In the morning of 4 September, the 2020 freshmen of Nankai University and Flinders University’s Economy and Trade, Master of Hospital Administration and Master of Educational Leadership and Management gathered online and participated at the opening ceremony of this semester via an online live broadcast.

In the beginning of the ceremony, the leadership, the administrative teams of the two universities and related departments extended their greetings and blessings to the freshmen with some videos. Prof. Sebastian Raneskold, Vice-President and Pro Vice-Chancellor of Flinders University, expressed his sincere congratulations. He said that the 20-year cooperative educational program with Nankai University is one of the most lasting and important overseas relations of Flinders University. Although the epidemic and the difficulty to have a face-to-face communication with the freshmen, he believes that with the joint efforts of the program’s administrative teams of the two universities, students will also be able to successfully complete their studies and achieve their study objectives.

The person in charge of Nankai University’s Graduate School also extended his welcome to the 2020 freshmen. He mentioned that as the largest Sino-foreign master-degree cooperative educational program in China, the two universities not only have made outstanding contributions to the internationalization and “double first-class” construction of Nankai University, but also cultivated a large number of excellent talents of Management for the society. He hopes the 2020 freshmen would successfully complete their studies with continuous efforts and innovative spirits.

The person in charge of Nankai University’s College of Economic and Social Development, one of the program’s implementation unit, sent his wishes to the freshmen. He hoped the students can combine their individual goals with the development of the country, integrate themselves to the society and live up to the mission. In this year’s epidemic, alumni of Hospital Administration bravely joined in the first-line of the battle against the epidemic, annotating Nankai’s excellent tradition of “knowing China and serving China” and the university’s motto “dedication to public interests, acquisition of all-round capability, and aspiration for progress with each passing day” by their actions as well as the responsibilities of medical workers. These achievements are not only a gift for the 20-year cooperative education program of two universities, but also an encouragement for the freshmen. The program’s directors and administrative teams of the two universities also sent greetings to the freshmen.

In order to implement the epidemic prevention and control requirements of the two universities and ensure the students of the three majors to enroll in this year, start their courses on time and have a safe learning environment, the entrance examination and opening ceremony of this year’s cooperative educational program are conducted online. Staff at the Office of the Program gave up their summer holiday and organized an online entrance examination for 700 candidates in a month, excellently completing this year’s enrollment and admission work. At present, the students of the three majors have successfully participated in the opening ceremony and started their courses.

( Reported by Meng Liu, Translated by Yuchen Shi, Edited by Davide Francolino and JianjingYun)