A grand opening ceremony of the 2016 academic year was held at the Minhang and Zhongshan Road North campuses of ECNU on September 5 to welcome 9,000 newly admitted students from across the world.
“On behalf of the university, I'm very glad to attend the ceremony. Welcome to ECNU,” university president Chen Qun said in his opening speech at the ceremony, which started with the majestic national anthem.
He sent best wishes for all students, hoping them to make great leaps in their future campus life.
The president introduced the university's achievements in talent cultivation, stressing that it has been sticking to the student-oriented policy.
Chen Qun
Fang Ping
“High education quality and excellent teachers are indispensable for your growth, but that would be of no avail without hard work of your own,” he noted.
Chen expected the students to make a habit of study, which he believed will be the core competitiveness in their future development, and to take it as a responsibility to develop a strong sense and capability of innovation, which will be able to increase their chances to succeed.
Yang Haibo
Guo Xiuyan
“Life is a marathon,” he said. “It does not matter when you start because the secret of success lies in persistence.”
He stressed that setbacks and difficulties are inevitable during the process, but the students must stay strong because the hardships they went through can be valuable treasure of life.
A representative of teachers, Yang Haibo, a Ph. D. tutor of the Chemistry and Molecular Engineering School of ECNU, who is a Yangtze River Scholar Distinguished Professor and winner of the China National Funds for Distinguished Young Scientists, and Guo Xiuyan, a tutor of doctorate students, spoke at the ceremony.
Song Sijie
Xu Yijia
Guo Chunyi
Shan Junhao
Song Sijie, a junior postgraduate student of the Law School, and Xu Yijia, who is in the fourth year at the School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, shared their experiences with the newcomers.
Guo Chunyi, an English major freshman of the Meng Xiancheng College of ECNU, and Shan Junhao, who is in the first year of postgraduate study at the Liu Fonian Class of the Education Faculty, gave speeches.
Vice president of ECNU, Fang Ping, chaired the ceremony, describing it a congratulation as well as a blessing for the new students.
He said 2016 is the 65th anniversary of the founding of ECNU and wished the students to carry on the spirit of ECNU, be down-to-earth and pioneering and creative in pursuit of study, and usher in a new chapter in their life.
