Keynote speech by the Executive President at the 2011 graduation ceremony

President Wenquan Tao, Professor Sir Howard Newby, honoured guests and graduands:

Welcome to Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

It is tempting to use my speech to tell you about the University’s achievements: about our unique educational model, about our spectacular growth, about our successes in teaching and research and about our plans for the future.

But today, we celebrate the success of our graduating students, and I know that most of you will pay little attention to what I say. You will be thinking more about your own achievements, your plans for the future and, perhaps, worrying about the possibility of falling over as you walk across the stage. So, I promise to keep my speech short if you promise to pay attention.

All over the world, universities are driving advances in science, technology, management and social services. Universities are central to economic, social and cultural development. And universities are global enterprises. None more so than XJTLU. But there is a curious paradox at the heart of good universities: they challenge tradition through research and discovery, and yet, they also uphold traditional values such as truth, academic freedom and tolerance. And, in the UK at least, graduation is a very important part of university tradition.

Like today’s graduands, XJTLU is still very young. In fact, today’s graduation is a double celebration, because this event also marks the fifth anniversary of our university.

And like our graduands, we have ambitious plans. We want XJTLU to be recognised internationally for its research and teaching. We want to conduct research that addresses fundamental social, technological and environmental problems. We want to explore new models of higher education, which will influence universities within and beyond China. We want to equip our graduates with the technical and managerial abilities to make a real difference in the world.

XJTLU has been widely acclaimed and is growing rapidly. In 2006, just 164 students were admitted to the University. This September, we are expecting over 2,300 new students. You can see that our campus is also developing rapidly, and plans are well advanced for a second campus to the south.

We could not have achieved all this without strong support, and I want to take this opportunity to express heartfelt thanks to everyone here: to the Chinese government, to our parent universities, to our staff and students, and to the people of all social strata who pay attention and give support to the development of XJTLU.

I would like to say special thanks to the families of our students.  Your support – moral, emotional and financial – and your encouragement through the difficult times, have played a crucial role in achieving the successes that we celebrate today.  You have every right to feel proud and happy. I firmly believe that through our joint endeavours, XJTLU will continue to grow and develop rapidly in the future, and will exert an important influence on the development of higher education in China and the world. I should end with a word to the students who graduate today. In your own way, each and every one of you has enriched this University. Today, you graduate, which is a tremendous achievement. But this is the beginning of a journey and not the end. Remember at all times and in all places our core ideology: happy life and successful career.  XJTLU will always be with you, cheering you on in your achievements and lending you strength when you need it.

Do keep in touch with the University – your University.

I wish us all a brilliant future!

Professor Youmin Xi