Alumni impressed by the development of XJTLU on homecoming day

29 Nov 2017

2017 Alumni Homecoming Day was held at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, attracting almost 200 alumni to XJTLU.

Professor Youmin Xi, ‎executive president of XJTLU, attended the opening ceremony and welcomed all alumni. He also introduced XJTLU’s developments and achievements of higher education reform and exploration in syntegrative education in recent years.

“One of the most important values of university education is to help students and alumni develop,” said Professor Xi. “Alumni as well are indispensable for the development of the University.”

He also introduced the south campus of XJTLU and new programmes available at the University and welcomed alumni to continue postgraduate and PhD studies at XJTLU.

During the ceremony, Dr Minzhu Yang, vice president of XJTLU, awarded the Distinguished Branch of XJTLU Alumni Association and Distinguished Alumni Contributor to Shanghai branch of the XJTLU Alumni Association and its chairman.

XJTLU Alumni Association Shanghai branch was established in April 2013. The current number of alumni is over 3,400. Shanghai branch has held various career sharing sessions and provided advice for living in Shanghai, and has formed an alliance of overseas returnees with alumni associations from British universities including: University of Reading, University of York and University of Hertfordshire.

The Shanghai branch is now able to provide alumni at home and abroad with services including, but not limited to, accommodation rental, job search and entertainment.

Jiefu Chen (pictured below right), chairman of the XJTLU Alumni Association Shanghai branch, said that studying at XJTLU equipped him with the spirt of ‘not being afraid of losing’ and ‘daring to fight on’ and that the establishment and development of the Shanghai branch is inseparable with XJTLU’s education for him.

“Everything is built from nothing to something,” Jiefu added. “I appreciate all the help and support from XJTLU staff.”

Taking the opportunity of receiving the prize, Kai Zhu (pictured above middle), vice-chairman of XJTLU Alumni Association Shanghai branch, visited the South Campus for the first time. He said he admired the current students who can enjoy the latest resources and facilities of XJTLU.

Jiefu and Kai provided some suggestions about career choice for XJTLU students. Kai believed that it was important for students to change their concept from receiving support passively to acquiring resources actively.

Kai also empathised the significance of taking club activities and internships seriously, saying: “It takes time to be able to prove one’s qualities in interviews - club activities and internships are two of the most effective ways to transfer knowledge into skills.”

Reflecting on the capabilities of XJTLU students, Jiefu said: “XJTLU students are modest and equipped with excellent learning ability. All they have to do now is to broaden their vision and keep a down-to-earth attitude.”

Alumni also reunited with their tutors. Duofen Fei (pictured above left), who graduated from the BA English and Finance programme of XJTLU in 2013, was invited to the event by her Final Year Project supervisor Dr Paul Cheung (pictured above right).

Duofen was very pleased to be back since she missed campus life very much after she began working, saying: “I hope current students cherish what they have now because both the environment and academic atmosphere here are really great.”

Dr Cheung expressed his gratitude towards the event and said: “I’m very glad that graduates come back to share their stories with us. I hope there will be more events like this in the future. ”

Haoyue Deng, who graduated from the BA Business Administration programme of XJTLU in 2015, shared her nostalgia for Alma Mater after the event: “The development of XJTLU is obvious to all. I’m really proud to see the changes that have taken place on campus.”

2017 Alumni Homecoming Day was held by the Alumni Affairs Team of the Student Admissions and Career Development Office (SACDO), aiming to enhance the cohesion between alumni and XJTLU and improve their reciprocal influences.

According to Jing Wang from SACDO, team leader of alumni affairs, this event which gave alumni an opportunity to see the developments of XJTLU and share their experiences with tutors was well received by all attendees.

By Qiuchen Hu, photos by Weiqian Zhang, Hongying Wang and Junyun Wang

Edited by Guojuan Wang and Jacqueline Bánki

29 Nov 2017


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