The Graduate School hosted a tea reception on the morning of December 28, 2017 to usher in the new year. Presided over by Executive Vice Dean Jiang Yunbao, the tea reception brought together ten-plus past and present faculty and staff members, including First Vice Dean Wu Boxi and former Vice Deans Guo Xiangqun and Tao Tao.

Prof. Jiang Yunbao extended a warm welcome to the participants. He said that the 19th CPC National Congress put forward the notion of “pursuing the dream of a new era and embarking on a new journey” and that China was in a critical stage of building the nation into a superpower in higher education. He added that Xiamen University was expected to seize the opportunities presented by the State’s “double first-class” university development initiative, persevere in instilling moral values in students and nurturing talent, pursue substantive growth, and make constant efforts to enhance its overall strength and core competitiveness.

Xiamen University affords high priority to degree and graduate education. At present, a total of over 16,000 students are enrolled in graduate degree programs at the University, including more than 3,600 in doctoral programs. Graduate students account for half of the University’s total enrollment and they are becoming a strong force in the University’s research and innovation. Prof. Jiang Yunbao stated that the new era called for a stronger commitment to graduate education and great efforts to elevate the University’s graduate programs to new heights.

The participants at the tea reception talked about the Graduate School’s past accomplishments and expressed their aspirations for its future. They took pride in the significant achievements of the University in graduate education in recent years and offered suggestions for further development on the basis of their personal work experience.

Prof. Jiang stated that the development of graduate education required concerted efforts university-wide and that the accomplishments could be attributed to generation after generation of faculty and staff at the Graduate School. He expressed his appreciation to the retired faculty and staff for their contributions and conveyed his hope for continued support. Finally, Prof. Jiang wished all participants a happy and prosperous new year.