With a grand gathering on the east plaza of the University Library on Liangxiang campus, the UCASS 2022 orientation ceremony commenced at 9 a.m. on September 18.

It had an extensive attendance of the leaders of UCASS, and its schools, and departments, alongside a wide audience of more than 2000 students of the 2022 cohort both online and offline, including 502 PhD students, 1309 master’s students and 397 undergraduates. Gao Peiyong, Vice President and Member of CASS and Secretary of UCASS Party Committee; Zhao Qi, Secretary General of CASS; and Jiang Xiaojuan, Member of the NPC Standing Committee, Vice Chairperson of the NPC Social Development Affairs Committee, and doctoral supervisor, all joined the ceremony, which was presided over by Wang Xinqing, the Vice President of UCASS and President of Graduate School of CASS.

The opening ceremony was unveiled in the solemn national anthem. On behalf of the UCASS faculty members and students, Wang Xinqing extended his warmest welcome and congratulations to the new entrants for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs. Representatives of freshmen, senior students, faculty members, and postgraduate supervisors made greeting remarks respectively.

Wang Xinqing, Vice of President of UCASS Hosted the Ceremony

Zhang Bojiang, Dean of the School of Chinese Language and Literature and Director-General of CASS Institute of Linguistics, spoke on behalf of the faculty members. Zhang pointed out that established in the context of “accelerated development of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics”, UCASS is in its prime. Zhang urged the students to develop themselves, so as to live up to the time they spend at UCASS and the excellent educational resources they enjoy. He said, “We are all witnesses and contributors to the history of UCASS. Every effort you make here will become a part of its splendid story. In return, you will also be able to build your own life-long assets here both professionally and personally.”

Jiang Xiaojuan spoke as a representative of alumni and postgraduate supervisors. She shared three of her expectations with the students: Firstly, stay focused. That requires students to constantly build their professional knowledge and academic thinking with accumulative strengths and steady progress, by maintaining their inner peace and concentration against the overloaded information; secondly, stay open. Do cherish the quality education resources at their disposal with both keen observations and practices, so as to sharpen their skills and broaden their horizons; thirdly, stay active. Try to engage in a variety of activities to create real contact with the society, in order to better understand the realities with due awareness of problems. She hoped that the students would embark on this new journey with confidence, faith, and determination, and make the most of their precious time.

Gao Peiyong and Zhao Qi presented the “President’s Special Award” to six postgraduate teams and their advisors who excelled in the 17th “Challenge Cup” National Extracurricular Academic Competition. Among them, the team from the School of Economics won the special award with Professor Gao Wenshu as their advisor. Both by volume and quality of works presented in the competition, UCASS has set a new record, leading the performance of all universities of liberal arts across China.

Gao Peiyong, Vice President of CASS and Zhao Qi, Secretary General of CASS, presented “President’s Special Award” to the UCASS Team

To conclude, UCASS President Zhang Zhengwen addressed the freshmen with heartfelt congratulations and welcome on behalf of the UCASS faculty members and administrative staff. He said: “Today marks a new milestone in your life. You will start a new journey here as a UCASSer, with a new chapter of life unfolding ahead of you. Only by the time you fully understand the university can you truly identify your own academic interests, with your own plans that will deeply shape your future career and personal life. And that is when you become a real UCASSer”. Ardently, he shared his expectations for the new entrants: To become someone with strong faith in socialism with Chinese characteristics and strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation; to grow into capable and skillful UCASSers to the benefit of the people and the society; to nurture well-adjusted character with kindness, and live up to the upbringing and education they have received from parents and teachers at school.

UCASS President Zhang Zhengwen Addressed the Freshmen

With the tunes of its alma mater The Light of Humanity, the UCASS 2022 orientation ceremony came to a successful conclusion.