“You’ve made a wise decision to join the College of Engineering. You’ll be proud of your choice in the years to come,” Shiyi Chen, dean of the College of Engineering, made the above remarks to all the freshers of the Year 2012 in a welcome ceremony held on Friday, September 7.
 

The ceremony, taking place in the Sunny Hall of Yingjie Exchange Center, got together many of the College of Engineering (COE) administrative leaders, department chairs, faculty members, office staff and senior students, to meet with the new entrants, a total of around 300, including 94 undergraduates, 74 master and 125 Ph.D. students. These bright-eyed newcomers streamed into the campus on September 1, and will spend at least two years in COE to pursue their degrees.

“I’d like to warmly welcome you to this booming college, which has been growing remarkably since its re-establishment seven years ago.” Chen addressed them before making a brief introduction of COE, “COE has been able to commit itself to future directions of engineering science and advanced technology by means of drawing upon PKU’s comprehensive strengths in a large number of disciplines. It has now an outstanding profile in engineering science education and research, with distinguished faculty, various international exchange programs, and increasing industrial cooperation. I hope you will make full use of the facilities here to achieve substantial self-development during your stay.”

COE alumnus Yu Zhou (1978’), now professor in the Institute Of Nuclear and New Energy Technology at Tsinghua University, delivered an inspiring speech to the young generation. He recalled his college life about three decades ago, and pointed out that although time has changed a lot, an inseparable connection between a person and his country remains. He asked the engineering students to study hard and prepare to contribute to the economic development of the country. He also reminded the students of cherishing their college, learning from their teachers, having team spirit and exert more acting than saying.

Teacher representative Xiaoyun Xu, assistant professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, reminded the new entrants to make right choices in important stages of their life. “One has to make many important choices in each phase of their life. As teachers we will make great efforts to help you make the right choices.”

Senior student representative Shaoxin Wang, freshman representative Cheng’an Bai and first-year graduate student Huizi Wangchen also shared their stories on the ceremony.