Today saw over a thousand students come to Southern University of Science and Technology to write the first page of a new chapter of their lives. Students had big smiles on their faces, as did their proud parents as the students filed through the registration process quickly and efficiently. Despite the hot weather, everything ran smoothly, with staff and student volunteers supporting each other in guiding the freshmen through the registration process.

Two top students from Shenzhen were admitted to SUSTech. Zhang Ruihao and Zhang Ruixian scored highly in both the National College Entrance Exam and SUSTech’s comprehensive evaluation admission model. Ruihao said that he is looking forward to exploring multiple career options before finding the right direction for himself, while Ruixian, his twin, added that SUSTech’s internationalization and English language education throughout SUSTech was highly attractive. One Hunan parent pointed towards the importance of the Greater Bay Area and SUSTech’s presence in the center of it, while another parent from Liaoning praised SUSTech’s abundant resources, both in facilities and faculty.

The quality of new undergraduate students continues to improve every year, with the average student scoring in the top 1.5% of the National College Entrance Exam across 14 provinces.

SUSTech has also recruited 650 graduate students and over 300 doctoral candidates from across mainland China and around the world. Our cooperation with Harbin Institute of Technology is continuing, with 50 doctoral candidates undergoing a joint training program, and 140 graduate students will attend programs with 19 top overseas universities. Next week, SUSTech will welcome its new international students to join our ever-growing international community, with SUSTech due to be represented by 12 different countries at the undergraduate level across 50 students.

President Chen Shiyi and University Council Vice Chairperson Li Fengliang visited the Student Affairs Center and the new dormitories, along with the heads of relevant departments. They gave comments and suggestions for further improving the facilities ahead of the students moving in, after thoroughly inspecting the dormitories.

President Chen Shiyi was pleased to see the young people registering. “They represent SUSTech’s new generation. Thank you to the people of China and the provincial education department for their support of SUSTech. I particularly want to thank the Guangdong and Shenzhen governments for their strong support, along with the joint efforts of the SUSTech community. SUSTech will continue to unite and advance in its quest to build a world-class research university.”

Vice Chairperson Li Fengliang expressed his pleasure at the high quality of the new facilities. “Our top-notch innovative talent pipeline has developed many new measures that will help our new students develop rapidly. After meeting with new parents yesterday, I am more hopeful about the future of this generation of leaders in the new era, as they determine their research directions, study hard and lay a good foundation for the future lives.”

The SUSTech Student Union worked with other volunteer groups to provide over 150 students to help in various capacities around campus and even from the subway to campus. Their presence could be felt throughout the day, from the first interaction to the last, and they were praised by parents and students for their hard selfless work all day.

Zhu Hengxuan (2022, Zhiren College) helped guide freshmen into the correct registration area, and also answered frequent questions from parents and students. He commented that volunteering in this way was very meaningful and reminded him of his own arrival last year. He hoped that the freshmen would learn how to be themselves once stepping foot into SUSTech, and be responsible university students.