Dear faculty members, fellow graduate students, and guests,

Welcome to the Opening Ceremony for the new academic year at SUSTech.

“Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk.”

This is one of the most famous quotes from Tony Stark, or Iron Man.

I wanted to quote him specifically because he represents that image of an engineer and inventor who inspired many researchers of our generation to begin their professional and research journeys.

And I am no exception.

My name is Elizaveta, and when I was a child, I also watched people control robots and build cyber suits. It fascinated and amazed me.

Now I’m a PhD student at the School of Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing. And I make huge robotic arms obey my voice.

I came to China because it ranks first in the world in the scale of scientific development, because technology here is developing at an incredible speed.

The image of Iron Man taught me three lessons.

1.“Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk.”

The courage and confidence to go where there is no ready-made instruction yet.

Research is a creative process, but it is also 27 browser tabs and a lot of coffee.

Experiments can fail. Papers get rejected. That does not mean you do not belong here. Try different approaches, work through uncomfortable and time-consuming results, go beyond your original plans and sometimes ask questions that no one has answered yet. Make peace with failure - but never with carelessness.

2.“If you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it.”

Do not let powerful tools think instead of you.

We live in an era of rapidly developing AI agents that can do more and more every day and give us more and more opportunities.

But in an environment like this, it is especially important to keep a curious and sharp mind.

AI is our suit. It gives researchers incredible possibilities： it is important that the suit makes us stronger, rather than replacing us and our ability to create.

3.“This world is far from perfect, but it is the world we have to live in.”

Remember that the ultimate value of technology is people and what world of the future we can build together.

Strong research communities are not the ones where everyone thinks the same way, but the ones where disagreements are respectful and productive.

Sometimes you should not fight difficulties alone.

Ask for help as early as possible. Share unfinished ideas. Be generous with praise.

We become a community because people make one another’s work and lives - better.

A huge thank you to SUSTech and our professors for creating an environment where all these lessons can be learned:

not to be afraid of technology,

not to become dependent on technology,

and to remain human and work with others.

For me, it is a great honor to be part of the Opening Ceremony for the new academic year.

May your coffee be strong enough for the literature review and all achievements.

Welcome to the world of difficult questions, unexpected results, and friendships that are waiting for you ahead.

Thank you, and 加油！