2017 Commencement Speech Delivered by President Tao Wen
Release time:2017-09-12 

Dear students, parents and teachers,

Good morning!

It is the 17th birthday of our university today. This is a monumental moment at which we gather here to witness the accomplishment of over 3,600 graduates and that they are going to step into a bright future. First of all, I express our warmest congratulations to all the graduates of 2017 on behalf of all the students and faculty! And I express my great respect for the parents who have raised you up and the teachers who have cultivated you!

Four years ago, you gathered on campus of Neusoft from all over the country. From then on, you have one more common identity, that is, “Neusoft students”. In those four years, you got to know the brothers and sisters in the dormitory, intimate partners in class, and mentors in life; in those four years, you grew up together with our university, witnessed the completion of the gymnasium, the birth of the school song, the upgrade and beautification of our campus; you have experienced the test and exercise of education evaluation; you have felt that the school is taking a steady step on the road of constructing a distinctive, high-level, applied technique university of entrepreneurial spirit. At the same time, our school has witnessed your effort for your academic progress and personal growth. I know that some of you have been admitted to Peking University and other well-known universities home and abroad as graduate students for further study; highly bold and innovative, some students made use of the knowledge learned and overcame the technical difficulties to build smart cars by “hands”; some students established their own entrepreneurial team and opened a new business journey because they understand the market and combine with their professions; some students actively participated in the competition at school, led their teams to carry out the projects, and found the ideal jobs with a wealth of practical experience and excellent technical ability. You have laid a solid foundation for the growth road in the future through your efforts in the university. Today, you will pack up your luggage to step into a new stage in life. Please remember not only to learn to make efforts down to earth in favorable circumstances, but also to learn to grow firmly and persistently in the face of adversity no matter where you are, no matter what responsibilities you take! At the time of parting, I have some expectations and hopes to share with you as your principal and teacher.

First, I expect that you will both work hard to forge ahead, and always be grateful in the future. You will face more intense competition without the close escort from your parents and teachers after leaving the campus. Without the opportunity to make up in the life examination, you can grow rapidly and become mature day by day in the face of difficulties and challenges with the only secret to work hard to forge ahead and to face directly to all the situations in life in the attitude of “never give up”. But do not set the reputation and wealth as the ultimate goal of happiness in life. Admittedly, they can bring material wealth, but they cannot achieve the perfection of the mind, which should be realized through being grateful, not only to your parents, teachers and friends, but also to criticism, hardship and frustration. Being grateful, you will be happy and satisfied because of the positive attitude in life; and being grateful, you will also stimulate the power of struggle because of your responsibility to your family, society, and the country.

Second, I hope that you will both adhere to the motto of “to learn”, but also pay attention to the motto of “to apply.” in the future. Dear students, technology of information communication has accelerated the update speed of human knowledge, so that the update cycle of the knowledge in many disciplines has been shortened to 2 to 3 years or even shorter. Therefore, to keep up with the pace of the times, we must continue to learn, and always maintain the curiosity for knowledge and exploration for the unknown areas. At the same time, learning cannot be limited to incomplete reading which is not going into a subject in depth nor empty verbiage which is a Barmecide feast. I hope that you maintain good learning and reading habits, seek knowledge diligently and keep improving with a rigorous attitude. What you have learnt should be used for self-perfection and self-improvement, for shaping the correct values and outlook on life, and for constantly reminding you to develop excellent habits of behaving properly. Not only that, you should also actually apply what you have learned into social practice and practical work. The so-called “to apply” should not be simply understood as finding a job related to your professions, but applying innovative ways of thinking, advanced ideas, ability of independent thinking and excellent habits of handling affairs you learnt at school into the workplace, career and life, in order to enhance the ability to solve the problems in the workplace and life. This good habit will accompany you for your life and guide you to make progress and grow up.

Third, I encourage you both to be creative and not to forget the beginner's mind in the future. Dear students, the new things like “mobile payment”, “online learning”, “Internet of everything” “shared travelling” which were brought by “Internet +” have become parts of normal life in the Information Age; artificial intelligence technology has gradually step from the strategic planning of technology frontier companies into reality, and has shown potential beyond the human in many areas. Innovation takes place in every corner of our lives and drastically changes our way of life and ideas. If we do not want to and do not dare to innovate, even we ourselves will become the objects of innovation and elimination. I am pleased to see that many of your classmates consciously take some of the ideas to practice and incubate in SOVO, and actively participate in all kinds of innovation contests in order to implant innovation and creativity on campus in the spare time. While innovation is an inherent characteristic of Neusoft, and it is in the DNA of our Neusoft students, which will benefit you for life. Of course, do not go too far and forget why you leave. The beginning of innovation is to achieve personal aspirations, to have a happier and better life for the family, and to build a more civilized society. I hope that every Neusoft student can become a positive energy to promote social progress, and will develop a piece of their own vast sky with the courage to innovate.

Every students of Class 2017, you will wave farewell to your alma mater and pursue your dreams tomorrow. You should remember that your alma mater are concerned about you all the time, and will always support, cheer and thumb up for your dreams! I hope that you will often come back to your alma mater for a visit!

At last, I sincerely wish all the graduates of Class 2017 a bright future, and to be joyful and blessed in the future life and work!

Farewell, we are heart to heart,

Farewell, we are side by side,

Farewell, we march together!

Thank you all!