On August 4, Prof. Lin Danming, Party Committee Secretary and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Guangdong Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT), delivered an introductory lecture for the 2025 cohort. Taking "innovation" as the keynote, he painted a vibrant blueprint of opportunities for the freshmen, encouraging them to write their youthful chapters on this fertile ground of innovation at GTIIT.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized that young people are the hope of a nation and its people, innovation is the soul of social progress, and entrepreneurship serves as a vital driver for economic development as well as improving people's livelihoods. Amid the national tide of "Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation", China has been actively introducing global innovation resources, and the establishment of GTIIT stands as a vivid embodiment of this strategy. In 2013, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology and Shantou University signed a memorandum of cooperation, marking the beginning of this innovative university. In 2016, the Ministry of Education officially approved the formal establishment of GTIIT, signifying the birth of China's first Sino-foreign cooperative university in science and engineering that introduces Israel's high-quality higher education resources.

As a leading institution of Israel, the "Startup Nation", Technion is renowned worldwide for its innovative and entrepreneurship culture. GTIIT inherits this innovative DNA, integrating a century of academic excellence and innovation culture into China's education system. From its inception, innovation has been deeply embedded in GTIIT's genes—innovative talent cultivation models, innovative curriculum systems, and innovative research platforms collectively form this distinctive hub of innovative education. At the lecture, a series of photographs documenting GTIIT's growth vividly demonstrated how innovation propels a university's progress.

GTIIT's academic programs focus on environment, energy, and human health, aiming to cultivate outstanding engineers and technologists with innovative capabilities, global vision, and humanistic literacy. The lecture also referenced McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2025, analyzing the close connection between GTIIT's disciplines and frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, bioengineering, and quantum technology. By illustrating the cross-disciplinary cases of these technologies in upcoming scientific applications, it provided freshmen with an intuitive framework to grasp the pulse of technological advancement in the new era, showcasing the value of innovative education.

When students step onto this fertile ground that blends the educational wisdom of China and Israel, they not only embark on a new academic journey but also shoulder the responsibility of youth in an era of innovation. Standing at the new starting point of their life journey, GTIIT freshmen are are highly motivated and full of anticipation to embrace challenges with an innovative spirit. They understand clearly that in this innovation-driven era, only by solidifying their professional foundation and scaling the heights of scientific can they meet the demands of the times with excellence.

Text/Photos: GTIIT News & Public Affairs