New Year’s Greeting from the President

Concluding the first hundred years of Tsinghua University and striding towards a new start, we bid farewell to an unforgettable 2011 and welcome a promising New Year. On this special occasion, I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the University to extend New Year's greetings to Tsinghua students, members of the faculty and staff, our alumni, and those who have faithfully supported the development of Tsinghua in past years.

The year of 2011 was a milestone in Tsinghua University’s history. It was an unforgettable year for all the Tsinghua people all over the world. In 2011, Tsinghua celebrated its 100th anniversary. Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Tsinghua on the eve of its centennial anniversary and later delivered a speech during the celebration at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The Global Summit of University Presidents assembled presidents from over 130 prestigious universities from five continents and the GSUP Consensus for world higher education future development was passed at the summit.  Tens of thousands of Tsinghua faculty, students, alumni, and honored guests participated in the series of centenary celebration activities.

Tsinghua has made many excellent achievements in a century of vicissitudes. As the old saying goes, the longest journey starts with a single step. In the past year, the Twelfth Five-Year Plan of Tsinghua was formulated and implemented. We held a university-level meeting to discuss our faculty construction in the coming 100 years. The "Tsinghua Xuetang Talents Program" was inaugurated and the New Century Plan for the autonomous enrolment was launched. More than 80 percent of our employed graduates work in important national industries and fields. The international students at Tsinghua for master or Ph.D degrees consistently rank first among Chinese universities. Our nineteen research achievements at Tsinghua have won the 2010 National Science and Technology Awards, including one State Technological Invention Award first prize and one State Scientific and Technological Progress Award first prize. Three research achievements were selected for the Top Ten Scientific and Technological Progress awards at Chinese universities in 2011. Our social science papers have entered into the top one percent in Essential Science Indicators (ESI) while our research on the Warring States bamboo strips has attracted considerable academic attention. Additionally, three Tsinghua Professors were selected to be members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences while the total number of scholars in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering from Tsinghua consistently ranks first among Chinese universities. Finally, the construction of a number of new buildings, including the New Tsinghua Xuetang, a museum for university history, a concert hall, and a library for humanities and social sciences were completed. All of these achievements embody the wisdom and hard work displayed by all of the Tsinghua faculty and staff. Here, on behalf of the university, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the Tsinghua teachers and students!

The year of 2012 marks the start of the new hundred years for Tsinghua. Many global problems such as economy, energy, safety, and sustainable development still exist. China’s construction and development will continue to face more challenges. Having gone through a century of triumphs and tribulations, Tsinghua University will continue to shoulder more responsibilities, and contribute to the development of China and the world with its outstanding education, research, social service, cultural inheritance and innovation.

As Tsinghua enters its new century, we will adhere to the features of our education which emphasize solid academic foundation, practice, and innovation. We strive to implement the strategy of advantage transformation, deepen the reform of our education and teaching, attach more importance on innovative capability, cultivate our global vision, commit to social responsibility in our education and further improve the cultivation of our talent quality.

As Tsinghua enters its new century, we will promote collaborative innovation to better meet the requirements of national development strategies, contribute to resolving the major challenges facing the society of today, and widen our overall level and international influence of our research.

As Tsinghua enters its new century, we will undertake the strategy of leveraging the strength of our talented people as the core for our development, attaching importance to cultivation, support, recruitment, and flexibility. We will continue to place great importance in developing a faculty at international standards.

As Tsinghua enters its new century, we will adhere and carry forward the Tsinghua spirit, practice the Tsinghua motto of self-discipline and social commitment and maintain the university’s tradition of patriotism, devotion, and the pursuit of excellence. We will continue to encourage innovation and progress in relation to the university’s culture and spirit. Last but not least, we will continue to form the union between the spirit of science with the beauty of the humanities in our programs.

Dear teachers and students, It has been my pleasure to deliver the New Year’s greeting to you for the ninth time since I became the President in 2003. In these past nine years, Tsinghua has achieved major milestones  in building itself into a world-class university. I believe that with the efforts of all Tsinghua people, Tsinghua will continue to progress in the coming years and finally transform itself into a top university in the world. Let us be creative and work hard to continue the development of Tsinghua University, and contribute to tertiary education and scientific development in China, the world, and the progress of human civilization.