On the morning of September 14, SUES held its 2026 Freshmen Opening Ceremony at the Gymnasium on Songjiang Campus. The ceremony was conducted through a combination of a main venue and sub-venues, both online and offline. All 2026 freshmen gathered at Chengyuan to embark on a new journey as members of SUES.
Secretary of the CPC SUES Committee He Li, President Lou Yongqi, Deputy Secretaries of the CPC SUES Committee Zhu Xiaoqing and Meng Xing, Vice Presidents Xu Yang, Wang Yansong and Xu Kaiyu, among others, attended the ceremony. Also present were heads of relevant university departments and schools, representatives of alumni, counselors of the 2026 freshmen, and all 2026 freshmen. Vice President Xu Yang presided over the ceremony.
The ceremony opened with the solemn national anthem.
He Li presented copies of The Long March to representatives of the freshmen, encouraging them to carry forward the great spirit of the Long March, uphold the mission of “building the soul through industry, serving the country through engineering, and benefiting the people through technology”, and embark on the new journey of the Long March in the new era.
Lou Yongqi extended his warm welcome and best wishes to the 2026 freshmen, sharing his expectations for their university years. He noted that higher education is currently undergoing profound changes driven by artificial intelligence, with traditional models of learning and pathways to personal development being redefined. The new students, he said, are growing in step with the university as SUES undergoes a transformation toward high-quality and accelerated development. Lou encouraged the freshmen to find joy and growth through learning from practice, move forward together with like-minded peers, and remain true to themselves and cultivate integrity even when their efforts go unnoticed. He emphasized that in the AI era, knowledge may be replaceable, while value judgment, imagination, empathy and innovation remain core competencies that cannot be replaced. He called on the freshmen to embrace the profound changes of the times, think long-term and move forward with determination. He encouraged them to regard the city as their campus, enterprises as their textbooks, and real-world problems as subjects for study; to hone their skills through practice, pursue their passions through innovation, and write their own youthful chapters as engineering students of the new era.
Zang Wei, a 2015 alumnus of School of Textiles and Fashion, shared his entrepreneurial journey, recounting how he had set out from Chengyuan and forged ahead through challenges. He encouraged the freshmen to cherish their university years and have the courage to explore and try new things.
Professor Li Ya, Dean of School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, spoke as a representative of the faculty. He encouraged the freshmen not to set limits for themselves, but to place themselves within a broader frame of reference; to embrace artificial intelligence, read more and read good books; and to pursue steady and sustainable growth while contributing to the development of industry.
Fan Qixuan, a 2023 undergraduate student majoring in Human Resource Management at School of Management, spoke as a representative of senior students. Sharing her experiences in practical activities, she encouraged the freshmen to adapt to the pace of university life as soon as possible and take the initiative to connect classroom knowledge with real-world situations.
Chang Bin, a 2026 doctoral student majoring in Mechanical Engineering at School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, spoke as a representative of the new students. Having returned to university from industry, he said that he had come back to campus with real-world problems and a determination to explore solutions. He expressed his commitment to applying practical efforts to tackling industrial challenges at the forefront.
The freshmen then sang the university anthem with enthusiasm and confidence. Carrying their aspirations and hopes, they opened a new chapter in their lives together. May the 2026 freshmen learn diligently and put knowledge into practice at Chengyuan, pursue their dreams and embrace the future, and write brilliant chapters of their lives in the new era.
