On July 6, the 2018 TJU Commencement Day and Degree Granting Ceremony for Postgraduates was held at the Weijin Road Campus. At the solemn ceremony, 388 Ph.D. students and 2,096 postgraduate students were granted degrees, while University administrators, alumni and faculty representatives extended their best wishes and whole-heartedly applauded them.

 

Approximately 3000 people participated in the event. They included TJU’s leaders Party Secretary Li Jiajun, and President Zhong Denghua, and representatives of faculty members and also TJU’s distinguished alumni Lin Tiejian, Director of the Institute of Engineering and Executive Assistant of Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Group Co., Ltd. as well as administrators from other universities and family members of the graduates. The Commencement was presided over by Wang Shuxin, Vice President of TJU.

 

President Zhong Denghua extended his heartfelt congratulations to the graduates and their families. In his speech, "Being a dedicated citizen in the New Era", he said that dedication is an attitude, an action, a pursuit of a life value, and, what’s more, a sign of a noble character. Only those who propagated a dedicated heart can truly understand the happiness of life and perceive the true meaning of life. The progress of human society in a new era can not do without people’s dedication. He hoped that graduates can foster the lofty ideal of serving the country, be doers and cherish gratitude, making their own contributions in this new era. He expressed his keen desire to see that the graduates, setting out from TJU on a new journey, live up to their values, enjoy true happiness and achieve successful careers through their dedication to their work.

 

Lin Tiejian, Director of the Guangxi Yuchai Engineering Research Institute attended the Commencement Day Ceremony as the alumni representative. Altogether, Lin spent 11 years at TJU, from his entrance as an undergraduate student in 1994 to the completion of his postdoctoral work in 2000. Inevitably, TJU’s character left a deep imprint on his mind. At the ceremony, he shared his own study and work experience with the graduates and proffered “five suggestions”: Keep innovating and exploring; stay focused and patient; keep learning and keep up with the times; be cooperative and open-minded and forge good communication skills; stay true to the mission, strictly abide by academic ethics and be truthful. Lin exhorted the graduates: "From now on, you will embark on a new life journey in which you may come across setbacks and adversities. But no matter what kind of situation you might be in, do bear in mind my five suggestions to you. I believe that all your hard work will eventually pay off".

 

Liu Tiegen, Director of the Education Ministry’s Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Technology, Chief Scientist of the National “973” Program Project, is also a Professor from the TJU School of Precision Instruments. As a doctoral supervisor, Liu extended congratulations and best wishes to all graduates and their families on behalf of all supervisors: "I hope that everyone can cherish ‘lofty aspirations’. Whether big or small a matter might be, as long as it is conducive to the progress of human society and to the development of our nation, then we must spare no effort to do it well.” Liu advised that the graduates cultivate their scientific research competency and be prepared for lifelong learning, saying: “It is necessary that we pay enough attention to improving research competency and to understanding these key words: ‘wisdom, exploration, perseverance, accumulation, screening and decision-making’. Master's and doctoral studies are only enough for you to develop your ability to acquire new knowledge, analyze and solve problems. If we are to remain ahead of the times, we must carry out lifelong learning”.

 

Zhang Yinyu, a Ph.D. graduate admitted directly as an undergraduate from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, spoke on behalf of all the graduate students. In his speech, he expressed his sincere gratitude to his parents, teachers and alma mater. Under the guidance of his instructor Professor Liu Wenguang, Zhang published five SCI high-level papers during his PhD studies as the first author or co-author with a total impact factor of 92.1. Upon his graduation, he turned down excellent opportunities to further his study abroad or take up teaching posts in universities at home. He also gave up the lucrative job offers in China’s big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Instead, he chose to work at the China Academy of Engineering Physics, which is known as an "Anchor of National Defense", devoting himself to the development of China’s western region and contributing to China’s military industry. He fully demonstrated a TJU student’s great passion in science and made himself a pride product of his alma mater.

In his speech, Zhang numerated TJU’s great achievements he had witnessed over the past 9 years: The battery life span of the underwater glider Haiyan that kept breaking new records; the School of Medicine and the School of Intelligence and Computing that have been established one after the other; four first-level disciplines including Material Science and Engineering that have been included in the National Discipline Construction Program of 'world-class' universities, among many others. Said Zhang affectionately: “The rapid development of TJU lies in the hard work and dedication of everyone at TJU. I am proud to be one of them and I am proud to have done my bit toward its development".

 

Zheng Gang, Deputy Dean of the Graduate School, announced the resolution for granting Doctoral and Master's degrees on behalf of TJU’s Academic Degree Evaluation Committee. The first batch of doctoral students jointly trained by TJU and Qinghai Nationalities University were granted degrees at the commencement ceremony.

 

Before the closure of the ceremony, all the graduates sang the university anthem, Ph.D. graduates and Master graduates then went onto the rostrum in turn to receive degrees from the university administrators, Academic Committee representatives and leaders from the different schools of TJU.