The UCAS International College welcomed new international students for the 2013-2014 academic year at its first opening ceremony on 11 September at the Zhongguancun campus. Prof. Wu Yueliang, Executive Vice-President of UCAS, Prof. Liu Minghua, Director of the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, and Prof. Zhu Liping, Deputy Director of the UCAS Tibetan Plateau Institute, attended the ceremony and offered welcoming remarks. Prof. Zhu Xiangbin, Assistant President of UCAS, presided at the ceremony.
Academician Wu Yueliang extended his warm welcome to the new international students and hearty congratulations on the opening of the UCAS International College. He introduced the background, mission and future aims of the International College. Prof. Wu also encouraged the international students to cherish their time at UCAS, to be active in study and creative in thinking.
The establishment of the UCAS International College enriches the international environment of UCAS, attracting excellent overseas students and creating a multinational academic atmosphere. It implements the university's guiding principle of unified enrollment, education management and degree conferment, faculty-institute's fusion on leadership, faculty, management and cultivating system. It expands and improves the two-phase cultivation mode in which language and cultural study and professional courses are centralized in Beijing campuses, and scientific research primarily occur at various CAS institutes throughout China. This educational system enables international students to combine theoretical study with practical research as well as learning language and understanding art and culture.
This year the International College has admitted 112 graduate students from developing countries as recipients of the 2013 CAS-TWAS President's Fellowship. Altogether there are nearly 200 graduate students from 42 countries currently pursuing masters or doctoral degrees at UCAS in the 2013-2014 academic year. They begin their 3-4 years of advanced study and research at the UCAS International College and will become better acquainted with contemporary Chinese life.
Rebecca, a representative of the incoming international students addressed the opening ceremony. "We are both humbled and grateful for granting us fellowship awards to study in this world-renowned university, which has a great reputation and stands very high among the profiles of top performing universities."
Nnaemeka, a student from Nigeria, expressed his feeling about studying in China. Studying in China is something I've always dreamed of because it is an excellent opportunity to explore one of the world's most diverse and multicultural countries."
The opening ceremony ended with a Chinese song "Friends" performed by all international students present. In the next four to five months, the new international students will take Chinese courses as well as other professional courses.
(written by Hu Menglin)
