On September 14, ShanghaiTech held an opening ceremony for the entering class of 2018. The ceremony was attended by representatives from institutes affiliated to Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), ShanghaiTech faculty and students.
ShanghaiTech this year welcomes its fifth class of 422 undergraduates coming from 17 provinces and municipalities nationwide. The university also admitted its sixth batch of 560 master’s degree students and fourth batch of 220 PhD students who chose to continue their research at ShanghaiTech. A video presentation showed ShanghaiTech’s historical development and conveyed messages to the incoming students from ShanghaiTech outstanding graduates. According to ShanghaiTech’s tradition, the deans of each school announced each incoming student’s name and. Associate Dean Liu Zhi and Professor Zong Jiaguang (representing the School of Physical Science and Technology); Executive Dean Wu Jiarui (representing the School of Life Science and Technology), represented by; and Associate Deans Yujing Yi and Zhou Yu (representing the School of Information Science and Technology) welcomed the undergraduates and graduates of their schools. There were audible reactions as the crowd read some of the students’ self-introductions, including “I could either watch it happen or be part of it,” ”Write the code, hack the world,” and “Never underestimate yourself or overestimate your computer.”
Undergraduate representative Chen Xiduo, talked about the students’ experiences so far at ShanghaiTech and her aspirations for her university career. Shi Jiahe, a 2018 ShanghaiTech graduate who will continue on here for his master’s degree, reflected on growing up with the university and encouraged new students to bravely pursue their research dreams.
SPST Assistant Professor Zuo Zhiwei, whose research was recently published in Science Journal, shared with students his own research experience and asked students to be concentrate and learn from their setbacks and failures. Dr. Chen Qun, SIST Distinguished Adjunct Professor and CEO of United Imaging called for students to get ready for challenges and contribute to social development.
Zhu Zhiyuan, Chairman of the University Council, encouraged students to take full use of the resources available in ShanghaiTech and strike a balance between major study and general education. He expected students to combine their personal development with contributing to national strategies.
President Jiang Mianheng pointed out that ShanghaiTech has cultivated students of every year during the past 5 years and the university has made gratifying achievements in education and research. Jiang discussed how interdisciplinary studies and interactions are important for general education in natural and social sciences, major courses, professional skills and entrepreneurship. Jiang then discussed how arts and science can cooperate closely, and explained why ShanghaiTech decided to found the brand-new School of Creative Arts. SCA will offer faculty and students high-quality courses in humanities and arts, boost interdisciplinary exchange and original scientific research, and explore ways to incubate innovative business. He emphasized his hope that ShanghaiTech students would take responsibility for contributing to the restructuring and development of China. Then President Jiang officially announced the beginning of a new school year.
Outside the gymnasium, students gathered to find their photos on the signs that said “Welcome Home.” Yang Jia Jie and her classmate from the School of Life Sciences and Technology both said that attending to the Campus Assessment Day was crucial to their decision to come to ShanghaiTech. “I came to visit here and as soon as I was on campus I knew I wanted to come here for university. The dorms were great and everything here is new and high quality,” she said. “I knew if I came here I’d benefit from the opportunities and teaching philosophy here.”
Wang Yu Jing, one of 11 students from Gansu Province who chose ShanghaiTech said she was excited to start classes at SLST. “I came here because I wanted to come to a new university, it's different from traditional universities. There's a lot of new things here, and the resources are amazing. So I think it's really worth it to come here.”
SIST Graduate student Deng Xin agreed. “I went to a more traditional university for undergraduate studies. I wanted to come to a newer school for my graduate studies, one in a great location. ShanghaiTech has a different philosophy, and many of the faculty did their studies abroad. The traditional university atmosphere didn't suit me, I'd like to try something new.”
Then they joined the crowds of new students streaming towards the Dining Halls for lunch. ShanghaiTech’s fall semester had officially begun.
