Source: Publicity Department
Translated by: Zhan Cheng
Edited by: Wang Dongmei
With spring light returning to earth, a fresh year thus begins.
As the New Year bell tolls amid the first ray of sunshine of 2024, Sun Yat-sen University has embarked on a year celebrating its centenary. At the time of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, we would like to extend sincere New Year greetings to our students, current and retired faculty and staff, alumni at home and abroad, and friends from all walks of life that have always cared for and supported the development of Sun Yat-sen University.
In 2023, the first year for fully implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, SYSU adhered to its original aspiration, carried forward its development, and earnestly organized education on the theme of studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. 2023 saw the successful convening of SYSU's 14th Party Congress. Upon a comprehensive and systematic review of the major achievements made in the previous five years, the university outlined the “Two-Step” strategic plan to accelerate the building of a world-class university with Chinese characteristics, and clearly set the main goals, key tasks, and action pathways for the five years to come. Adhering to strengthening the overall leadership of the Party over its work as well as the fundamental task of educating students with high moral standards, SYSU is right on its way to new accomplishments in building a world-class university with Chinese characteristics through high-quality Party building.
In 2023, SYSU nurtured a rich education environment, cultivating highly-competent young people for the Party and the nation. The university has been committed to educating students with the guiding principles of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, inspiring faculty and students to keep in mind the greater cause and top priorities of the nation. With a focus on student development, the university strived to integrate general education and professional training, and build a diverse, open, and continuously-improving talent development system through “strengthening foundations, promoting cross-disciplinary studies, respecting choices, and achieving teaching excellence”. Efforts have also been made in the innovation of teaching, fostering an enabling atmosphere for teaching and cultivating students. A typical example is our basic mathematics teaching team, which aspired to be great educators and pursue academic excellence, and was awarded the title of “National University-level Teacher Team in the Style of Huang Danian”.
In 2023, SYSU lit up the lighthouse for talents, who gathered strength, consolidated efforts and scored significant achievements. Adhering to the Party's overall leadership over talents and professionals work, and following the basic principles of “moderate scale, optimized structure, emphasis on quality, and pursuit of excellence”, the university actively promoted the construction of talent teams for the new era. The “tenure track” system for teaching and research staff was fully implemented to ensure high-level faculty teams building. A number of SYSU scholars won top awards or titles. For instance, Professor Ma Jun was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Professor Xu Ruihua was honored with The Science and Technology Awards of Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation in 2023; Professor Bao Jigang won The UNWTO Ulysses Prize for Excellence in the Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge in Tourism. Some other SYSU scholars were also awarded various honors such as the National Innovation Award and the Chinese Medical Science Award. Professor Wang Meng's team made a breakthrough discovery of nickel-based high-temperature superconductors, marking a great leap from 0 to 1 in the field of basic research.
In 2023, with focus on the forefront of science, SYSU worked diligently and forged ahead with determination. The university was committed to achieving sci-tech self-reliance and self-strengthening, emphasizing the “Four Orientations”, and highlighting the role of basic research as the “Two Main Forces”. Two national key laboratories in the medical field underwent reorganization, and two new co-built national key laboratories were approved in the fields of medicine and engineering. Multiple first-batch new sequence ministerial-level platforms were approved for establishment. One innovative research group was approved by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, along with 13 projects from the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars and 18 projects from the Excellent Young Scientists Fund, setting a new record for the best results ever. The university has ranked among the top three nationwide for eight consecutive years in terms of the number of approved projects from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
In 2023, staying true to its original aspiration, SYSU pressed forward with determination by aligning itself with needs of the nation. The university served major national strategies as well as the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, enhancing its historical mission of “fulfilling the role of education in building a strong nation”. The university continued to maintain its leading position in the National Social Science Fund and the Ministry of Education's humanities and social science projects, with a significant increase of the approval rate of national key projects and major projects. Two provincial and ministerial-level platforms, including the research base for consolidating the sense of community for the Chinese nation, were approved to be set up by SYSU. Efforts were also made to establish the Rural Revitalization Joint Research Institute, facilitate university-enterprise collaborative research, effectively align with the development needs of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and concretely implement Guangdong's rural revitalization strategy and the “One Hundred Prefectures, One Thousand Townships, and Ten Thousand Villages” project.
In 2023, SYSU demonstrated a strong sense of patriotism, united hearts and minds of its people, and dispatched SYSUers to various places in need. The university comprehensively rolled out targeted assistance for Xinjiang and Xizang, achieving great success there in such fields as education, medical care, and local development. SYSU actively supported places such as Fengqing Prefecture in Yunnan Province, Liangzhou Prefecture, and Gaozhou Prefecture, both in Guangdong Province, consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation. Through “promoting practical work and seeking concrete results”, the university actively participated in the pairing up and co-construction within the “Double Hundred Project” (one hundred universities pairing up with one hundred prefectures to promote development of the rural areas in Guangdong). With a strong sense of responsibility, SYSUers have taken initiatives to shoulder historic responsibilities, making the contribution of higher education to common prosperity, comprehensive rural revitalization, and high-quality development of Guangdong Province and China as a whole.
Stars always light up the path for tireless wayfarers. Rivers always favor those who row the hardest. The great development and achievements of Sun Yat-sen University in the past year have been made not without all SYSUers rolling up their sleeves and working hard. We would therefore like to pay our highest tribute to all faculty, students, staff, and alumni. Every glorious moment of Sun Yat-sen University is a testimony to their efforts and dedication! We also wish to express gratitude to all friends who have shown great care about and interest in the development of Sun Yat-sen University. We owe SYSU's success to their help and support!
As the year 2024 has come, Sun Yat-sen University is approaching its centenary. Having gone through a hundred long years, this university is still in its prime, and remains determined as ever to achieve lasting greatness. At this historical juncture, SYSU will continue to be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, further understand and practice the historical mission and responsibility of higher education, and adhere to high-quality and organic development principles for new achievements in the undertakings of the Party and the nation. No destination is too far for a perseverant traveler to reach. No task is too difficult for an earnest practitioner to accomplish. Let us press forward vigorously and diligently, continue working tirelessly along our new journey of building a world-class university with Chinese characteristics, and write another brilliant chapter in Sun Yat-sen University's next hundred years!
We sincerely wish our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and all friends happiness, great health and every success in the New Year!
CHEN Chunsheng and GAO Song
January 1st, 2024
