On September 9 2017, Wang Weizhong, member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) came to SUSTech to offer his congratulations on Teachers’ Day. Mr Wang visited the university’s construction plan model table and laboratories, and listened to the University Council Chairperson Guo Yurong, President Chen Shiyi and other university leaders’ reports, before holding exchanges with some of the university’s top scholars. He was delighted to see the progress that SUSTech had been made in a few years time.

“I hope SUSTech would continue to grow quickly into a world-class research university, lead the city of Shenzhen into a new era, and make greater contributions” said Wang.

Guo Yurong said that SUSTech’s rapid development in recent years, especially in scientific and technological innovation achievements, was inseparable from the municipal government’s strong support and guidance. SUSTech will continue to implement the development strategy of the city of Shenzhen, and invest its resources into diverse scientific research projects to provide a strong and qualified labor force and intellectual support to the region.

Chen Shiyi then followed with an introduction of SUSTech and its “three-step” development strategy, which covers high level discipline construction, world-class teaching staff, personnel training, scientific research, international cooperation, building a world-class university, the medical school’s construction and many other important affairs to Wang Weizhong, who said the long-term vision of the university should be to be “rooted in China, building a world-class, research-oriented university”.

Wang Weizhong listened attentively to the reports on the university’s current status, visited the campus, the thermoelectric materials laboratory and the Picometer Research Center, and exchanged with some of the most renowned scholars of SUSTech.

In view of SUSTech’s phenomenal development, Wang Wei gave his full support, and submitted just one request concerning the future development of the university. He pointed out that SUSTech should adhere to the characteristics of world-class universities and first-class scientific research institutions, by focusing more on strengthening personnel training, and continuously promoting the state-level key laboratories, research centers and medical clinics. This should drive a new era of innovation and progress for Shenzhen by making ground-breaking contributions.

Municipal Committee Secretary-General Guo Yonghang, Vice Mayor Gao Zemin, and various other key members of the Municipal Office, Municipal Organization Department and Municipal Education Bureau accompanied Wang on his visit.