Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) launched a lecture series about “Modern Science, Technology and China.” SUSTech President Chen Shiyi and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences brought the first lecture to the teachers and students, titled “Modern technology and The Art of Loving Your Country- My Life Choice.”

University Council Chairperson Guo Yurong attended the lecture along with other senior leaders and more than 400 teachers and students. University Council Vice Chairperson Li Fengliang presided over the lecture.

Chen Shiyi reflected on his own studies, work experience and his choice of SUSTech. He also spoke about the effectiveness about developing SUSTech.

Chen Shiyi shared photos from his past, reflecting on his education from high school through to his overseas studies. He finally decided to come to SUSTech, as his journey showed his development from a curious young man pursuing knowledge to a dedicated educator and scientist with passion for developing his country. Chen Shiyi pointed out that professional and innovative researchers should return to China and ensure its further development. Becoming part of the education industry is a meaningful pursuit that can provide talented members of society.

Life is about making choices and the reasons for him to come to SUSTech is that he was confident about its further development, and people would see the continuous improvement of its educators and the growth. Chen Shiyi hoped that everyone would continue to cultivate their love for technology and country.

Chen Shiyi reflected on the works from Da Vinci and the recent Chinese science-fiction film, The Wandering Earth, and shared his expertise for turbulent structures and turbulence research. He also analyzed gaps in his research field both in China and around the world, so he encouraged students to maintain interest in scientific research in order to break through difficulties in their fields of interest. Chen Shiyi also encouraged the students to broaden their horizons, examine emerging disciplines and expand their knowledge as much as possible to innovate.

In the Q&A session, students asked many questions of Chen Shiyi, where he talked about a variety of things such as his experience in studying and life, developing good habits and facing the difficulties in life.

Li Fengliang said that SUSTech should cultivate future leaders with global vision, comprehensive quality and innovative ability. This is the most important and fundamental spirit of SUSTech. Li Fengliang hoped that everyone at SUSTech would not forget their original heart and grow their talents in order to make their own contributions to this new era.

This first lecture from President Chen Shiyi gave faculty members and students a deeper understanding of the relationship between modern technology and one’s love for China. Director Wang Dejun of the Political Education and Research Center, presented the Certificate of Honor of the first teaching professors of the ” Modern Science, Technology and Your Love of Country ” for Chen Shiyi.

Student Zhang Zhentang said: “President Chen Shiyi said that he was so busy with his work that he had not been to the cinema for seven years and didn’t even know where the cinema was. This detail leaves a very deep impression on me. As a SUSTech student, we need to advocate the struggle spirit, value our time, and learn more knowledge.”

The course “Modern Science, Technology and Your Love of Country” will be offered to students through a series of lectures. There will be 15 lectures in the spring semester. The lecturers will include famous teachers, including President Chen Shiyi, in order to attract students to the lecture series.

It will focus on cutting-edge technology and hot topics. These hot topics include artificial intelligence, information technology, quantum science, clean energy, green environmental protection, health industry, cultural innovation, big data, and the relationship between technology and humanities. The lectures will analyze the current status of China’s current technological development and future trends, while enhancing students’ sense of mission and responsibility. The lecture series is open to all undergraduate students. Once the course became open, it became an extremely popular elective course with all 350 places occupied in just a few seconds. After the semester, a series of special books will be published.

SUSTech is committed to cultivating outstanding talents with global vision, comprehensive quality and innovative ability, while actively exploring SUSTech’s characteristics. SUSTech has seriously studied and promoted reform of its curriculum, teaching methodology and examination mode.

SUSTech will establish systems to promote the cutting-edge of scientific and technological development in today’s society and the status quo of China’s science and technology development.

On August 28, 2018, an interview group of city TV stations came to Southern University of Science and Technology. SUSTech President Chen Shiyi was interviewed by the media pack.

The special interview event invited Xinhuanet and National City TV reporters to come to Shenzhen in order to celebrate the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up. Starting from August 27th, this was a week of centralized interviews, so viewers could personally feel the “Shenzhen experience” of “reform, opening-up, innovation, and civilization.” On the 28th, the interview team at SUSTech was made up of reporters from Xinhuanet’s Guangdong Channel as well as journalists from various urban TV stations. The urban TV stations were from cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Harbin, Shenyang, Shijiazhuang, Xi’an, Wuhan, Changsha, and Chengdu.

The delegation first visited the campus construction sand table. Director Zhang Ling from the Office of Communications and Public Relations talked about the phases of constructions for SUSTech, both what is currently happening as well as SUSTech’s future development plans.

Chen Shiyi accepted a group interview with the media around the campus construction sand table at the scene and answered questions from reporters about China’s reform and opening up, Southern University of Science and Technology, reform and innovation specifically at SUSTech, how SUSTech runs, collaborations between industry and SUSTech, as well as enrollment and talent cultivation. He said that the development of SUSTech had been closely related to China’s development. At the beginning of the year, SUSTech will undertake the mission of reform and innovation, by making contributions to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. President Chen expressed his gratitude to the community for their concern and support for the University and was confident that SUSTech would become truly rooted in China as it strives to become a world-class university.

At the subsequent briefing session, Director Zhang Ling went into detail as to how SUSTech operates. He also spent time talking about the four ways that SUSTech was reforming and innovating: our innovative mission, innovative measures, our innovative results and our innovative vision. Deputy Dean He Jiaqing from the College of Science and Chair of the Department of Physics introduced the application process of the doctoral program, the faculty, laboratory facilities as well as the enrolment for undergraduate and postgraduate. Technical Director Liu Wei of the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Research Center introduced the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Laboratory. Dean Xu Baomin of Zhiren Residential College introduced the characteristics of our unique residential colleges. Executive Dean Zheng Zhiping of the Shenzhen Grubbs Institute and Director of the Department of Chemistry talked about the Institute.

After the briefing, the media pack visited the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Laboratory, the residential colleges, and the Shenzhen Grubbs Institute. They also took the time to interview a selection of teachers and students.

Dear WAIS President Shi Yigong, HIT Vice President Ding Xuemei, distinguished guests, faculty members, students and family members, and class of 2018 graduates:

Good morning!

Today, we are here to witness the graduation of the class of 2018 undergraduates, the first jointly-educated master’s students, as well as the first graduates of Zhicheng Residential College, Shude Residential College, Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, and School of Environmental Science and Engineering. Congratulations to all of them! I would like to thank WAIS President Shi Yigong in particular for presenting his first graduation ceremony speech as a university president here at SUSTech.

I remember meeting class of 2018 undergraduates for the first time. Right before I was about to be officially appointed SUSTech’s President at the ceremony, I took the time to see the students who were going through military training. Their youthful and energetic spirit left me with a good impression. I believe such an experience can also be seen as my interview in front of the students. After all, earning students’ recognition is a significant part of my job. It seems that I am doing okay so far, right? (The crowd applauds).

In the following four years, the class of 2018 graduates proved my first impression right. You possess typical “SUSTech characters” such as solid basic knowledge, real practical skills, strong social responsibility, and advanced global vision. For instance, Su Zimu is the first graduate selected to work at government departments in western China; Chen Wanli solved a problem that has been troubling researchers in the field of image super-resolution for 15 years, and Guo Tianzi started her own research-based company before graduation. She could very well become the first “female entrepreneur” of SUSTech. I am genuinely proud of their achievements.

The class of 2018 undergraduates has played a big part in the rapid development of SUSTech. You witnessed the Ministry of Education’s approval of doctoral degrees at SUSTech, campus construction phase II, the establishment of both the Medical and Business School, and the presence of a variety of research centers: the Shenzhen Grubbs Institute, the Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, the Artificial Intelligence Institute, the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Innovation and Research Center, and Research Institute for Third-Generation Semiconductors. With joint effort from students, faculty members, and campus staff, SUSTech has achieved the development speed of Shenzhen in the early years of economic reform.

There is a line in Lao Zi’s Tao Te Ching (Scripture of Ethics): One begets Two (yin and yang), Two begets Three (Heaven, Earth and Man; or yin, yang and breath qi), Three begets all things. As the third graduates after SUSTech was officially approved to award bachelor’s degrees, I believe you are the crucial factor that leads SUSTech on an official track of development and contributes to its current achievements.

Of course, I won’t forget praising the first graduating master’s students from SUSTech. SUSTech is such a young university, and China’s current education system doesn’t allow it to admit graduate students at such an early stage. Without graduate students, faculty members and researchers’ potential would be wasted, and they would also have great difficulty carrying on their amazing research projects. I am not willing to sacrifice SUSTech’s future because of policy restraints, so I figured out another way: collaborating with Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) and established a joint education program with them. With the support from HIT, one of the most prestigious universities in the country, our professors can collaborate with leading scholars on academic projects.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to not only HIT, but also other universities who are collaborating with us: Peking University, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, University of Macau, National University of Singapore, University of Birmingham, and Temple University. Today, the Vice President Ding Xuemei of HIT is here with us, and words fail to describe how thankful I am for the support HIT and Vice President Ding over the years. “Virtue has its neighbors (a line from Confucius’ Analects),” and we will continue going hand in hand with HIT and make more breakthroughs in China’s education.

The year 2018 marked the 40^th anniversary of China’s education reform, whose most significant achievement is Shenzhen – a miracle in city development across the globe. Located in Shenzhen, the central city of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, SUSTech has been receiving tremendous help from the Shenzhen Municipal Government and the passionate Shenzhen-ers. We will be forever grateful for that, and we promise to give back to the city and make more miracles in the future.

2018 is also the year of the FIFA World Cup. We are about to witness the final match between France and Croatia in two days. The 2018 Russian World Cup is full of surprises, with traditionally strong teams such as Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Spain and Portugal being eliminated early, and international football stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo being sent home. Even England lost to the less famous Croatian team last night, which took me completely by surprise. On the football field, anything can happen; and this year’s World Cup vividly teaches us a valuable lesson: the current world is full of uncertainties.

In recent years, there have been many influential but adverse events on the world stage, making everyone feel uncertain about the future. The ZTE controversy between China and the U.S., USA quitting the UN Human Rights Council, global conservatism, worldwide populism, trade protectionism, ongoing regional conflicts, terrorism, poverty, severe climate change – these are all examples of the world’s uncertainties. Besides, the human society has a long way to go when it comes to equality, justice, and true happiness.

On the other hand, there are many breakthroughs in the field of technology. Artificial Intelligence (AI), biotechnology and quantum computationers are taking the lead. Blockchain, cloud computing, Internet of Things, intelligent cities, unmanned driving are no longer just cool concepts – they are already transforming our lives. However, due to the rise of AI, people are feeling uncertain and insecure about the future: they worry about robots stealing their jobs or even ruling the human race. In other words, the rapid development of technology and information explosion left us with many dilemmas and hard choices.

Having spoken about uncertainties from the perspectives of society and technology, it’s time to shift the focus back to our own students. I believe every one of you was, or still is, uncertain about life after graduation: “Shall I further my studies or enter the workplace? Which city or country should I choose to live my life? What kind of lifestyle do I really want?” I used to face such uncertainties as well. Upon graduating from Zhejiang University 36 years ago, I was full of expectations about the future but couldn’t predict it at all. Every step you take, every decision you make could reconstruct your life.

My major was hydromechanical turbulence, whose core issue happens to be uncertainty. As long as the measure and speed meet the requirements, there will be pulses amongst steady flows – which result in vortex and turbulence. To apply the concept in a societal context, the negative uncertainty around specific global events can be seen as the inevitable outcome of social development. The integration and clashes of inventions, technologies, and ideologies produce pulses, vortex, and turbulence in a social sense, leading to a series of uncertainties. However, we need to understand that it is difficult to surpass others in a steady flow or societal condition since everyone is walking in line at the same speed. But once pulses take place, there will be many vortexes of change that provides us with the chance to lead the way.

The technological development and advancement of the times were rooted in the curiosity to discover the unknown. Human’s intelligence lies in the ability to learn from experiences and summarize the rules with the proper equipment and model, and the capacity to build a relatively “certain” world in the uncertain universe. British educator John Newman said: “If then a practical end must be assigned to a University course, I say it is that of training good members of society… It is the education which gives a man a clear conscious view of his own opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in urging them.” I hope SUSTech doesn’t only offer you knowledge, but also the ability to find your way in this world of uncertainties.

When facing uncertainties, we first need to be calm and determined: believe in yourself, believe in your people, and believe in your country. Firm belief is the strongest thing in one’s mind; it will eventually lead to your success just as a seed will become flowers and fruits. I have always wanted to be a professor, and I gave up many other tempting possibilities because of my firm belief in academia – which takes me where I am today. In my opinion, every SUSTecher has a firm belief, pure ideals, and true passions. Otherwise, you won’t give up the opportunity to enroll in other traditionally recognized top universities and choose the very young SUSTech instead. Your choices also prove your entrepreneurial and adventurous spirits, which coincide with our university’s vision. With such spirits, you will become confident, assured and determined. We should also be aware that China has a long way to become a truly developed nation – we have a lot of work to do, such as technological development and scientific knowledge. China’s mission of building a peaceful, secure, prosper, open, inclusive and clean world for the entire human race is difficult, but I believe your qualities can help the country to reach the goal closer day by day.

When facing uncertainties, we also need to be positive, be proactive, and be energetic. Recently, there has been a trend among people born in the 1990s: face the world with a Buddha-like (Fo Xi, 佛系) attitude. Many criticize such an approach for being passive, especially for young people. But from my perspective, being Buddha-like has a more positive connotation. It doesn’t mean being indifferent towards the world. Instead, it represents a calm and open mindset: putting your hobby first and doing things in the way you like. As mentioned above, the university doesn’t only teach you knowledge – it also equips you with a sense of responsibility. I believe all of you are extraordinary, and you will eventually become the elite of all walks of life. Your worldviews and values could very well shape the future of the world; your inner world will form the outer world surrounding you.

When facing uncertainties, we also need to have lifelong learning and problem-solving skills. Four years of undergraduate studies only constitute a small part of one’s life, but SUSTech is determined to make the most of the four years and teach every student skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. SUSTech’s “three systems (residential college system, academic and life advisors’ system, and academic credit system),” three “–zations (individualization, elitization, and internationalization),” and “three visions (research, innovation and entrepreneurship)” aim to foster well-rounded talents with broad horizons and interdisciplinary learning skills. It also nurtures students’ independent, analytical, critical and creative thinking. We hope you can apply these skills to the society and make as many contributions as possible.

In a word, I hope SUSTechers will have the ability to handle uncertainty, use it to your advantage, and always remain calm, positive, inclusive and ambitious.

A few days ago, I sent every graduate a present. It’s a book called “Hub: China over the Past 3000 Years.” It tells the story of how the Chinese people overcome different kinds of uncertainties over three centuries. The book also reflects on China’s economic reform over the course of the last 40 years. Therefore, we Chinese people have a history of overcoming difficulties and uncertainties. After all, we are the world’s only nation with such a long continuous history and culture. With excellent SUSTechers like you, I believe China will become better and better in the near future. While you are working hard and contributing to the nation, don’t forget about SUSTech and remember to come back!

Congratulations, all the graduates!

From June 30th to July 2nd, the Second Annual Chinese STEM Education Development Conference (CSEDC) was held in Futian District, Shenzhen. As China’s biggest and most prestigious STEM education conference, CSEDC attracted education experts from home and abroad; company representatives; principals and presidents of all levels of education; and officials of education departments at national, provincial and municipal levels. Attendees shared their thoughts on STEM education through keynote speeches, round-table talks, workshops and creative markets. SUSTech President Chen Shiyi delivered the keynote speech, which can be divided into the following three parts.

Part 1: STEM Education Should Self-Renew like Stem Cells

“My two daughters both graduated in the United States. From my observation and personal research, I would say STEM education in the U.S. from grades 7 to 12 is very strong despite what the public thinks. For example, I remember reading my daughters’ biology textbooks and couldn’t understand most of the texts despite my decades-long career in the STEM field. Because of such a strong and solid education system, the U.S. actually nurtures many top-tier talents in private schools who end up going to Ivy League universities. These people are highly competitive – even typical excellent Asian or students may not exceed them.

I have three suggestions to STEM education development in China:

1.       STEM education should self-renew like stem cells;

2.       STEM education should integrate with AI and other smart technologies;

3.       STEM education should integrate with the ‘whole person education.’”

Part 2: SUSTech is Learning from Stanford University

In this part, President Chen Shiyi first introduced SUSTech’s faculty, including its diversity, recruitment, tenure, and promotion. He then presented the departments, school, research centers and institutes in SUSTech. Chen also mentioned SUSTech’s vision (research, innovation, entrepreneurship), three policies (academic credit system, residential college system, and residential college advisor for freshmen and sophomores and academic advisor for junior and seniors) and three “-zations” (personalization, internationalization, and elitization). The abovementioned characteristics are full of innovative spirit, which is also the way Stanford University operates.

Part 3: Six Support Systems in SUSTech’s STEM Education

1.       General Education with a strong emphasis on STEM in the first two years, and major declaration at the beginning of the third year;

2.       “6+3+1” Student Recruitment System: National College Entrance Examination accounts for 60% of the total recruitment score, SUSTech’s independent recruitment accounts for 30%, while student’s daily performance in high school accounts for 10%;

3.       The curriculum of the top-tier global standard;

4.       A strong focus on students’ research and laboratory work, resulting in a high rate of international graduate school admission;

5.       Innovative, student-centered and practice-oriented education;

6.       Two regular semesters and a summer semester in an academic year.

Moreover, SUSTech has been placing increasing emphasis on arts, humanities, and social sciences by opening three respective centers and over 100 related courses. We also have art societies and musical ensembles here in SUSTech, making the transition of SUSTech education from STEM to STEAM (A stands for “art”). Recently, we are also planning on adding writing courses on campus, so our education system can be represented by the abbreviation “STREAM (R stands for writing).”

On April 17, the graduation ceremony for the seventh student CPC training course took place in Lynn Library. University Council Chairperson Guo Yurong gave a lecture on SUSTech’s history, the development of Shenzhen as a Special Economic Zone, the history of the Chinese Revolution and the 19th CPC National Congress Reports.

Chairperson Guo pointed out that SUSTech should take advantage of its extraordinary environment to foster students with an innovative spirit, multifaceted talents, family values and a sense of national pride. She showed students a series of old photos depicting the early days of university and the hardship SUSTech’s staff and students faced along the way. However, they overcame all obstacles by being innovative, creative, practical, truth-seeking and adventurous. Guo Yurong believes the unusual and extraordinary route of development taken by SUSTech is a tribute to the implementation of the reform and opening policy of Shenzhen, which proves socialism with Chinese characteristics is an effective system.

She also guided students to look at the bigger picture by analyzing the changing social roles of the Chinese people in the context of modern history and focusing on the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, as proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Since China’s development requires technological innovation and talents are the keys to such innovation, SUSTech should respond to the country’s needs by cultivating, fostering and nurturing more talents. Guo encouraged all students who are talents-to-be to take up social responsibilities and to contribute to the continued building of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

After Guo Yurong finished her lecture, Director Chen Zhifeng summarized the students’ performance throughout the seventh CPC training course. Outstanding students shared their study experience and received graduation certificates from Guo Yurong.

FULL TEXT : English translation of President Chen Shiyi’s speech 

Distinguished Deputy Mayor Wu Yihuan, leaders, guests, faculties and students, dear graduates of 2016:

Good morning!    

Today marks an important day in the history of SUSTech, as the first cohort of 166 students are going to graduate after four years’ memorable college life.   

So let’s give the warmest applause to all the graduates. Today is your day and this is your commencement ceremony.

Let’s give the most heartfelt applause to all the faculty members for their devotion to the school during its early difficult times. You are the mainstay of SUSTech.  

Let’s give the most grateful applause to the parents for their open mind, advanced thinking and complete trust in SUSTech. It’s you who entrust the hope of your family to us without reserve.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, the People’s Government of Shenzhen and the Board of Trustees of SUSTech for your unswerving support to the establishment of SUSTech. And I appreciate the concern and care given by the people of Shenzhen and people of all country. In particular, I want to thank the founding president Zhu Qingshi for his foresight, determination and courage of reform. He demonstrates the brilliant spiritual outlook of modern educators. And I am also grateful to the former Chairman of the University Council Li Ming for his outstanding wisdom and leadership, which has laid a solid foundation for the rapid development of SUSTech.

Dear students, when the society favors the universities of Project 985 and Project 211, it’s courageous of you to choose a university beyond these projects.

When the country lays stress on the college entrance examination score, it’s confident of you to choose “631” Comprehensive Assessment System of SUSTech.

With English as the language of instruction and an educational mode of “three systems and three education”, namely residential college system, tutorial system, credit system, individualized education, international education and elite education, study here would be busier and more demanding. Choosing SUSTech reflects perseverance.

Being a trial university for the comprehensive reform of higher education, SUSTech is faced with much uncertainty and has to move forward through trial and error. Given this, you still chose SUSTech. Your choice is a mission for SUSTech.       

The harvest season arrives after four years’ hard work. 60% of the students will further their studies in world renowned universities. While some students are starting their own businesses, others have published papers in international journals. You have established the first student societies and set the spirit for Shuren College and Zhiren College. With numerous personal experiences in educational reform and innovative practice, you’ve gained a profound understanding of critical thinking and lifelong study. Through your painstaking efforts, you are shaping your unique life and the extraordinary history of SUSTech.    

Last Thursday, when I had dinner with the representative graduate students, I was told many stories about their college life. And I was thinking what the unique spirit of a member of SUSTech was. Being a member of SUSTech requires two vital spirits, which are pursuing idealism and daring to break through.

The establishment itself of SUSTech represents idealism as the university is loaded with the people’s hope for world-class universities in Shenzhen and the reform ideal of higher education practitioners in China. Carrying forward the spirit of Qian Xuesen, an outstanding scientist in China, SUSTech defines as its mission the training of top innovative talents and is always in pursuit of its dreams.      

Since you entered SUSTech in 2012, you are destined to be an idealist. In September 2012, Chen Siying, as a freshman representative, said in the speech at the opening ceremony: “harboring love for science and pursuit for free academic atmosphere, we gather here in SUSTech in pursuit of reform and innovation. Forsaking a stable and ordinary life, we work together in braving it and fulfilling our dreams.” Over the past four years, you have participated in the reform of higher education in China and carried forward the spirit of Qian Xuesen, and your precious youth is closely connected to the destiny of SUSTech. I feel so proud as each of you has delivered your promise made four years ago.    

The idealism of members of SUSTech drives you to follow your own heart and blaze your own trail. Yang Lin, a student from the Department of Financial Mathematics and Financial Engineering, gave up the opportunity to pursue doctoral degree at the University of Pennsylvania, Colombia University and Duke University and chose to study finance at the New York University instead only because she loves finance. She is determined to be a teacher of SUSTech in the future. Yang Lin, SUSTech will be waiting for you. Another student from the Department of Chemistry, Zhang Xiangyu chose to work for Huawei. As he entertains great passion for computer and aspires to create his value in this area, he gave up the chance to study overseas and joined in the creative undertaking in China.    

United by the common ideal of “taking root in the land of China to create a world-class university”, plenty of outstanding teachers gather in SUSTech. In March this year, when he learned the educational philosophy of SUSTech, Prof. Chen Wei, only 44-year-old, an expert of Chinese “1000 Talents Program” and responsible for the preparation of the largest genome center in Germany and Europe, decided to return to China and join SUSTech as chair professor in the Biology Department. Not long ago, a number of high-level teachers such as Liu Ke, Fellow of Australian Academy of Science and Yu Dapeng, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences also joined SUSTech, which has gradually enhanced SUSTech’s faculty.

The meaning of life is not only to realize personal values, but also to achieve social values. An ideal that comes from reality and can withstand the test of social practice is a real ideal; a person who combines his personal ideal with the social progress, has truly noble spiritual characters. SUSTech is established in a critical period of China’s higher education reform. It aims to cultivate more outstanding young people and to make contributions for a more powerful China. I hope that you can position yourself in the long course of history and integrate your ideals into the realization of the Chinese Dream! Stay true to your initial determination and press forward with efforts!

Dear students, in today’s commencement ceremony, I would also like to say, in your future life, apart from holding high the banner of idealism, please also remember the mission as a member of SUSTech.

Shouldering responsibility is our common spirit and the most important value of SUSTech. Former US President John F. Kennedy said, “We do this not because it is easy, but because it’s difficult”. To build SUSTech to be a world-class university is difficult and it is a rough path from the very beginning. Over the past four years, SUSTech developed rapidly as you strove and grew together with it. During the four years, there are both difficulties and unexpected harvests during the exploration. During the past four years, you have acquired not only knowledge, belief, vision and an open mind, but also spiritual ethos and ideas different from the other universities. Dear students, please remember, we have shared happiness and sorrow together for four years.

Since I have been engaged in the study of fluid dynamics, this year I specifically present each of the ten graduates with honors a Von Karman as a souvenir. Von Karman is great not only because he together with his contemporaries such as Prandtl and Taylor promoted the hydrodynamics research to an unprecedented new level in the last century, but also because he trained a group of world-renowned scientists. As one of Von Karman’s students, Qian Xueshen is a science master and has a far-reaching influence on new China. Looking back on the history, Master Qian returned to China determinedly, which reflects his sense of responsibility to promote the development of China! As the father of China’s aerospace and missile courses, Master Qian shows us that undertaking responsibility requires not only spiritual strength but also excellent skills and extraordinary abilities. Only through constant pursuit for excellence and becoming the pillars and elites of the society can your responsibility play a greater role in the trend of the times. If you want to be another Master Qian, first of all, you should have the ability to undertake responsibility like him.

SUSTech’s teachers have also shouldered their responsibilities. They proposed “Research, Innovation, Entrepreneurship”, which are three areas that the teachers will work on to better fulfill their responsibilities. After the Tianjin Port explosion, environmental emergency response was urgently needed. Prof. Zheng Chunmiao and Prof. Hu Qing led the emergency team to the scene hurriedly. The team overcame various difficulties and cooperated with relevant teams to carry out a comprehensive groundwater pollution emergency monitoring, providing critical technical support for environmental emergency work after the explosion polluted the groundwater and the environment. All these are the results of the experience accumulated during their years of scientific research. The combination of excellence and responsibility undertaking is the pursuit of SUSTech! SUSTech inherits the unique gene of Shenzhen, which incorporates the ground-breaking “Shekou spirit” of Mr. Yuan Geng, the “spirit of innovation” of companies such as Huawei, Tencent and also the “pioneering spirit” of the first generation of Shenzhen builders. Besides unremitting exploration, we also bear persistence and responsibility in mind. Therefore, dear students, please remember that the 166 students graduating today are not 166 ordinary students, but 166 kinds of power that will change the future and the world. Your adventure has just begun! Your journey to fulfill responsibility has just set sail!

Dear students, no matter where and how far you go, SUSTech will always care about you; no matter where you are, please remember that Shenzhen and SUSTech will be your life-long pride and spiritual homeland.

Best wishes for you, graduates of 2016! Thank you!