2013 Teachers' Day greetings from the Executive President

Dear all staff,

Each day, we see the sun rise to usher in a brand new day. Today is Teachers' Day, and it’s bound to be a different day for people on the educational front like us.

It is common to see that a certain festival is announced in memory of a certain group of people or a certain event, either out of the need for being valued due to their vulnerability, or the need for being commemorated as they are deemed as special, or because they are important to expect, and are great to respect… When it comes to Teachers' Day, I think respect and expectations explain it.

Teachers are expected to disseminate knowledge, explore the unknowns, support the growth of youngsters, contribute their knowledge to society, and thus play a role in pushing forward the evolution of human civilisation… All are essential responsibilities we are endowed with. Therefore, I believe Teachers' Day is more about expectations than respect.

We are all the more aware of our responsibilities as teachers and scientists whenever we think of the suffering students and parents have gone through in the course of Gaokao (National College Entrance Examination), the hard time they’ve experienced for choosing universities and degree programmes and the generosity they’ve displayed in getting into a university they desire despite the high cost, all of which we are deeply impressed with. This sense of responsibility grows even stronger seeing that humans still remain vulnerable to nature in this era that features highly advanced scientific and technological developments by falling victim to environmental damage, disease and shortage of resources, listening to human crying in the face of wars, conflicts, massive violence, fights and terrorism, knowing that we are in the middle of financial, economic and social crisis…

University education in the world dates back thousands of years. There have existed ingrained methodologies, well-established skillsets and inspiring theories when it comes to the role teachers have played and the responsibilities they’ve performed. However, in front of an internet generation, confronted with dazzling cyber and information technologies, vibrant global communications and interactions, as well as dramatic changes thus brought to learning and living behaviours, we have to rethink these ideologies and practices of education we are familiar with and have been used to. Many educational scholars warned that the increasing emergence of disruptive learning and teaching technology has put education on alert, saying that it is time to wake up. Therefore, I believe, as teachers and scientists, it is our duty and mission conferred on us by history and, more importantly, our ultimate goal and shared dream at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) to keep exploring and be finally able to reshape higher education, universities, and learning and teaching based on our constant training, practising, experiences and research efforts.

We humans may always find ourselves suffering in the dilemma of whether to sustain the tradition or take on new challenges in face of significant transformations in human history. Education reform is no exception. You may feel familiar and secure by following conventional practices for fear of risks, but you are at the same time giving up the chance for long-term development. You may have to embrace challenges and fight hard to abandon the old traditions and blaze new trails ahead, but you are rewarded with a bigger chance to win a more splendid future. At XJTLU, all academic staff, who are highly professional and ambitious, coming from all across the globe, can feel free to flex their muscles on the unfettered and freewheeling platform provided by the University, using their own wisdom to explore, and contributing their grand share to the goal of the University – to become a new international university in China and a Chinese university recognised internationally for its unique features.

On this festive day, I’d like to, on behalf of the University, extend my warmest greetings to all of you. Thank you for joining XJTLU. Thank you for your great contributions. And please also allow me to relay the expectations and gratitude from our students, parents and friends from all walks of life. It is the social expectation and, more importantly, our mission to explore and infuse new ideology into higher education, enhance the value and importance of the university and classrooms to students, society and the entire human beings, and to be finally able to exert a strong influence on the development of higher education in China and the world. I believe every one of you has been feeling sacred doing this introspection on Teachers' Day today.

My dear colleagues, let’s join our efforts.

Professor Youmin Xi
Executive President of XJTLU