Zhang Qian, Zhang Ling

    zhqcindy@163.com

    The Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) has enrolled its first batch of seven international students from Cambodia this year, joining 992 undergraduate students from China and 277 postgraduate students from joint projects with other universities.

    It is the first year for SUSTech to take in international and postgraduate students. The total number of students enrolled this year at the university is 1,276, setting a new record for the university.

    The university held a grand welcoming ceremony on September 18 for the new students as well as to celebrate the university’s achievement of meeting its decennial goal of enrolling over 1,000 students, five years in advance.

    “We first enrolled 45 students back in 2011 and now we have nearly 1,300 students joining us this year, which is an exciting moment because we managed to select many outstanding students from all around China,” said Chen Shiyi, SUSTech’s principal, at an interview after the ceremony.

    Chen said that the university had enrolled seven excellent international students from Cambodia, one of the countries which are part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The principal said the university is expecting more overseas students from the West such as Europe and the United States.

    However, the postgraduate students who participate in the joint projects agreed with SUSTech and universities including The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, National University of Singapore and Harbin Institute of Technology, cannot be granted degrees from SUSTech yet.

    “The students from the joint projects will spend two to three years studying at SUSTech and one to two years in the other universities, but they will receive the other universities’ degrees,” said Chen. “The students from the joint projects might be granted double degrees in four years.”

    Meanwhile, SUSTech has incorporated an increasing number of professors from home and abroad to join the teaching faculty. There are in total 13 departments in the university with 17 majors available for students.

    The Party chief of the university, Guo Yurong, also the former director of the Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau, made her presence felt at the welcoming ceremony. She encouraged the students to be innovative in their studies and make contributions to the city after they graduate while delivering a speech.

    A short video named “On the Path of Knowledge” was shown at the ceremony. The video features 17 student representatives who were accepted by the university this year and their ambition to study in Shenzhen.