2018 Opening Ceremony for Undergraduates was convened at the indoor stadium of Jiulonghu Campus, Southeast University in the morning of August 31. Zuo Wei, Secretary of School CPC, President Zhang Guangjun, Managing Vice President Wang Baoping, Ren Lijian, Deputy Secretary of School CPC and Secretary of Committee for Discipline Inspection, Chief Accountant Ding Hui, Vice President Huang Dawei, Vice President Wu Gang, Vice President Jin Baosheng, leaders from all schools and departments, principals from relevant departments and offices of the school’s organs, 4000 freshmen from all over the country and 26 international students as firstly registered attended the opening ceremony. The ceremony was presided over by Zheng Jiamao, Deputy Secretary of School CPC. All the teachers and students present watched the welcome video about the Interesting Sidelights of Freshmen’s Registration at Southeast University in 2018 as prepared by the Propaganda Department of the School’s Party Committee.
At 8:30a.m., the national flag guard of Southeast University entered the stadium. With the majestic national anthem, the national flag slowly rose and the opening ceremony officially kicked off.
At the ceremony, President Zhang Guangjun expressed his congratulations and welcome to the freshmen enrolled in 2018 on behalf of the school, and made a speech titled “Undertake the Mission of the Times and Strive to Be the Leading Talent”. He said that these freshmen were enrolled in the new era and the start year of constructing the double first-class university; they also witnessed the the 116th anniversary of the founding of Southeast University and the 30th anniversary of its renaming. Entering the university signified that they have embarked on a new journey and opened a new chapter, indicated that their destiny would be intertwined with the development of the new era, and also implied that they would have no excuse for avoiding the new mission and working hard to make new achievements. President Zhang said that struggle should be the compulsory course for a happy life and the golden key to open the door to happiness regardless of the life to be pursued by the young generation. With struggle as the key word, he further discussed three consensuses on struggle with the students. Firstly, the students must struggle in the new era. The contemporary youth would be the generation that would advance together with the new era advocating responsibility and struggle without any excuse. They must embrace the new era and struggle in the new era when young. Secondly, the students should struggle in good years. Their youth and vitality, commitment and struggle would represent and determine the prospect of the motherland, the hope of the nation and the future of innovation in the new era. The students were greatly expected to develop in an all-round way and strive for perfection to lay down solid foundation for leading the future and benefiting human beings at the current critical stage of making ideas sublimated, ability improved and knowledge learnt at the university. Thirdly, the students may struggle on the great and sacred stage of Southeast University highlighting the millennium cultural connotations and the founding history of 116 years. At the new opening chapter of constructing a double first-class university in China, the school has provided an ideal stage for all the students to struggle for their dreams and a better future.
President Zhang continued to point out that Southeast University is right now reshaping its goals, deepening reforms and striving to cultivate leading talents with patriotism and international perspective for leading the future and benefiting human beings. As a freshman in the new era and the starting year of constructing a double first-class university, he/she must think about what kind of person he/she want to be in the future. President Zhang also encouraged the students that everyone can become the person he/she want to be since everyone is full of infinite potentials and unlimited possibilities. If struggle is deemed as the basic attitude of life, the leading should be the struggle goal and direction for all the students. In order to enable the students to better think about how to behave well as a leader in the new era, President Zhang further put forward three expectations: firstly, they must have the ambition to lead the times. The lofty ambition and mission is not only considered as the source of leading the university’s development, but also the driving force for the perpetual struggle of life. He expected the students could make their minds earlier and make great aspirations to lead the times not only for the purpose of having a good job or leading a good life, but also shouldering the mission and marching forward in parallel with the “Two Centennial Goals” in the new era; secondly, the students must have the courage to lead in innovation. Innovation is the first driving force of development. Generations of people from Southeast University have been always daring to take initiatives in innovation and thus widely known for advanced scientific innovation. The students were expected to inherit the courage of leading in innovation, refine the thought of innovation and practice the skills of innovation as prevailing in Southeast University so as to advance, prosper and win with innovations; at the same time, the students shall struggle down-to-earth and never give up instead of leading an easy life, which is unworthy of the prime of youth. Thirdly, the students shall have the righteousness to lead in the struggle for perfection. As a man cannot stand without integrity and a country cannot prosper without integrity, the morality is the foundation for composing the culture and inheriting the innovation. People from Southeast University has never stopped their steps of pursuing “perfection”; therefore, the students are also expected to always inherit the spirit of “struggle for perfection”, be patriotic, cultivate their lofty sentiment and strengthen their cultural self-confidence so as to establish the morality of Southeast University with efforts as lofty as the purple mountain, as deep as Xuanwu Lake and as magnificent as the Yangtze River, and pursue the great spirit of “perfection” with actions.
President Zhang Guangjun finally indicated that the students should take the relay to continue the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the 1-10-100 dream of Southeast University; the students should treasure and bloom their brilliant campus life. Let’s join hands and work together to realize the dream of constructing a first-class university and “pursuing perfection” without forgetting the initial aspiration.
Prof. You Yumeng, the teachers’ representative, a young teacher from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and the young Changjiang (Yangtze River) scholar in 2017, shared his own life aspirations and growth experience. First of all, he expected all the students could look back at their past and beloved with joy, ease and hope; keep grateful and turn gratitude to be strongest force deep in their heart. Secondly, he hoped the students could look towards the future and think about how they would change China and influence China after many years, which should be exactly what the students of Southeast University should keep firmly in mind. Finally, he hoped that everyone should firstly look at themselves and look around. He referred to the scientific research carried out by four outstanding students, including Pan Qiang, etc. from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, to encourage these freshmen to inspire their endless potentials. In addition, he also expected that all the freshmen would join hands with their teachers and partners to forge ahead together in spite of wind and waves at Southeast University.
Student Li Kai, the students’ representative from the School of Physics, student Li Yining, the freshman representative from the School of Electronic Science and Engineering, and student Gu Hongchen from Belarus, the representative of international students also addressed the opening ceremony.
Under the leadership of Deputy Dean Wang Lixin from the School of Medicine, all the freshmen from the School of Medicine took the oath as the medical practitioners. Finally, the opening ceremony was successfully concluded in the chorus of School Anthem of Southeast University.
It is reported that among the freshmen in 2018, regarding the 13 recruitment categories, 374 students come from 27 ethnic minorities, 320 students belong to the “post-01 generation” and 5 juveniles of only 15 years old. Among them, Sun Cheng’s matriculation results exceeded the first batch of undergraduate enrolment score for the category of science and engineering by 112 points in Anhui Province.