On the evening of May 16th, XJTLU’s inaugural “Academic Stars” were born. An award ceremony hosted by the Library was held to recognize and commend those students who had devoted themselves to their studies, applied what they had learned and shared their experiences with others. The use of “Academic Stars” as role models served to inspire college students to a more comprehensive and profound understanding of erudition and its connotations: dedication and the pursuit of truth, in turn enlivening the scholarly atmosphere on campus through which students would embrace academic research and innovation.
The event commenced with the gathering of teacher and student referrals during a period of two months, in which over 700 nominations were eventually received. After several rounds of elimination, ten outstanding students were each bestowed the title of “Academic Star”. They were: Denny Pranoto, a Biological Sciences senior from Indonesia; Tianwei Dong, an Information and Computer Science sophomore; Zhen Xi, a freshman in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Qiuyu Chen, a sophomore in the same Department; Hui Yu, a third-year student from Business, Economics and Management; Zhou Hang, a Telecommunication Engineering freshman; Chang Gao, a fellow freshman in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Tianyuan Jia, a Telecommunication Engineering senior; Linyu Cai, a junior in Biological Sciences, and Yajing Zhu, also a year-three student from Financial Mathematics.
University Librarian Xin Bi was present to confer on these students the honorary title of “Academic Star”. The prize included a cash award of RMB1,000 towards the recipient’s annual academic support. The funds would be used for relevant academic and scientific research, including the cost of books and materials, office supplies, publication, travelling and conferences. Each “Academic Star” could apply for a further RMB3,000 in academic support under the 2013 Summer Academic Program, which is limited to three winners.
The University Librarian stated: “This activity is one of many that contributed to creating a scholarly atmosphere on campus. In applying the selection criteria, we were mindful to recognize those who were able to apply what they have learned in preference to self-absorbed bookworms. As a result, each of the ten ‘Academic Stars’ is unique and worthy of emulation. It is our hope that they will be looked up to as role models who help shape an intellectually stimulating learning environment.”
Denny Pranoto, a senior Biological Sciences student who hails from Indonesia, had won wide praise from, and came highly recommended by, his teachers and classmates on the back of his impressive performance. He has set for himself definite career and life goals that he would like to attain. Besides being studious and unswerving in his quest for knowledge, paying especial attention to all developments on and related to Biological Sciences, Denny also delights in sharing his experiences with others.
As the first “Academic Star” announced that evening, Denny remarked modestly, “I am very lucky to be selected, but I am not the best, all the students around me who have been shortlisted are exceptional in their own ways.” Before coming to China, he had also considered going to Germany for further studies. “But my mother noted that it was of great use to learn Mandarin. I find out that here at XJTLU, while classes are taught in the English medium, I could learn Mandarin at the same time, thus killing two birds with one stone,” he added. Denny, who is in his final year at XJTLU, exclaimed that time flied. “Although the university is relatively young, it has made rapid developmental strides. For instance, there was no laboratory before but now we have world-class labs!” Denny plans to accumulate relevant work experience first after graduation, before deciding if he will attend graduate school. He has generously offered to donate the RMB1,000 awarded to him to the Library or Department of Biological Sciences so that students who need it more would benefit from it.
Qiuyu Chen, on the other hand, would have to be the indisputable “Research Star”. While still a freshman, she has completed the study of postgraduate materials on Integrated Optoelectronics on her own. Currently in her sophomore year, she has also conducted research on laser with a postgraduate student from the University of Southampton in the UK, with whom she has co-authored theses which have been endorsed by leading experts in the field. Come the following semester, she will be the youngest member of the VLSI Testing and Reliability Laboratory. Her sights may be set on academia, but she never forgets to share her study experiences with other students, including through activities such as study exchanges and English Corners.
Qiuyu Chen considers this “Academic Star” event to be very meaningful. She elaborated, “On the one hand, ‘Academic Stars’ are encouraged to continue their pursuit of edification; contemporaneously, the event has influenced people around them to enter into more fruitful academic exchanges, thus elevating the level of scholarship to a new height.” With this in mind, Qiuyu Chen appeals for a richer database of resources to enhance the ease of writing theses and dissertations, although as she pointed out, with gratitude, that the award of RMB1,000 was a timely shower of blessing as she had plans to purchase a number of reference books and laboratory equipment.
Third-year Financial Mathematics student, Yajing Zhu, armed with a distinguished academic record, was also honored as an “Academic Star” for her untiring promotion of scholarly activities. She opined that events such as this “Academic Star” award would draw more attention to research and encourage holistic development of the students rather than commit them to rote learning. She also dispensed a word of friendly advice to her juniors: “First, set realistic goals for your studies; Second, attend lessons faithfully and listen actively in class; Third, make full use of the resources at school.”
Dr. Hao Yu, a lecturer with the Mathematics and Physics Teaching Centre, was of the view that the event, which put the spotlight on students who had devoted themselves to academic mastery, was one well worth promoting. Employing the examples of Newton, Galileo and Einstein, he referred to higher education as the fertile period when imagination and innovation were at their peak, and continued, “Academic research and mastery spring from a potent combination of curiosity and imagination. At university, a time when students build on their repository of knowledge, their inquiring minds and gumption are being stretched to the maximum in a bid to explore certain questions and elucidate the truth. All the more we should encourage these youngsters to participate in various forms of academic activities, which would be excellent training ground for all of them.”
Yisha Wang, a contemporary of Qiuyu Chen, concurred that XJTLU exudes an unmistakable aura of academic excellence. “Having classmates who give their all and more, puts me to shame when I am so much as crave to rest on my laurels a tiny little bit.” At the award ceremony, she was won over by the relentless efforts made towards academic rigor by her fellow “Academic Stars”. “Although I, also, often take part in a number of activities, they are mostly classroom practices. In future, I hope to be like the rest of the ‘Academic Stars’, putting to practical use the theories I have learned.”
Indeed, as Cheng Cheng, an Information Engineering freshman, summed up that, “Although I’ve only been in university for one year, XJTLU’s presiding spirit of learning and teaching excellence is refreshingly inspiring yet carefree. This event is for me another experience, one that will guide and underpin my own learning here and beyond.”
Interviewer:Haifeng Fu
Editor: Jingjing Zhang, Xianshu Meng