On the morning of September 10th, the 2017 UCAS Opening Ceremony, originally scheduled for an hour, was concluded after only two minutes as heavy rain suddenly broke out. It may be the shortest opening ceremony ever, only covering the national flag-raising, national anthem and speech. Under the drizzling rain, host President Ding Zhongli concluded the ceremony by saying that we must put the health of our students above all else.
Academician Bai Chunli, president of CAS, Secretary of Party Committee and honorary president of UCAS, welcomed the freshmen class and before delivering a very short --- 55 character--- speech. “It is Teacher’s Day today, so I’d like to pay my utmost tribute to all teachers at UCAS who have accompanied our students all the way and will guide more students towards the elite.” Academician Bai Chunli’s words received thunderous applause in the rain.
Apart from these words, Academician Bai Chunli also prepared a speech full of emotion and hope for this year’s 6499 doctoral students, 8592 graduate students, 397 undergraduate students and 509 international students. In his speech, he mentioned that there are numerous reasons why students choose UCAS, but the most important one is that you can find your true self and realize your dream of becoming a scientist. He hoped that everyone would revere human history, integrate their personal pursuit of science into the development of the nation and its people, and combine their personal effort with the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Academician Bai Chunli quoted one of the most moving lines from the hit summer movie Wolf Warriors 2: there is a strong motherland behind you to reveal our great nation. He shared his belief that the powerful nation only comes from the toil, wisdom and even lives of our predecessors. Only by understanding history can one clearly see present circumstances, and only by realizing what the present circumstances hold can one see the future. It was at the Yanqihu Campus of UCAS that Qian Xuesen and Guo Yonghuai led a large group of scientists and researchers. Their names did not appear in top international magazines at that time, but they developed the nation’s heavy power and pursued the grand cause of the "two bombs-one satellite" project. He added that patriotism was the root of their conscientiousness and a lamp that they lit with their passion. Their ambitions remain our most precious qualities and treasure.
UCAS boasts the largest number of postgraduates in China, with 47,000 students enrolled, including 23,000 graduate students, 24,000 doctoral students and 1,488 undergraduate students. In the ceremony, Academician Bai Chunli indicated that UCAS shares the same fate with Huairou Science City, and shoulders the responsibility of carrying out “the Fusion of Science and Education” initiative and building a first-class university. In the coming years, Huairou Science City will harbor world-class, innovative and technological talents. Patriotism is not merely nationalism, instead a love for the nation and for all of mankind. “I hope that you will seize the opportunities of the times, remain open to both Chinese and Western cultures, and be magnanimous, modest and studious.” He expected every student to be an inclusive innovator and advance the cause of science.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his inspection of CAS on July 17th, 2013 that a strong sense of patriotism is the prerequisite for science workers. At present, China is at a crucial stage in building an overall prosperous society, and we are closer than ever to our aim of rejuvenating the Chinese nation. We now have a more urgent need to remain prosperous and strong using scientific innovation. The 19th session of the National Congress of CPC to be held next month will offer an overall, strategic and forward-looking outline for building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way and deepening the modernization of socialism with Chinese characteristics. When freshmen graduate several years from now, Academician Bai Chunli hoped that they will be firmly resolved and fully cultivated. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. We should keep Academician General Secretary Xi’s instructions in mind and dedicate ourselves to our country, our people and the Chinese nation.
UCAS has achieved remarkable results of 2.0 versions of scientific and educational integration with the core of organizational construction in 2017. Up to now, the school has established 26 schools and colleges integrated of science and education and built a world-class team with 3000 full-time teachers and 10000 graduate tutors. Chen Xiaosong, vice dean of the School of Physical Sciences at UCAS and vice director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at CAS, is the representative of this team. He has been teaching undergraduates elementary courses in General Physics for three consecutive years. He quoted the famous words of Menci and said that he was heartily pleased to be a teacher in UCAS. He urged undergraduates to forget their past glories, and start afresh at UCAS.
Originally, UCAS invited several speakers to give remarks during the opening ceremony, including Zhao Fuwen, the awarded student representative and Doctoral student of Institute of Chemistry of CAS, Xu Zekun, the undergraduate student representative, Ma Cong, the graduate student representative and Frederik Visti Groenbaek, student representative from Denmark and master of innovation management. After heavy rains prevented these speeches, Zhang Jie, Vice President of CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and the Secretary of the Party Committee of UCAS, said that the speech transcripts of these representatives would be posted online.
Ma Cong is the 2017 graduate student representative of the newly established School of Artificial Intelligence. He said that when he entered the university he found himself in the middle of science masters. “In UCAS, it is the truth discoverers who guide us towards academic research. My supervisor Zong Chengqing comes from Zhongguancun to Yanqi Lake Campus to teach us every week. He is so responsible that after teaching he continues to conduct experiments. There are many teachers who dedicate themselves to teaching in UCAS. So let’s applaud for our beloved teachers. ”
After the ceremony, Academician Bai Chunli gave the first lesson of Chinese Academy of Science and Chinese Science and Technology Innovation to undergraduates of 2017 at the International Conference Center, which was also the second time that he has lectured undergraduates. The first time was in 2014 about Science Serve the Country, Generation to Generation. Since then, UCAS has attached great importance to freshmen education. On September 13th, 2015, Li Lanqing, former member of the standing committee of the political bureau of the CPC central committee and vice premier of the State Council was invited to give the first lesson to undergraduates, entitled Intellectuals and Cultural Cultivation. On September 27th, 2016, Jiabao Wen, former Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, premier of the State Council, was also invited to lecture on My University.
On the morning of September 10th, Bai Chunli, Zhang Jie and Ding Zhongli jointly inaugurated the School of Artificial Intelligence and the School of Nanoscience and Technology. The inauguration was presided over by Dong Junshe, the deputy secretary of party committee and vice president of UCAS. Ding Zhongli also gave a speech. The School of Artificial Intelligence was founded by the Institute of Automation, CAS, co-organized by the Institute of Computing Technology, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Software Research Institute, and the Institute of Acoustics. The School of Nanoscience and Technology was founded by the National Center for Nano-Science and cofounded by Beijing Nano-Energy and System Institute.
