“Today marks an important day in SUSTech’s history, because the first cohort of 166 students in SUSTech are graduating today after four years’ campus life!”

At 8:30 of July 5, 2016, Commencement Ceremony of SUSTech 2016 was held on the Great Lawn. Wu Yihuan, Vice Mayor of Shenzhen, Zhu Qingshi, Founding President of SUSTech, Li Ming, Former Chairman of University Council of SUSTech, and special guests including  Tony F. Chan, President of HKUST, Li Yanbao, Former Chairman of University Council of SYSU, Li Wei, Former President of BUAA, Guo Yurong, Chairwoman of University Council, Chen Shiyi, President of SUSTech and other members of leadership of SUSTech, as well as all members of Academic Board, Academic Degrees Evaluation Committee, all schools and departments, students of the graduating class of 2016 and instructors and some students’ parents attended this ceremony, hosted by Vice-President Wu Chuanyue.

Before the opening of the ceremony, flag bearers, holding high the flags of Zhiren College and Shuren College entered the field to the music, which aroused waves of warm applause. Next, SUSTech loves you, a memorial video for graduates, was played. Graduates were impressed and moved a lot by these familiar scenes in the video, with tears glistening in their eyes. SUSTech has brought infinite happiness and sweet memories for them in the past four years.

And then, the commencement ceremony was opened in the awe-inspiring national anthem.

Wu Chuanyue read the congratulatory letters for students of the graduating class of 2016 by Ma Xingrui, Deputy Secretary of Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, and Xu Qin, Mayor of Shenzhen. They wrote in the letters that experiences in the university were of great importance in the journey of life and sent their gratitude to graduates for spending the most beautiful time of life with SUSTech and growing up with SUSTech. Besides, they expressed their heartfelt hopes that graduates would never forget their initial determinations and aim for the highest to pursue the dream and to stand out among the peers with rich knowledge and fine qualities obtained in SUSTech. While achieving personal values, graduates are expected to make great contributions to the development of SUSTech, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the prosperity of China.

Vice-President Wang Duoxiang read the congratulatory letter for students of the graduating class of 2016 by Luo Weiqi, Secretary of Education Working Committee of Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and the minister of Department of Education of Guangdong Province. He expressed his sincerest congratulations to graduates in the letter and stated that SUSTech, as an innovative university with an innovative mechanism, is learning from the experiences of world-class universities and shouldering the responsibility of exploring and leading the higher education reform in China. He hoped that SUSTech would make great efforts to press school-running work ahead and improve school-running quality, so as to become a world-class institution of higher education and cutting-edge research that reflects Guangdong’s research level and Chinese characteristics and promotes innovation with an international influence. Wish you all a success on your studies and a bright future.   

Then President Chen Shiyi delivered a speech. He first congratulated the first cohort of SUSTech, praising their choice of the university as “a reflection of courage, confidence, persistence and sense of duty”. He pointed out two significant elements in the spirit of SUSTech, namely idealism as well as the courage to try, to pioneer, and to take responsibility. The president explained that born in the key period of China’s higher education reform, SUSTech was aimed at bringing about more prominent young talents to build a stronger China. He hoped the graduates would find their own niches in the human history and embrace idealism while contributing to realizing the Chinese Dream. He also encouraged them to continue to progress with their initial determination in mind.

When talking about the courage to take responsibility, he mentioned Qian Xuesen, the renowned rocket scientist and genius architect of China’s space and missile programs. “If you want to become a person like Qian Xuesen, you should first possess his ability to assume duty,” said Chen. He urged the graduates to continuously pursue excellence and develop themselves into elites with outstanding capabilities, so that they could play a greater role in this day and age.

The president emphasized that SUSTech was fully loaded with Shenzhen people’s expectation for a first-class university worldwide as well as the reform ideal of the higher educators in China. The university is intended to train top innovative talents and answer the “Qian Xuesen Question” of “Why does China produce so few geniuses?” It constitutes a representative of idealism, steadfastly pursuing its dream and duty.

Chen’s speech struck a strong nerve among the audience, who rewarded him with multiple rounds of warm applause.

Then the turning of the tassel ceremony was held. The graduates stepped onto the stage orderly and received their diploma certificates from the president. Teachers, students, and parents presented all witnessed that exciting moment with great joy.

The ceremony ended with the graduates taking group pictures.

It is reported that among 95% of the graduates, 60% would further their study in domestic or foreign renowned universities. 35% of total chose to work and most of them would be in Shenzhen or other areas of the Pearl River Delta.