Innovation in Life Architect; Diligence and Honor in Loyalty to Motherland 

Address on Opening Ceremony for 2023 Students 

President Guo Fu 

（7th September 2023） 

Dear all 2023 students, dear parents, dear colleagues, 

Good morning! 

The cool autumn wind brings us a most poetic season of the year and now we are greeting 4497 new students here at BISTU. From today onwards, you, together with 9928 senior students, will be BISTUers lighting up our campus and composing magnificent writing with your youth and vitality. Entrusted by Secretary Xie Jiangling of CPC BISTU Committee, on behalf of all faculties and staff of BISTU, I would like to extend the most sincere greetings to you: you have successfully made your way through to the University and are now embarking on a new journey full of hope! 

I am delighted at the first meeting. Please allow me to offer an introduction to the university: 

Beijing Information Science and Technology University is a higher educaitonal institution that has been loyal to our Party and dentermined to dedicate ourselves to the service of our country. The past years since 1937 have witnessed BISTU’s efforts in “saving our nation by engaging in industry”, “dedicating ourselves to the service of the country with industrial development”, and “building a nation of information technology”. As time elapses, the University has gradually established it school-running pathway featured information technology and industries. We have nurtured a large number of loyal, reliable industry elites for the nation. Many key missions of Beijing in recent years have also seen contributions of BISTUers, to name just a few, celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of People’s Republic of China, celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Chinese Communist Party, 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics, etc. BISTU young people of diligence and honor have followed the powerful call to make China great with their youth and energy.  

BISTU is a university of innovation and an influencer with pioneering spirit. BISTUers have always been together with the development of information technology in China: research and development of China’s first generation of computers, breakthrough in piezoelectric sensors, pioneers in precision instruments, etc. With diligence and innovation, BISTUers have made numerous milestone breakthroughs. As of today, the University has been proactive in serving national strategic development and development of Beijing as the Capital--- monitoring of on-orbit satellites, rural revitalization, and applying for World Heritage for Central Axis of Beijing. Despite of hardship and turbulences, it is the sense of responsibility that BISTUers have passed from generation to generation to respond to the call of the times. As young students who are to start learning at BISTU, you would view research issues as your “prerequisites”, put emphasis on practice, lay a solid foundation in natural and social sciences, and become ambitious in academic research. Rooted in practice with an open mind, you will become a courageous BISTUer of action!  

The secret of staying a fresh relation with BISTU lies in “two-way” values. “Diligence in learning and honor for life” is the expectation of BISTU on like-minded people. It is also a valuable spiritual heritage left us by older generations of BISTUers. Born after 2000, you would refuse to be defined and you will keep going despite of being questioned. When facing with a 3-year pandemic, or natural disasters, you are brave to shoulder your responsibilities. You are the generation whose courage triumphs cowardness. On such a crucial point for changes never seen in the past century, you are the witnesses and builders of modernization of China. We have every reason to believe that you are the young people of diligence and honor to light up the future and you are the backbone to bring changes to our world.  

As a new member of “diligence and honor”, I would like to share with you the following:  

Love what you do and make a creative self. You have worked hard for either 12 years or 16 years and now you have made it here. You are not “the chosen one” but the ones whose efforts have paid off. Now you become a higher level player in educational system. It is hoped that you would not simply be satisfied with pre-defined missions of NPC. You are expected to be a developer of your own program who would spare no efforts to win love, to build up a desired life, and to fight for the wellbeing of human kind. We are in an era when wonder drugs would make “i” (introverted) people into “e” (extroverted) people, brain machine interface enables us to understand the “hachimi” (cat) at home, spent coffee grounds can be used as building materials, and when the world is seeing a storage of energies and life science of future science. We are sure that innovation is the ingredients of life as well as life itself.  

Young people are the major force in innovation. Zhi Huijun, the genius boy who has made Elon Musk “shudder” has the floor in this regard. As frequent visitors of Bilibili, you should have seen his posts of self-driving bike, neZHa (new equipment of ZhiHui artificial), and Expedition A1---an embodied humanoid robot going viral. Seeing the “Chobits” that you previously had only seen in cartoons as a child, you would believe that the “wheel of fortune” now runs towards research in China. And the drive of the wheel is in your passion and endeavor for science. The wildest dream of Zhi Huijun is that intelligent robots in sci-fi movies would turn up in reality one day. I am convinced that your wildest dream based on true love of science will bear the most abundant fruits of innovation at BISTU. Of course, I also hope that you could provide support with Zhi Huijun in perfecting Expedition A1 in respect of its care-mode. After all, the “trip-and-fall” Joe probably would have to wait till Elon Musk’s Optimus could be mass-produced.  

Win the game and touch the truth via diligence. In a fast-pacing society when dividends of the times dwindle, young people are caught in involution of various degrees, and when degrees are no longer glowing with the shine of the ivory tower, entering college might be not a phased victory but a 2.0 version of going into high school. As undergraduates or postgraduates, you would propose the following questions: are there any new learning models? Any clear definitions on majors? Where are we going today when artificial intelligence and ChatGPT are being widely used? BISTU is an institution where science is revered and individuality is respected. I sincerely hope that you would not be limited to textbooks and classrooms, or your majors, or your academic disciplines. You are expected to “break the wall”, have a good command of knowledge through diligent study, and become versatile.  

Just last week, China Mobile released “Breaking Wind 8676”, China's first reconfigurable 5G RF transceiver chip. New products launched by Huawei also triggered heated discussions. In the past years when Chinese chip technology remained dormant, our scientists and engineers have surmounted barriers after barriers. Effectiveness of technological sanctions is rooted in a fact that most countries in the world could not form a complete industrial chain, let alone match the technology with market. China did not give up when facing with difficulties and managed to keep up pace with the times in respect of satellite positioning technology, orbital station, mobile payment, high-speed railway, quantum communications, operation systems, medical equipment, etc. On the way to future, I sincerely hope that you will be there and that you will achieve high quality innovation with diligence.  

Temper willpower in adversity and walk out of jeopardy with strong faith. People have said that the fundamental restriction for courage and innovation of young generation is the terror-stricken attitude towards trial and error. Quite some young people are forced to follow traditions when they should have followed their heart and unlocked the door of imagination. Inspiration of innovation thus is killed. I believe that every path to success is composed of depressed, or even despairing failures. We have invited Xu Ying, Goddess of Beidou and an alumnus of BISTU who will share with you her stories. Therefore, you have no reason to fear failure in that sometimes failure is just a positive answer to “will nice things happen to me?” Wang Ning, a BISTU alumnus enrolled in 2008, has greatly contributed to the birth of Keep, the largest fitness app, as a non-professional sports guru. The app has brought many nice things to people. However, his success started from a failed relationship. You will meet with luck right there because you have not dodged the hardship which came here earlier.  

You have officially become a student of “diligence and honor”. I sincerely hope that you would uphold your faith, just like older generations of BISTUers. And you would establish a life-long commitment to “making due contributions to industrialization of China”. With grand hope, courage, and strong faith, you will be able to build a much brighter future.  

Einstein once said that “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world…” When you are to embrace informatization, BISTU will provide you with the most appropriate tests and trials. We hope that BISTU will be the Eden to harbour all of your bright ideas. We hope that BISTU will be the starry sky to carry forward you imagination. And we hope that BISTU will be the universe to free all your inspirations. Dear students, please look up into the sky and light up the future with your wisdom and inspiration! 

Welcome home!