。

目前，已有多所高校为学生提供网上自选宿舍床位功能。比如电子科技大学，新生可以通过网上自选床位功能在学院班级区域内选房、选床位号。线上选房过程中，学生可以查看到已选床位室友的信息，包括作息时间、睡眠质量等。选择宿舍前，大家往往会制作“简历”，在新生群内寻找志同道合的同学前来“组队”。

此外，中国政法大学、上海交通大学、南京航空航天大学、华中师范大学、广州理工学院等多所学校也都在近年来相继推出了类似的宿舍自选系统，允许学生寻找自己认为合适的宿舍及室友。

与自选不同，也有一些高校尝试通过大数据为新生找到匹配度更高的室友。比如今年北京理工大学在新生宿舍分配之前做了问卷调查，调查内容包括作息时间、是否午休、是否起夜、是南方人还是北方人，甚至连MBTI性格类型、是否为二次元、是否追星等都收集了。

今年，针对2023级全日制硕博士研究生（不包括定向培养硕博士研究生），南京航空航天大学继续推出线上选房（床）功能。南航后勤集团宋军表示：“我们认为‘选舍友’这种近似‘开盲盒’的方式让大学生凭缘分选宿舍，大家应该会更加珍惜这段情分，在茫茫人海中寻觅到挚友、知音、知己，这将是大学生未来踏出校门后的一笔‘人际财富’。”

来源 | 羊城晚报·羊城派综合中新网、扬子晚报
译 | 陈萱
责编 | 王楠
校对 | 周勇