2014 opening ceremony speech – try out your independence, advance towards maturity

Dear students, parents, President Tao, professors, colleagues, distinguished guests and friends,

Welcome, all, to the opening ceremony for the new students of 2014 at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

Please allow me to convey my most sincere congratulations to all the new students at XJTLU. I congratulate you on your successes in surviving the painful journey of preparing for the university entrance exam, and in overcoming the dilemmas in completing the university application process, which finally brought you to XJTLU. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to all the parents. Thanks to your tireless hard work and your sacrifices at all cost, we are able to welcome another group of vibrant students this year.

We share a common goal – be it students, parents or the University – that students are supposed to try out their independence and advance towards maturity with our help. Here at XJTLU, we provide them with on-campus training that will inspire them to dream big, and above all, to help them strengthen the wings with which to pursue their dreams.

As part of today’s opening ceremony, I am supposed to offer you suggestions about what not to do during your time here. I presume that you’ve been told quite enough about what to do or not to do, and you’re probably fed up with these kinds of reminders.

From childhood till now, you have been treated as a child. Nevertheless, you are physically adults capable of assuming responsibilities, of thinking independently and making your own decisions.

You are ready to plan your own life, and to independently search for the solutions to any problem you may encounter during your development. Your parents have worked hard to protect you, but it is time for you to step out of this virtual paradise so that you have the courage to face the real world – one which is full of complexity – thus enhancing your ability to survive and thrive in today’s modern world.

Genuine maturity means discovering problems on your own and solving them effectively. I am here today therefore, not to offer you reminders, but to share with you the basic issues which you must deal with during your university life. In terms of how to apply the right attitude and find reasonable solutions to these issues, it requires self-study and research. This perfectly reflects the fundamental “research-led” teaching principle advocated by XJTLU.

To begin with, once you are finally free from the hell of examinations and have passed Gaokao – the so-called “Jaws of Death” – you can indulge yourselves with the feeling of excitement and happiness, and to the desire to lead an unscrupulous life for a while.

Let me remind you that XJTLU is known by many students as a “paradise for straight-A students, and a hell for school scums”. Think, however, about how you can prevent yourself from leaving one “hell” only to find yourself in another?

XJTLU differs greatly from other traditional educational institutions in terms of its educational philosophy and mindset, based on our rigid requirements on teaching quality. Your study achievements will strictly reflect the degree to which you have transformed your study attitude and behaviour. Self-discipline or self-indulgence will lead to opposite outcomes. So, what kind of transformation is required in terms of your personal and academic life upon entering XJTLU? What kind of life attitude should be adopted, or what kind of behavioural pattern should be applied?

After experiencing the torture of repeated examinations and endless pressure of reproach or over-indulgence from your teachers and parents, you must be excited to escape from such institutional “care” and finally long for independence and freedom.

As your university days are about to begin, you are ready to embark on a period of “liberation”: experiencing the joy of freedom and enjoying its beauty.

I trust that many of you have fantasised about university life and have been looking forward to this day with great anticipation. You may be worried about the moment when you shake hands with independence and confidence, or face the future with anxiety. On the contrary, this means accountability and responsibility.

How must you arrange and balance your life and study when you are ruthlessly exposed to a series of never-ending challenges? How can you switch from the days when you were fully provided for, to a life when you need to look after your own affairs? What kind of qualifications and capabilities should you cultivate so that you wouldn’t feel perplexed, stressed and confused?

As unquestionable members of the internet generation, each of you can already regard yourselves as top-class internauts. By entering XJTLU, you will further discover that the internet is an indispensable partner to your study and life here. Please keep in mind, the internet is like a double-edged sword – sound use of it can lead to enormous convenience, abundant resources and improved efficiency. If, however, you overindulge in the internet or overuse internet games, such misuse will ensure that those “nerds” will be distracted from their studies, and this, in turn, may ruin their lives. Think about how you can rein in your desires. How to become a manipulator and master of modern technology, such as the internet, rather than its slave?

From childhood to now, you have lived in an illusory world that is oversimplified and even beautified to serve the purpose of achieving high scores and entering top universities. The moment you face the real world, you suddenly find that reality is full of complexity and entirely contrary to your initial understanding.

Your instinct, the good and integrity cached in you, will drive you to believe that society is a huge mess. The ambiguous righteousness and sense of responsibility can turn you into a “young cynic”. Admittedly, our sense of social responsibility deserves encouragement and enhancement.

Mere criticism or blind condemnation, however, plays little positive role in solving practical social problems. As the young generation, you should ask yourselves: how can I offer a rational analysis? How can I contribute to social progress through my own actions? What kind of knowledge, qualification and capability system should be developed in order to enable me to assume such responsibility?

The list goes on and on.

And this is the homework I leave to you today. You will carry out your own research and provide your own responses to these questions. You will continuously discover new problems and solve them. In the process of analysing and solving these questions, you will learn how to study; you will acquire new knowledge, improve your skills, enhance your qualifications, build your dreams, and eventually prepare yourself as a mature and strong person to pursue your dream.

Try out your independence, advance towards maturity, and attain robust development; you could not achieve them without the collaboration of your beloved parents.

To the parents, your children are entering adulthood, the real care from you is no longer the gentle cuddle under your arms, on the contrary, true love is exposing them to reality, giving them space and freedom, and letting them brave the storm and experience the adventures of the world.

The University, no doubt together with your parents, will offer you assistance, guidance and support at any time and from anywhere, to ensure your steady progress on a free, open platform enriched with internationalised resources in a friendly environment.

We hope that you will equip yourselves with the real capacity in carrying out lifelong practice of the concept advocated at XJTLU – “Happy life, Successful Career”.

Thank you all!

Professor Youmin Xi
24 August 2014