2022 New Year's Message of Southeast University

Zuo Wei

Secretary of CPC SEU Committee

Faculties, students, alumni and friends，

How time flies! The New Year is around the corner and the first rays of sunlight of 2022 will be shed across the land. At this wonderful moment of ringing out the Old Year and ringing in the New Year, we, on behalf of the Party and Administrative Department of Southeast University (SEU), would like to extend our sincere greetings and best wishes to all the students, faculties, employees, retired colleagues and alumni both at home and abroad, and to all friends from all walks of life who have been always caring about and supporting the development of SEU.

The year 2021 has witnessed the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the historical junction of the "Two Centenary Goals", and the opening year of the new journey of building a modern socialist country after China has fully built a moderately prosperous society and achieved the first centenary goals. It is also a critical year for SEU to fully implement its "14th Five-Year Plan" and start a new journey of pursuing "SEU dreams" .

Over the year, the University, guided by President Xi Jinping's thought of socialism with Chinese characteristics for the new era, thoroughly implemented the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Plenary Sessions of the 19th Central Committee. Building on the new development stage, the University has implemented the new development concept, strove to build a new development pattern, formulated and implemented the "14th Five-Year Plan", focused on the theme of "Innovation Year", the key tasks of "fighting against the pandemic, promoting reform and improving quality", deepened reform and innovation, and achieved fruitful results in various projects, and made solid steps in the building of a world-class university with Chinese characteristics.

Over the year, we have made all-around efforts to strengthen Party building. The University held a series of activities to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and organized many activities such as "Party Flag Flying High at the Front Line of the Grassroots", "Always Follow the Party, Advance to a New Era", and "At Southeast University, Remember Your Original Aspiration and Always Follow the Guidance the Party", an exhibition of the historical materials of the Second National Congress of the Chinese Socialist Youth League, etc. In addition, more than 20 specific events were held to create a strong atmosphere of "The Party's Festival is the People's Day". The University has also organized more than 600 sessions for learning the history of the Party. More than 400 projects of "I do practical work for faculties and students" have been launched. The "Party History Learning and Education Special Website" was launched to fully display the dynamic achievements of learning and education.

Over the year, the University has fully cooperated with the central inspection and related concentrated rectification and fully implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech on inspection, constantly enhanced the political awareness of consciously accepting supervision, and made an elaborate and coordinated deployment to support and cooperate with the central inspection. A “1+6+1+2+3” work mechanism was put in place to coordinate with departments at all levels to promote concentrated rectification. Upon inspection and rectification, the Party's overall leadership of the University has been strengthened, accompanied with improved political judgment, political awareness, and political execution of the leading officials, and unceasingly upgraded Party management and governance, school-running and governance.

Over the year, we made phased progress in pandemic prevention and control. We organized in an orderly manner the vaccination of faculties, students, and employees against COVID-19 to actively build an immune barrier. With the sudden outbreak of the epidemic in Nanjing, we resolutely implemented the guidance of the State Council, Jiangsu Provincial Government, and the local government on epidemic prevention and control, promptly adjusted the summer vacation schedule, quickly formulated and implemented relevant plans and measures, strictly controlled the campus, organized seven rounds of nucleic acid testing for all students, faculties and employees on campus, and built a strong safety line for epidemic prevention and control. Students, faculties, and medical staff participated actively in the front line, contributing their efforts to the pandemic prevention and control.

Over the year, we delivered remarkable fruits in the cultivation of top-notch professionals. Guided by the concept of “Establishing Moral Values and Educating People”, we have launched the overall reform of “Whole-person, Whole-process, and All-round Education” and the “Action Plan for First-class Undergraduate Education 2020”, seeking to shape a new pattern of cultivating top-notch professionals. We have deepened the reform of “mentorship, college system, full credit system, small-class, personalized, international, and excellent education, and the integration of undergraduate and graduate studies”, strengthened the responsibility of mentors, deepened the reform of seminar teaching mode, and the small class rate reached 70.16%. The University was selected among the first batch of pilot universities in Jiangsu Province for ideological and political curriculum development. We highlight three national model courses in the ideological and political curriculum, and three national famous teachers and teaching teams in the ideological and political curriculum. The University has won 11 prizes of the First National Textbook Development Award, ranked ninth in China. We have launched 135 courses at Chinese University MOOC platform and identified 30 first-class online and offline hybrid courses at the school level. We secured 10 projects of the Special Educational Reform Program of the China Association of Higher Education, ranked 3rd in China. One teacher won the Baosteel Outstanding Teacher Grand Prize and three teachers won the Outstanding Teacher Award. The University also won three prizes of the Jiangsu Province Teaching Achievement Special Award, nine first-class awards, and nine second-class awards. It was rated Class-A, the highest-ranking, in the provincial evaluation of the comprehensive reform of graduate education. 

Over the year, we scored new progress in the building of the faculty team. The University has thoroughly implemented the spirit of the Central Conference on Talent Work and the strategy of strengthening the University with talented people and consolidated the fruits of the "Year of Talent" for three consecutive years. The University secured another three academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. In terms of national-level professionals, based on the redouble in the number of high-caliber teachers last year, a target of the “13th Five-Year Plan”, we secured another 60 top-level teachers. 

Over the year, we have made fruitful results in scientific research. Oriented to the world's S&T frontier, the main battlefield of the economy, the major needs of the country, and people's life and health, we have worked to cultivate national strategic S&T forces and fight the battle for core technologies, producing many research results with significant influence. The University won 40 prizes of the Jiangsu Province Science and Technology Award, including four first-class prizes as the initiator, ranked first in the province, and two prizes of the Award for Outstanding Youth Contribution to Science and Technology, and one prize of the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. The University, as the initiator, won eight first-class prizes from the National First Class Industry Society, and its project "CMOS millimeter-wave chip with large scale integrated phased array" was included in the "Top 10 Scientific and Technological Achievements of Chinese Institutions of Higher Education 2020". The University won 14 prizes of the 48th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, including one special gold award and seven gold awards. The University was granted 308 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, with direct funding of RMB 193 million, including three projects of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, five projects of the Excellent Young Scientists Fund, nine projects of key categories, and two projects of major instruments. The University has initiated 12 special projects under the National Key Research and Development Program, two international cooperation projects/cooperation projects with Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, and 39 research projects. The University was accredited as the "Joint Laboratory for International Cooperation in Medical Information Processing in Jiangsu Province". One national liberal arts platform and one provincial-level liberal arts platform were added.

Over the year, we made significant progress in the development of first-class disciplines. The University has fully implemented the Ministry of Education's "Excellence in Engineer Education Program 2.0, Excellence in Doctor Education Program 2.0, Excellence in Agriculture and Forestry Education Program 2.0, Excellence in Teacher Education Program 2.0, Excellence in Rule of Law Personnel Education Program 2.0, Excellence in Journalism and Communication Personnel Education Program 2.0, and Excellence in Basic Subjects Students Training Program 2.0" and actively promoted the building of "New Engineering, New Medicine, New Agriculture, New Liberal Arts", and was granted 11 national research and reform projects in new liberal arts, ranked fifth in China. The University was approved to offer a new program, "New Energy Science and Engineering"; three bases for training top students in physics, computer science, and philosophy were selected as bases for the Ministry of Education's “Excellence in Basic Subjects Students Training Program 2.0”. The University was approved to be one of the first institutions dedicated to future technology in China. The University has added 15 national first-class programs building points, 19 provincial first-class programs, 15 brand programs of Jiangsu universities, and five provincial special programs. Our mechanical engineering program has passed the Ministry of Education's professional accreditation for engineering education. Three first-level disciplines, chemistry, business management, and integrated circuit science and engineering, have been granted access to doctoral degrees. A total of 13 disciplines have been ranked in the top 1% of ESI, and engineering has maintained in the top 10,000 of ESI, and two disciplines, computer science, and material science, have been maintained in the top 1,000 of ESI.

Over the year, we have deepened international exchange and cooperation. We have worked to enhance the University with a global vision and striven to join the global higher education and academic research system, and vigorously enhance the level of international cooperation and exchange. The University has signed cooperation agreements with six world-class universities or institutions on excellence in universities (colleges & departments), including the Yale University of the US. We have continued to deepen the cooperation with Monash University in Australia and the University of Rennes I in France. Focusing on core areas and national strategy, the University has initiated the establishment of the World Alliance of Universities on Carbon Neutrality. It was approved to establish the “Joint Laboratory for International Cooperation of Jiangsu Universities”. Despite the pandemic, the University has witnessed continued enhancement in the size and quality of overseas student enrollment, with a total of 1,562 international students for diplomas and 58.6% of international students with master and doctoral degrees.

All those achievements should be attributed to the wisdom, hard efforts, and dedication of all faculties, students, and employees of the University. On behalf of the Party and Administrative Department of SEU, we once again express our sincere gratitude and high esteem to all students, faculties, employees, retired colleagues, alumni, and friends from all walks of life at home and abroad.

As we embark on a new journey, we shall remain committed to our original aspiration and strive to write a new chapter. In 2022, we will celebrate the 20th Party Congress, the 120th anniversary of the founding of Southeast University, and the 15th Party Congress of the University. In the new year, we will be guided by Xi Jinping's thought of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, make unremitting efforts to serve the country as our highest pursuit, promote the high-quality development of the "Double First-Class" initiative, and greet the 20th Party Congress with excellent results.

We sincerely wish the prosperity of our motherland, the vigorous development of Southeastern University, and also wish all students here, alumni from home and abroad, and friends from all walks of life a prosperous, healthy, and happy new year.