SDU-ANU Joint Science College Orientation Day event was successfully held in Linglong Auditorium and eight venues in Dianzi Building on October 29, 2022. Prof. Liu Jianya, Vice President of Shandong University, President of Shandong University, Weihai and Dean of JSC, Prof. Sally Wheeler, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International and Corporate) of ANU, Prof. Kiaran Kirk, Dean of ANU College of Science and Prof. Sasha Mikheyev, Associate Dean of ANU College of Science (International) delivered welcome speeches virtually. Prof. Xia Lidong, Vice President of SDUW, Prof. Wang Xiangyun, Director of Academic Affairs Office, SDUW, Prof. Kong Haiyan, Director of International Office, SDUW, and A/Prof. Fan Qixue, Director of Student Affairs Office, SDUW were present in person, together with the leaders, faculty and staff members, the senior student representatives and all the 2022 freshmen participating both online and onsite. The opening ceremony was presided over by Liang Fengjun.
Prof. Liu Jianya in his speech asked the freshmen to inherit and carry forward the century-old university’s glory, spirit and dream, shoulder the historical mission and bear in mind the college motto of “Aspire in Pursuit of Knowledge, Reason in Seeking for Truth”. He hoped that the students would bear in mind the country's most fundamental interests, live up to the university motto of being “endless in knowledge”, and uphold the pioneering spirit and innovation so as to grow to be top-class talents with a strong sentiment to love families and the motherland and global competence.
Sally Wheeler introduced Australian National University and the city of Canberra where ANU is located. Then she said that JSC is a unique partnership between two world-leading universities, Shandong University and Australian National University, through which the two universities have brought together the best educational expertise and resources to create exceptional learning opportunities for the students. She highly praised the first group of students from JSC studying in ANU now for the strong fundamental education they had acquired in SDU and their qualities of being highly talented, bright and exceptional hard-working.
In his introduction to the specialty setup, faculty, education with distinctive characteristics of JSC and excellent performance of 2019 cohort students in research, innovation and competitions, Prof. Lv Guangshi stated that since the establishment of the college, the admission scores and rankings kept rising year by year, remaining top among all the joint-venture learning institutions in Shandong Province. The college will be committed to building platforms for cultivating international and innovative talents, playing a leading role in the comprehensive reform in the university, and serving comprehensively the national and regional economic and social development.
Prof. Kiaran Kirk introduced ANU’s history, achievements, including producing six Nobel Prize winners, high discipline ranking, students, key research areas and features, as well as its location, landscape, environment, living facilities and support to the students in an all-round way. He expressed his hope to meet the JSC students in Weihai when possible and welcome them to ANU in three years. Prof. Sasha Mikheyev mainly introduced the "3+1+1" model, ANU’s support to the JSC students, admission requirements, curriculum, scholarships, and students’ selection of major and career development.
Prof. Bai Ming made a speech as the teachers’ representative. He shared his interpretation of the word "choice" with the students. He emphasized that the importance of making a choice is reflected in three aspects: the ability to choose, the right to choose and the motivation to choose. He hoped that the students could find their own way in the university to climb to higher mountains, go farther and enjoy more beautiful scenery.
Student representatives Song Wenzhi from 2020 cohort chemistry major and Li Peilin from 2022 cohort physics major delivered speeches in English. Song Wenzhi shared her personal experiences and feelings of studying in JSC, while Li Peilin reported on the military training and his study since he entered the university, and he expressed his expectations for his study and life in JSC. Following him, Li Yixuan, 2019 JSC biology major student at ANU now shared her experience of studying and living on ANU campus.
The ceremony closed with all the guests, teachers and students singing the SDU University Song. It was live streamed via Weihai Evening News Media, with the total number of viewers exceeding 230,000.
After the ceremony, the students transferred to the eight different venues for discipline-specific meetings, with their parents joining online. The Professors from both SDU and ANU introduced studying methods, curriculum, facilities, discipline advantages, employment prospects, etc. In the end, the staff in charge from both sides answered the students and parents’ questions mainly about the "3+1+1" model.
Present at the meetings were all the leaders of JSC, Prof. Lv Guangshi, Executive Dean, A/Prof. Liang Fengjun, Party Dean, Prof. Chang Xiaomei, Vice Dean, Prof. Bai Ming, Vice Dean, Ms. Wang Wei, Deputy Party Dean and the teachers of the four majors. Besides, professors and staff from ANU College of Science and 2019 student representatives studying in ANU participated virtually. They are Mr. Jay Poria, Head of International Relations and Partnerships, Mr. Arthur Xu, Regional Manager of International Relations and Partnerships, Prof. Lilia Ferrario, Director of ANU Mathematical Sciences Institute, Prof. James Borger, Associate Director (Education) of ANU Mathematical Sciences Institute, Prof. Tim Senden, Director of ANU Research School of Physics, Prof. Joseph Hope, Associate Director (Education) of ANU Research School of Physics, Prof. Penny Brothers, Director of ANU Research School of Chemistry, A/Prof. Alexey Glushenkov from ANU Research School of Chemistry, Prof. Craig Moritz, Director of ANU Research School of Biology, Prof Maja Adamska, Associate Director (Education) of ANU Research School of Biology, Dr. Marcin Adamski, Senior Lecturer of ANU Research School of Biology.
The whole orientation day event has helped to acquaint closely the freshmen, their parents and people from all sectors of society with the current situation and achievements of the college. It has also shortened the distance between the families and the college, and further enhanced the students' understanding of the Australian National University.
