On 18 April, the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) held its 2021 Open Day. More than 6,000 students and parents attended the event, allowing them to explore the campus and hearing the thoughts of current students and other SUSTechers. The opening ceremony of the event was held at the Runyang Stadium.
It was the first time that the University held a combination of online and offline activities for the open day, with more than 1.7 million people participating through interactive webcasts. For the guests attending on campus, strict epidemic prevention procedures were put in place to ensure the safety of everyone.
Qikun XUE, President of SUSTech, attended the open day and extended a warm welcome to all the guests. He gave a keynote speech at the event, highlighting SUSTech’s mission, talent training model, its development and various achievements in recent years, and future plans. He noted that SUSTech’s rapid growth and development over the past decade is thanks to the hard work and concerted efforts of its staff, students, and family members who have supported them.
He also spoke in detail about the talent training programs in place at SUSTech. He pointed out that undergraduates are the cornerstone of the University and they determine the growth of the University’s future development. He noted the importance to cultivate talents through a new model of collaborative education between the University, industries, and research. He added that through innovation, SUSTech will nurture top talents that can tackle major scientific issues.
There was also an interchange session held where members of the leadership team spoke and shared their views on SUSTech. This included Fengliang LI, University Council Vice Chairperson, Dongxiao ZHANG, Vice President and Provost, Xueming YANG, Dean of the College of Science, Zhenghe XU, Dean of the College of Engineering, and Qinghu MENG, Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
The leadership members spoke about the philosophy, goals, and training models of undergraduate education at SUSTech, in comparison to traditional universities. It gave guests a deeper understanding of the current state of affairs of SUSTech, highlighting teaching methods and academic achievements of the various colleges, and demonstrated the University’s pursuit of excellence in undergraduate education with the cultivation of top-notch innovative talents. Jianwei TAN, Director of the Office of Admission, was also present to answer questions related to admission applications that were of concern to candidates both online and offline.
Haoyu LIU, an undergraduate student of the Class of 2021 from the Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, shared his four-year experience with SUSTech. He explained that from his undergraduate scientific research, he received offers from world-renowned universities such as Yale University for further education, highlighting SUSTech’s cultivation of innovative talents.
During the campus tour, guests visited the three libraries on site, along with other facilities. In the afternoon, Professors Qinghu MENG and Dapeng YU showed students around some of the University’s research centers, such as the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center, Shenzhen Grubbs Institute, and the Shenzhen Institute of Quantum Science and Engineering (SIQSE). It was an opportunity for students to get an up-close view of the research work being performed by SUSTech and the resources available.
Up to 2020, more than 65% of SUSTech graduates have gone on to prestigious universities at home and abroad for further study, with the remainder seeking employment in Shenzhen and other cities. Among the undergraduates who choose to continue their studies, nearly 24% have received a Ph.D. SUSTech’s online registration for enrollment this year will close on April 30.
