On the afternoon of June 25, the graduation ceremony and British degree awarding ceremony of QMES was held in the Ao'xiang Student Center, Chang'an Campus. Song Baowei, President of NPU; Colin Bailey, President of QMUL; Zhang Yanning, Vice President of NPU; Academician Wen Wang, Vice President of QMUL; Li Jinshan, Dean of School of Materials Science and Member of JAC; Gabriel Cavalli, Executive Vice Dean of QMES; Andy Bushby, a JAC member; Wang Haipeng, Director of Academic Affairs Office and Member of JAC; Zhang Fuli, Director of International Cooperation Office and Member of JAC; Han Suomin, Director of Finance Department and Member of JAC; Zhang Yingqun, Director of Education Foundation Office; Sonal Hathi, Director of QMUL Alumni Association; Jing Liu, MEMA China Manager of QMUL; Faith Nightingale, Director of Teaching Affairs of QMES; Fan Xiaoli, Dean of QMES; Dai Fuping, Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Dean of QMES; Cheng Yin, Vice Dean of QMES; the faculty and staff of QMES; and all graduates of the class of 2023 and representatives of their relatives and friends attended the graduation ceremony which was presided over by Dean Fan Xiaoli.

Prof. Song Baowei, President of NPU, extended his sincere congratulations and best wishes to the students who successfully completed their undergraduate studies. He expressed that the centennial changes in the world were accelerating, and the students were both witnesses and associates. In the past four years, the students have adhered to the motto of "Loyalty, Integrity, Courage and Perseverance" and the spirit of "Strong Preparation, Diligent Effort, Practical Attitude, and Creative Innovation" of the university, and overcome the pressure of long-term online learning resulting from the epidemic. They witnessed the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the holding of the 20th CPC National Congress. On the occasion of parting, he put forward four expectations to the student. First of all, the students should have firm faith, dare to take responsibility, and continue to cultivate the feelings of home and country. Second, may the graduates be industrious, brave and enterprising, and constantly enhance the motivation of learning. Third, the students should be pioneering and innovative, overcome difficulties, and improve their abilities of innovation and creativity. Fourth, it is hoped that the students look at the world, broaden their horizons and facilitate global competency. Finally, he sincerely wished the students to forge ahead with great ambitions and contribute to the country's prosperity and social progress.

Professor Colin Bailey, President of QMUL, said in his graduation message that it was a great pleasure to be here for the first time to celebrate the graduation with the students. He appreciated all QMES faculty, staff, students and their families and friends. He noted that cooperation, communication and collaboration were key factors in overcoming common global challenges. QMES has always adhered to the integration of the essence of Chinese and British higher education to provide students with high-quality international undergraduate education. He stressed that as students grow up under the Sino-foreign cooperative educational model, they have a unique and strong comprehensive ability, and he hoped that the students can make contributions to the social development in China and the place where they work and live. In the coming years, QMUL will be keeping in touch with the students to help them make the most of the resources of the QMUL Alumni Association, build new connections, and continue to advance their careers through the global alumni network.

Student Jiang Yuxuan spoke as the valedictorian. First of all, on behalf of all graduates, he thanked his Alma mater, teachers, family and friends, and reviewed the four years of study and life experience in the school. He said that the international education and teaching mode of QMES and the encouragement and care of teachers and peers have allowed students to grow from ignorant freshmen to independent, confident and courageous young people today. Through participating in social practice and activities about innovation and entrepreneurship, the students continue to break through themselves and jump out of the comfort zone, not only achieving excellent academic results, but also growing into international talents with comprehensive strength.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the two universities, the graduates of the class of 2023 performed remarkably. Feng Zhuoya and Jiang Yuxuan received the QMUL Principal Award. Feng Zhuoya won the Best Paper Award of JRI. Hou Siyu and Wang Yuhan won the Best Progress Award. Yu Chuan won the first prize of IOM3 Youth Speech Contest. Li Liangchen, Li Can and Qiu Quanrun won the title of Outstanding Graduates of Shaanxi Province. Vice President Wang Wen and Vice President Zhang Yanning presented honorary certificates to the outstanding graduates respectively, fully affirming their excellent achievements in their studies.

The dedication of the teachers can never be forgotten. In the past four years, the teacher has guided the students to move forward with firm faith, noble character, solid knowledge and benevolence. Today, the students also send their sincere wishes to their beloved teachers. The representatives of the graduates presented flowers to Shi Xuetao, Liang Jin, Chen Juan, Liu Yi, Wang Peng, Zhuang Qiang, Dang Alei, Li Junjie, Yu Tao, Liu Jia, Liu Kejia, Li Yangyang and other teachers, and appreciated them for their care and guidance over the past four years and their contribution to the talent-training work of the school.

Then, Principal Colin Bailey presented Dr. Deng Xinru with a doctorate certificate. Dr. Deng received her PhD in Materials Science from QMUL in 2019 and was appointed as Assistant Professor at QMES after graduation. She perfectly portrays the role of ambassador of friendship between two universities, two cities and two countries in pursuit of academic excellence by virtue of QMES.

Finally, with the recognition and blessing of both Chinese and British Alma maters, Secretary Dai Fuping read out the list of graduates and degree levels. Professor Song Baowei, Professor Colin Bailey, Professor Fan Xiaoli and Professor Gabriel Cavalli jointly presented the graduation certificates and performed the tassel-turning.

The days of struggle together are most memorable. Let the best look of students dressed in bachelor's clothes stay on this campus and let the most shining youth bloom in this summer.

It is reported that among the more than 200 qualified graduates of the class of 2023, 98 students will go to Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhejiang University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University and other domestic famous universities for further study. More than 80 students will go to Cambridge University, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and other world-class universities for further study. Some graduates have been employed by well-known enterprises and institutions such as AVIC and CRRC.

QMES will always adhere to the talent-training concept of "Integration of Four Abilities", so as to cultivate top innovative talents with international vision, understanding of international rules, professional competitiveness, comprehensive quality and lifelong learning ability, and establish a distinctive Sino-foreign cooperative school.

Text: Song Jiayin

Photo: Si Zhe

Translator: Liu Yang

Review: Cheng Yin, Ma Xiping