Dear Vice Mayor Wang; Mr. Peleg Lewi, Consul General of Israel in Guangzhou; Party Secretary Prof. Jiang Hong of STU; Chancellor, Prof. Xingao GONG of GTIIT; Vice Chancellor Prof. David Gershoniof GTIIT; Prof. Frida Lo of the Li Ka Shing Foundation; President Hao of STU; Pro-Vice Chancellor Danming LIN; Prof. Dganit Danino, Dean of Undergraduate Studies of GTIIT.

Distinguished faculty and staff, guests, colleagues, and most importantly, dear graduates and their families and friends.

I stand before you – 212 students of the second Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology cohort – at the end of your first full year on campus since the pandemic began. And what a fruitful and exciting year it has been, with many firsts, successes, and outstanding achievements. While we discovered the wonders of Zoom during the pandemic, we also re-discovered the joys of meeting in-person. I'm only sorry that I cannot be there with you in person, today.

Unfortunately, traveling between China and Israel is still challenging, a fact that restricted the educational exchange between GTIIT and Technion in the past two years. I truly hope that these restrictions will soon be lifted and traveling back and forth will resume. 

GTIIT is the first and only endeavor of its kind in the mutual history of China and Israel. This historic enterprise became a powerful bridge between our two ancient nations, built on the shared language of science and scholarship. Our long legacies of knowledge and innovation enabled the marvel we celebrate today.  I would like to mention the instrumental role of Mr. Li Ka-shing, founding GTIIT Chancellor Li Jiange, former Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie, and the Technion Special Envoy to GTIIT, Nobel Laurate and Distinguished Prof. Aaron Ciechanover. 

The creation and continued success of GTIIT is the outcome of the work of many both in Israel and in China. We would not be here today without the profound vision, brilliant leadership, and deep devotion of these individuals to the idea, which is now a living fact. Thank you on behalf of all of us.

Today is a special day for you, your families, friends, and teachers. After four challenging years you embark on a new, exciting journey. Some of you may stay with academia and others will join industry. Some will stay in China, and some will pursue their careers elsewhere.

You are leaving GTIIT equipped with one of the best entrance tickets to the world, a Technion degree. You join the prestigious club of 130,000 Technion graduates over nearly 100 years. Among the members of this club, you will find four Nobel laureates, the inventors of data compression, memory stick, drip irrigation, and the first anti-Parkinson drug. You will meet the developers of the Pentium processor, those who first embedded WiFi in portable computers, and many more that lead the high-tech industry in Israel and around the globe.

Joining this club is a privilege and at the same time, a life-long commitment not only to professional excellence but also to the values that your teachers instilled in you: integrity, high ethical standards, and care for your community, for your society, and for the environment. Always remember that you are the blessed ones and that with this blessing comes a great responsibility!

Also remember that you have just joined the glorious family of past and present scientists and engineers. 

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. This famous quote from a letter by Isaack Newton to Robert Hooke in 1675 alludes to former giants from Copernicus to Tycho Brahe, Kepler and Galileo Galilei. In this statement, Newton humbly recognized the seminal role that his predecessors' astronomical observations played in his own indispensable discovery of the universal law of gravitation – the law of nature that governs the motion of all celestial bodies.

Such is the nature of scientific and technological discoveries. Piece by piece, bits accumulate. 

We all stand on the shoulders of the giants who lay the foundations and took the steps prior. Now it's your mission dear graduates, to do your part as the next link in the glorious chain of human and scientific development for the greater good. 

Two weeks ago, the Technion held its commencement ceremony for its 1867 graduates. On that occasion we bestowed an honorary doctorate upon Dr. Albert Bourla, the Chairman and CEO of Pfizer for his incredible achievement in making the RNA based Covid 19 vaccine available to hundreds of millions around the world, another link in the glorious chain of human achievements.

If anybody needed a proof for the role of science, it was that and the 12.1 billion doses of different anti Covid 19 vaccines administered around the world in just a year and a half. 

In his response, Dr. Bourla addressed the graduates of the class of 2022 with an inspirational message, and I quote: “As you approach the many alternatives that lie ahead in your journey, always remember to aim high, be resilient, and remain optimistic in all you do. If you do, you just might be surprised with what you can accomplish – and the lives you will impact.”

So, I repeat the message and just add: Do so while showing compassion, integrity, and responsibility towards society.

Please remember us in your hearts and carry this memory with you knowing that we are here for you as you continue to go from strength to strength.

Good luck to you all as you embark on a new journey. Be well and do good!

Thank you.