Guests attending the ceremony were Professor Li Jiange, Chancellor of GTIIT; Mr. Yigal Cohen, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Director-General of GTIIT; Madam Wang Yun, Board Member of GTIIT; Mr. Feng Xinglei, Vice President of Shantou University; Mr. Nadav Cohen, Consul General of Israel in Guangzhou; Mr. Chen Xin, Director of Shantou Education Bureau; Mr. Chen Xin, Vice Director of Shantou Science and Technology Bureau; Ms Zhang Qiujuan, Managing Director of Shantou Ruixiang Mold Company. PVC Lin Danming was the today's Master of Ceremony.

Representatives of faculty members and heads of administrative departments also attended the ceremony.

The speech of Chancellor Li was inspiring! He warmly welcomed and sincerely congratulated to all the new students of GTIIT. He said the choice to apply for GTIIT and to become a professional in science and technology is wise and forward-looking, and is urgently needed for national development and rejuvenation.

"Recently, GTIIT is actively responding to the call of Guangdong Province to build a  top university and Shantou intends to invest heavily on the establishment of an advanced provincial laboratory for chemical manufacturing by relying on GTIIT . GTIIT will develop to become an important base for education and scientific research in eastern Guangdong, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, and South China. It will surely be the “Promised Land” for students to bring out their full capacity and realize their dreams."

He told the students: "Whether in classrooms or laboratories, you should not confine yourself to accepting existing theories and ideas, but be courageous enough to challenge the authority and textbooks. You will need to change the learning habit of following class orders docilely and listening to the teachers obediently that you are used to in primary and secondary schools.”

Besides, he pointed out Gaokao scores are no doubt an important criterion for student admission, but make no mistake, the scores only represent the performance of the past, and cannot fully reflect the true potential of anyone.

He took several students as an example. Although they did not receive the Chancellor Scholarship at the time of enrollment, they brought their full potential through one year of assiduous learning and became the winners of the academic excellence scholarship for the Class of 2017.

Nadav Cohen, Consul General of Israel in Guangzhou, quoted the famous Chinese saying, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", and pointed out if we know the challenges in details, we probably would choose not to start at all.

"I believe that you, as a students at the GTIIT, you are in a win-win situation because of two main reasons. First, you are students who are connecting to Shantou University together with Li Ka-sing Fund which both own a long-term educational vision. Its main goal is to raise a new generation of scientists engineers in China. Second, this studies done together with the TECHNION which is the Leading technological academic institute in Israel and it is among the best in the world."

Feng Xinglei, Vice President of STU, pointed out Shantou University will continue to maintain close contact with Technion, strengthening academic exchanges and cooperation.

Aaron Ciechanover, Vice Chancellor of GTIIT and the 2004 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, and Paul Feigin, Head of Technion International also congratulated the freshmen by video.

Ory Lahav, Dean of Undergraduate Studies of GTIIT announced the the winners of the Chancellor's scholarship.

Chancellor Li Jiange awarded 14 winners of the first prize of the Chancellor's scholarship.

Shantou Ruixiang Mold Company has donated a scholarship fund this year. Managing Director Zhang said she hope to do something to promote the cultural development and scientific innovation of Chaoshan area.

Yigal Cohen, Pro Vice Chancellor and Director General of GTIIT, presented a souvenir and gave a speech of thanks.

Later, Yang Yifan, sophomore representative gave a speech. He shared his study experience and campus life during the past year and gave a simple advice to all the freshmen: study hard, play hard. “If you have any problem at GTIIT, please try to solve it youself, or please feel free to come to us, we will give you help or advice.”

Feng Shiyu, coming from Heilongjiang Province, freshman representative, delivered a speech. She shared her expectation towards campus life and called on every freshman to give back and to push for change that will make GTIIT stronger.

Text: GTIIT News and Public Affairs

Photo: GTIIT News and Public Affairs, Fang Ganming