On July 3rd, ShanghaiTech University held its 2021 Commencement and Degree Conferral Ceremony in the ShanghaiTech Athletic Center. Secretary of the University Party Committee, Vice President Li Ruxin presided over the ceremony honoring ShanghaiTech's 332 undergraduate degree students, 228 master’s degree students (144 of which are conferred as ShanghaiTech degree, 84 are University of Chinese Academy of Sciences degree) and 165 Ph.D. degree students (34 of which are conferred as ShanghaiTech degree, 131 are University of Chinese Academy of Sciences degree). In the audience were Class of 2021 graduated students, parents, faculty and staff delegates. Honored guests included members of the university leadership, University Faculty Committee, and the University Academic Degree Evaluation Committee. This year, the winner of the Medal of the Republic, Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor Zhong Nanshan, was invited as a distinguished guest to deliver a themed speech.
Figure 1. Secretary of the University Party Committee, Vice President Li Ruxin hosted the ceremony
The graduation ceremony officially began at 0900 with the national anthem. The first session began with Secretary Li Ruxin announcing the name list of 48 students winning the Graduate Excellence Award of Shanghai, and the name list of 9 students winning the 2021 ShanghaiTech President’s Award. President Jiang Mianheng conferred the certificates.
Figure 2. President Jiang Mianheng conferred the certificates
President Jiang then delivered a speech with the topic of “Persistence and Courage”. He congratulated all the graduated students and appreciated their excellence. He put forward two expectations to the graduates: the first one was about being persistent. He said that a graduate with the ShanghaiTech character should hold ideals and ambitions in mind, and closely link his success with the destiny of our country. He should have a sense of mission, stay true to his original aspirations, not get lost on his way to success because of different voices, and be brave and persistent in the way he believed. The second expectation was about courage. A ShanghaiTech graduate should also have the family-country feeling and think in terms of the big-picture. He needs to inherit the fine character of Chinese intellectuals, pursue the realm of knowledge and understanding, and keep a prudent, scientific, pragmatic and resistant spirit. One should realize that there is no shortcut in life, that difficulties and frustrations can be the best teacher and guide, and then be courageous enough to go forward and accomplish one’s aspiration.
Figure 3. President Jiang Mianheng delivered a speech
Distinguished guest Professor Zhong Nanshan delivered a speech with the topic of “China’s Prevention and Control Strategy of COVID-19”. In the speech, he provided a comprehensive review of the anti-COVID-19 action in China under the leadership of CPC, introduced the current prevention situation related to the Delta variant of COVID-19 in Guangdong Province, compared and analyzed the differences in pandemic prevention between China and Western countries, and described the results of vaccine development in China. At the end of speech, Professor Zhong Nanshan also expressed his expectations: faculty and students of ShanghaiTech should maintain ideals and dreams, strict requirements and pursuits, ambitions and hard work, enthusiasm and passion, in order to make contributions to the country.
Figure 4. Professor Zhong Nanshan delivered a themed speech
The representative of the graduating seniors, and winner of the President’s Award, Li Jiaxin from SLST expressed her feelings about the ceremony. She recalled her past four years at ShanghaiTech as she kept exploring, trying, breaking, and pursuing perfection, proving she made the correct decision in choosing ShanghaiTech. She described an image where, just as the stars light up the night sky, so also do the bright, sparkling students of ShanghaiTech, each glittering with their own unique talents and accomplishments, light up and showcase the specialness of ShanghaiTech.
Figure 5. Li Jiaxin expressed her feelings about the ceremony
Graduate student representative Lu Wentao from SIST, also the winner of the President’s Award, shared his entrepreneurial story at ShanghaiTech. During his past seven years’ study he learned how to face challenges and find opportunities from them. He believes that nowadays, at the intersection point of technology and industry, there must be people who are persistent in real research, rather than just going out into the financial market to make quick money with superficial hype.
Figure 6. Lu Wentao shared his entrepreneurial story
Assistant Professor from SPST, Zhang Yuebiao, gave a speech on behalf of the faculty. He shared the story of his college years, and encouraged students to explore the unknown bravely, to excel with innovation, and to harvest with courageous spirit. He hoped the graduates would move forward firmly with their beliefs, stay true to their direction over time, and become men and women holding the noble ideal of Communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Figure 7. Assistant Professor Zhang Yuebiao gave a speech
In the last session, the 2021 graduates bestowed a boat paddle as a gift. Enclosed within the handle of the paddle were 3 artistic elements representing SPST, SLST, and SIST, meaning that ShanghaiTech is like a big boat ready to sail out, and the 2021 graduates would like to sail together with all ShanghaiTech people.
Figure 8. President Jiang Mianheng unveiled the gift
At the end of commencement ceremony, all graduates stood up and thanked their parents, professors and university staff.
Figure 9. Graduates stoop up and thanked their professors