A good horse knows to gallop without being whipped

Dear staff and students,

While Christmas songs are echoed cheerfully on the streets, New Year chimes already can’t wait to ring out. It is at this critical moment that we are ready to bid farewell to a year of harvest and at the same time usher in a brand new year – a year we have many new expectations for. At this juncture, I’d like to, on behalf of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, extend my heartiest congratulations to all staff and students. Congratulations on the great job each one of you has done in contributing your services to the University. In the meantime, I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for your diligence and hard work. I’m also immensely thankful to students’ parents, alumni and friends for their enduring support and backing. Please allow me to avail myself of this opportunity to present you all my best wishes. Wish you a happy life and a successful career.

In 2013, we saw out a total of 738 graduates, while we saw in 2,300-plus new students, both from home and abroad. We are proud to see that our graduates, with all the wishes and dreams bestowed on them, are striding forward to blaze new trails ahead. Meanwhile, we are more aware of our responsibilities towards the new students who look excited while a bit bewildered about the new life ahead where they are expected to explore the possibilities of their own development. It is this superceding movement year after year that witnesses XJTLU’s continuous growth and prosperity on the way to an ultimate fulfilment of its vision and mission.

Over the past year, the 50,000m2 Central Building, which houses the library, student activity centre, training centre, as well as various administration functions of the University, was put into operation, making it a landmark piece of architecture in Suzhou Industrial Park and also signalling the successful completion of the University’s entire north campus. Besides the space and multiple functions it provides, the Central Building has also, in some sense, injected new vigour and energy into the development of the University.  In addition, the south campus, which will cover an area of more than 100,000m2 and is designed to feature Eastern culture and academic community, has begun its construction, another important event in the history of XJTLU, which has inspired many expectations and aspirations for the future development and expansion of the University.  Moreover, the University has launched the International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) and the Graduate Studies School, established the Academic Strategy Group (ASG), the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Office and the Institute for Leadership & Educational Advanced Development (ILEAD) and formed the Programme Cluster in cooperation with a range of academic coordination mechanisms, which have all together remarkably enhanced the soft strength of the University towards a mutual promotion of both its hard and soft strength, making XJTLU stand out as a new international university in its very real sense.

XJTLU is no longer a “single building university” as it used to be. It has gradually come out of toddlerhood and is becoming full-fledged and poised to take off.  With an increasing number of renowned professors and experts from across the globe joining us, XJTLU has seen more and more scholars, professionals, as well as people from different social sectors come to the campus to discuss and exchange ideas on important subjects and issues, leaving us the opportunity to ally with different social powers in a joint endeavour to better serve society. The advanced innovation education system, the distinctive five-star educational model, the new vigorous academic framework, the network-based supporting platform featuring seamless connections, as well as the inspiring cultural atmosphere which boasts freedom and equality and encourages explorations and challenges to conventions, have together evolved into a phenomenon, called the “XJTLU Model”, which has brought us more recognition, acclaim and opportunities for cooperation than curiosity and doubts. While constituting the underlying support for the operation and development of the University, the XJTLU Model is expected to exert influence on higher education in China and the world at large, a shared dream of XJTLU that is coming true with our joint endeavours and consistent support from all social dimensions.

Despite the attention and debates, the rapid growth of XJTLU has, in the meantime, inspired a lot more expectations and aspirations. In this whole process, every staff member and student has played their indispensable role in sustaining the development of XJTLU and has collectively formed the firm foundation from which the University is expected to build an even better future. At this critical time for thanksgiving, retrospection and expectation, I’d like to express once again my heartfelt thanks to every one of you for your extraordinary contributions to the development of XJTLU and as our core ideology goes, I wish you all a happy life and a successful career. It is my sincere hope that you can continue to contribute your diligence and talents towards the goal of building XJTLU into a truly international university in China, which is able to exert influence on the development of higher education in China and the world.

2014 is the year of the horse according to the Chinese zodiac. Looking around the world, we are in the middle of an era which endows us with both opportunities and challenges. A good horse knows to run without being whipped. On the occasion of Christmas and New Year celebrations, I wish you all could gallop ahead and assail adversities that may come your way in the spirit of the horse and have all the success in the inspirational and well-blessed year of the horse to come.

Professor Youmin Xi
Executive President of XJTLU
Pro-Vice-Chancellor of University of Liverpool, UK