The Graduation Ceremony of Shenzhen University was held at the Yuanping Stadium on July 6, 2020.
As social distancing is becoming a new normal, SZU has been creative to offer the Class of 2020 a safe and unique commencement ceremony while trying best to maintain the traditions. Both in-person and virtual ceremonies were held this year. In addition to the main venue of Yuanping Stadium, 20 Schools (Colleges), as the branch venue, also hosted the event. Graduating students, teachers, friends and family joined in the celebrations from afar by watching the online ceremony live streamed by various media and platforms including Xinhuanet, CCTV News, People TV, Southern Metropolis Daily APP, Sina Weibo, TikTok, bilibili, and Baijiahao, witnessing the unforgettable moment and academic conclusion of the class of 2020.
The graduation ceremony began at 9 am with the national anthem being played.
A total of 2,334 postgraduate students were awarded degrees this year, reaching a record high, among which 44 students received PhD degrees and 2,290 received master’s degrees. The ceremony saw their many achievements in academic performance, innovation, further studies, and employment: 20 students won the Excellent Student Award of Guangdong Province; 140 students won the National Scholarship; 64 students won the Peng Cheng Scholarship and Tencent Innovation Scholarship; 76 students won the Excellent Graduate Leader Award of Shenzhen University and 205 students won the Outstanding Graduate Award. Graduate students of the Health Science Center took the initiative to become a volunteer at the frontline of epidemic prevention and control and have done a remarkable job. In innovation, the class of 2020 has won a record number of awards in academic competitions including 60 national awards and 39 provincial awards. 44 PhD students published 176 academic papers as the first author, and applied for or participated in 116 patent applications. In further studies, 98 graduate students have obtained offer of admission to PhD programs in renowned universities such as Tsinghua University and Peking University. The employment rate of the 2020 postgraduates remains stable at 79.6% as of July 1 with a monthly average salary of 9,389 yuan. PhD students in optoelectronic engineering have been offered a starting salary of up to 24,000 yuan per month, demonstrating the high cultivation quality ofShenzhen University and strong employment competitiveness of our graduates.
The class of 2020 has 6,974 graduate students. By June 25, a total of 5,828 undergraduates have completed their studies in accordance with the teaching plan and are qualified for graduation. Their accomplishments include: 339 students won the Outstanding Graduate Award; 200 studentshaveobtained exemption from examinations for master’s programs; 1,201 studentshave been enrolled for a master’s degree by famous domestic and foreign universities such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Oxford University, accounting for 17.63% of the total graduates. The class of 2020 has actively participated in a wide range of academic competitions and won a total of 446 awards, including 55 international awards and 222 national awards. In addition, there are 1,489 applicants for adult education degree programs this year.
Chen Jinrui, a graduate major in physics from the Institute for Advanced Study, spoke at the ceremony as the graduate student representative. He recounted his hard work, progress and growth at Shenzhen University, expressed his gratitude and thanked all the teachers, Shenzhen University and Shenzhen city. He said, “We should adhere to the SZU motto of ‘self-reliance, self-discipline, self-improvement’ and uphold the SZU spirit of ‘down-to-earth’, which will illuminate our way ahead and allow us to step into the future with more courage, confidence and vision.”
Luo Yuming, alumni of the class of 2006 and director and chief reporter of Shenzhen News Department of Phoenix Television, addressed the ceremony as an alumni representative. She recalled her 12 years of hard work in the media industry, especially in January this year, she went to Wuhan, the epicenter of COVID-19 outbreak, and stayed there for 70 days to report on the anti-epidemic work. She said, “Lie ahead of us are daunting tasks, but the way is under our feet. Every day in SZU does not pass in vain. Your everyday hard work will pay off on your road to success.” She hoped that the class of 2020 would enjoy both the roughness and the scenery of their life journey, and make a difference in this world. “Let the world be enriched and better because of you.”
SZU president Li Qingquan gave a speech to class of 2020 on the values of Shenzhen University. He said, “There are always some values that remain unchanged amid the changes, accompany us from past to future and are solidified and exemplified by the pandemic, that is, speak the truth, do things in a down-to-earth manner andmaintain confidence.” In the battle against the pandemic, speaking the truth is an integrated dissemination of knowledge, experience, judgment, decision and even conscience and courage; doing things in a down-to-earth manner requires us to be conscientious and dependable;maintaining confidence, which comes from the strong resilience of our country, city, industries and each of us. He gave many examples to expound the values of Shenzhen University, including Luo Yuming, an outstanding alumna, Zhong Nanshan, the honorary dean of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Zhao Jinshui, a pathologist of Shenzhen University General Hospital, Zhang Hui, a teacher of the Affiliated High Schoolof Shenzhen University, Li Xiaopeng, a new teacher of Shenzhen University and alumni companies such as Zhengzhong Property Group, Huaqiang, Coastal Group, and Yitian Group. Their experience in the pandemic demonstrates the shining values of Shenzhen University.
Li encouraged class of 2020 to be positive. “While experiencing a global crisis, you are also facing historical opportunities. Looking back on the magnificent journey of human civilization, a new round of important historical progress always comes after the major global crisis. The road ahead is long. Whenever you cannot find the meaning of life or get lost in the dark, the SZU values will always be the brightest star in the night sky to illuminate your life journey!”
After his speech, Li conferred doctorate degrees and honorary undergraduate degrees to the recipients. Liu Hongyi, Chair of the University Council issued the outstanding graduate award certificate to the winner representatives.
The ceremony was presided over by Fan Zhigang, vice-chair of the University Council. Zhang Xueji, Xu Chen, and Wang Hui, vice presidents of Shenzhen University, read out the decision of Shenzhen University to confer doctorate and master degrees, bachelor and honorary bachelor degrees, and the name list of the outstanding graduates of class of 2020 respectively.
“Whenever I cannot find the meaning of life, whenever I get lost in the dark, the brightest star in the night sky, guide me and light me up…” At the end of the ceremony, graduates from all over the world sang the songThe Brightest Star in the Night Sky together. All the best to the class of 2020, who will set off on their next adventure with the SZU values and fight for their dreams. Wish you a bright future ahead and hope you stay true to your original aspiration. Goodbye SZU, hello future.
(Department of Publicity, Shenzhen University)
