Dear students, parents, guests and colleagues,

Good morning! Today, we gather here to celebrate the second opening ceremony of Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT). On behalf of all the faculties and staff, please allow me to extend a warm welcome and sincere congratulation to all the new students of GTIIT. Dear freshmen, as you are just about to start your college life, especially in a sino-foreign cooperative university as distinctive as GTIIT, I believe your hearts are filled with joy and aspiration at this moment.

Your 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. GTIIT, a research university that focuses on science and engineering, is the only national cooperation project in the field of education between China and Israel. 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 you to bring out your full capacity and realize your dreams. 

In GTIIT, you will experience a whole new way of learning. We encourage our students to question and think independently, to consciously cognize everything with appraisal and critical thinking. 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.

Dear students, please fully explore your curiosity, keep on obtaining new knowledge and never lose the passion in the pursuit of truth. Creativity and curiosity are two inseparable qualities. Almost all major scientific discoveries were initiated by curiosity. A spark of curiosity and myth may lead to a discovery that could change the world. Dare to be unconventional and think the unthinkable, let the curiosity be the driving force of innovation, and leave your footprints on the pinnacle of science.

To help you adapt to college life and study as soon as possible, especially to the English immersion teaching model in GTIIT, we have designed a five-week pre-semester for you, hoping that everyone could successfully take the leap from passive accepting to active interaction in your studies.

The transition may not be easy, but you do not need to be afraid or worry. In fact, when the pre-semester ended last year, the first cohort was highly praised by the professors who believe that the freshmen in GTIIT outperform those in Technion in basic subjects. So you should give yourself enough credit.

That being said, we should notice that to cope with exams at various stages, Chinese students have spent so much time on homework and exercises so that they are quite strong in solving problems. Israeli students, on the other hand, must serve in the army for 2-3 years after they graduate from high school. Therefore, it is normal for them to be a bit rusty in their studies when they enter the university.

In particular, it should be noted that on the path to scientific discovery, you should learn to raise questions apart from solving problems. The ability to ask questions is far more important than the ability to solve problems. GTIIT will prioritize the ability of question-posing and lifelong learning.

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. Now you on the same starting line, and you should know that in the past year, the hard work of the first cohort has shown that the teaching model of GTIIT can fully tap the potential of each student, making them more excellent.

Over the past year, many students have won the recognition from professors for their academic performance, a number of whom did not come out top in Gaokao scores. Not long ago we have just unveiled the winners of the academic excellence scholarship for the Class of 2017. We are happy to see that four winners who did not receive the Chancellor Scholarship at the time of enrollment have brought their full potential through one year of assiduous learning. We also have some students participated in the harnessing project of River Lian in Shantou, starting to make strides in scientific practices.

We believe that in the days to come, more students will stand out to achieve excellence. Even though none of the universities in the world could guarantee that every graduate will be outstanding, we are confident that GTIIT is a fertile land to foster a large number of prominent talents.

GTIIT is endowed with strong support from many people. At this important moment of GTIIT, we need to express our sincere thanks to the leaders at all levels of the Central Government, Guangdong province, Shantou municipality, Shantou University and Technion. We will always be grateful to Mr. Li Ka-shing for his generous endowment and great contribution to GTIIT.

I also wish to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt appreciation to all the faculties, staff and researchers of GTIIT. Over the past year, our faculties have imparted their expertise without any reservation, using wisdom to guide the students to academic success; our researchers have achieved excellent scientific outcomes within a short period of time, boosting our confidence and determination to build GTIIT into a top research university. I also want to thank our administrative staff who have been devoting themselves to the development and smooth operation of GTIIT.

Dear students, from today on you will embark on a new journey as college students. I hope you will constantly explore, discover and innovate in the next four years, to improve yourself from dependence to independence, from abidance to innovation, and from being good to exceptional. I sincerely wish that every one of you can display your talent, achieve success with diligence and hard work, and become influential in each field of science and technology.

Thank you all!