2023 New Year Address:Forge Ahead in Unity on a New Journey

Delivered by Yang Xianjin, TJU Party Secretary；Jin Donghan, TJU President

Yang Xianjin, TJU Party Secretary

Jin Donghan, TJU President

The new year ushers in a new era. While bidding farewell to the past year and welcoming the new, on behalf of Tianjin University and in our own name, we would like to extend our warmest greetings and New Year wishes to all staff, teachers, students, retirees, alumni at home and abroad, as well as people from all walks of life who have long cared for and supported the development of Tianjin University.

The year 2022 reflected the greatness displayed in commonness, like a winter pervaded with sunshine. Over the past year, we embraced the convening of the 20th CPC National Congress and made it our principal task to learn its spirit and implement it in practice. Vigor and vitality gush out in our undertakings on all fronts. The endeavor made by us all will be forever etched in history.

In 2022, we fought against the epidemic with great fortitude and selfless dedication. Owing to the support from our alumni and the general society, as well as the solidarity of every individual in Tianjin University, we have protected and shielded people’s life and health on campuses. Despite the tough time, touching stories among teachers and students emerged hither and thither, and warmth permeated into every corner of our campuses.

We would like to take this opportunity to salute all the faculty and staff. Thank you for your hard work! Only by personal experience can one tell how difficult things are. In 2022, be it senieor teachers who are about to retire, or young staffs who are also parents away from home, or logistic workers who see to our food and living environment, every worker on TJU campuses rose to adversities brought by the pandemic and answered to the call of responsibility and love. You responded to students’ concerns and acted accordingly as their counselors, goods deliverymen, hairdressers and drivers. To ensure the smooth going of classes and research, some teachers live in the offices, some made sure they were reachable around the clock and some took care of our food and security. By putting students’ welfare in the first place, you lived fully up to teachers’ honor and duty. Because of you, Tianjin University is brimming with love and strength!

The year 2022 has witnessed Tianjin University carrying out moral education to cultivate outstanding individuals with great expectations and ideals. The university has underlined the ideological and political education, listing the course of “Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era” in the training plan of undergraduates. We carried out the Dorm Supervisor program, making sure that all freshmen receive targeted and holistic instruction; we further promoted the Emerging Engineering Construction and successfully built the Future Technology College. In addition, 17 more undergraduate programs have been classified as national first-class and 4 programs have gained the national engineering education professional certification. We hatched the nation’s first batch of special pilot projects for the reform of master and doctor training in engineering and secured the first place of engineering doctorate cultivation in numbers. For five years in a role, TJU students have won gold medals in the China International College Students’ ‘Internet+’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.

This year has seen that Tianjin University upheld the party leadership and built a faculty with lofty pursuits and responsibility. At the third conference on talent work, we launched “Measures to Implement the Strategy of Developing a Quality Workforce in the New Era to Build a Stronger Tianjin University”. We have continuously improved the whole career development support system for teachers, promoted the talent evaluation reform, strengthened staff’s sense of responsibility, and tried to build a professional and specialized student counselor team. The university has been equipped with a new group of intellects, with 20 titled “National Leading Talents” and 44 “National Young Talents”. The smart grid team was listed in the second batch of “Huang Danian Type Teaching Team in Chinese Universities” by the Ministry of Education.

This year has found Tianjin University keeping in line with the national strategy to improve the subject system. Holding high the banner of innovation and progress, we have made accomplishments in many fields: Tianjin University succeeded in entering the second round of “double world-class” initiative and two more disciplines, Power Engineering and Engineering Thermophysics are recognized as national first-class disciplines; the first national first-class cross-disciplinary doctoral program in Earth System Science has been approvedand we have taken the lead in setting up the doctoral program in Engineering Education, which is unlisted in the Catalogue of secondary disciplines set by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. In addition, we have established a cross-disciplinary center and vigorously promoted the “TJU Intelligence Plan”. We established the College of Humanities and Arts, reconstructed the College of Foreign Languages, and enrolled the first group of postgraduates mastering in Interdisciplinary Intangible Cultural Heritage. We also made breakthrough in the world ESI ranking, with Engineering entering the top 0.01%, Computer Science the top 0.1%, and Mathematics the top 1%.

This year has recorded the scientific innovations and breakthrough in Tianjin University. Our total funding for science and technology has exceeded 4.2 billion yuan this year and we made folowing progress: the national large-scale earthquake engineering simulation research facility has entered the equipment installation stage; Tianjin Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for the Critical Zone Observatory of Bohai Coastal Region (Bohai CZO) was completed; and we have taken the lead in building the Haihe Laboratory, a Brain-Computer Interfaces and Human-Computer Interaction Lab. What’s more, 25 projects were checked in the National Key Research and Development Program of China, 379 projects were granted by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and 4 projects were supported by the National Social Science Foundation. The Tianjin Biosecurity Guidelines for Codes of Conduct for Scientists mainly initiated by Tianjin University was adopted globally by the World Health Organization. The commercialization of scientific and research findings has exceeded 100 million yuan.

This year has encouraged us to deepen international exchanges and promote global cooperation, proving that we always bear openness and mutual benefits in mind. Not long ago, among over 100 young Saudi students who wrote the China’s President Xi Jinping and received his reply letter, seven of them participated in the language training program of Tianjin University. We insist on opening-up and cooperation and are building friendship with more countries in the world. Till now, we have established cooperation with 260 universities and institutions in 50 countries and regions. The permanent campus of Georgia Tech Shenzhen Institute, Tianjin University (GTSI) is under construction and the Fuzhou International Campus has completed the first phase of construction and is now running.

This year has enjoyed wonderful cultural programs and special activities on our dynamic campuses. We held various campus culture activities including the 11th Crabapple Blossom Festival, the 4th Red Leaf Festival, and Drama shows telling stories of our forerunners. There is no lack of either humanistic care or innovation spirit on campus. Our campus pets, ducklings and swans welcomed their new home. The 4th Begonia Cup Alumni Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition fostered many future entrepreneurs. As one of the 36 examples of Outstanding Paired-Up Assistance in the nation’s poverty alleviation efforts, our assistance to Tanchang County in Gansu Province was recognized by the National Administration for Rural Revitalization.

For 127 years we never stop striving. Let us welcome the new year with unwavering resolution and increasing momentum! Let us light the star of Tianjin University with unfailing faith! Let us chase our dreams with great diligence and forge ahead with unyielding courage! Let us write a new chapter to build Tianjin University a world-class university!

Translated by Cheng Xiaotong & Gao Zuyi

Editor: Eva Yin