The Opening Ceremony for the 2025 Cohort of Dundee International Institute of Central South University (DIICSU) was held successfully at Hesheng Hall, Yuxiu Building, Xiaoxiang Campus on the afternoon of 20 September. Prof. Li Zhihong, Vice President of Central South University (CSU), and Prof. Kim Dale, Vice Principal of the University of Dundee (UoD), attended the event. Senior management staff from relevant departments of both universities, academic staff from DIICSU and all new students of the 2025 intake joined the ceremony via a hybrid way. The ceremony was hosted by Dr. Gao Dongbo, Secretary of the Party Branch of DIICSU.
The ceremony started with a video showing the partnership between CSU and the UoD, as well as the development journey of DIICSU.
Huang Yiling, a year-2 student from Mathematics programme, spoke on behalf of returning students. Drawing on her own experience, she shared practical tips on adapting to fully English-taught academic environment and striking a balance between academic learning and extracurricular activities. She stressed the importance of effective time management and shifting from passive learning to active exploration, and encouraged new students to embrace challenges, find their own pace through trial and error, and pursue their true passions.
Ding Tianyi, a fresher majoring in Mechanical Engineering, delivered a speech as the student representative of the new cohort. He talked about his passion for mechanical engineering and shared his expectations for the China–UK transnational education model. He called on all new students to learn from one another, build lasting friendships, foster resilience, embrace new challenges and dare to experiment, striving to become engineers, innovators and global citizens for the new era.
Prof. Karen Petrie, Executive Vice Dean (EVD) of DIICSU, spoke on behalf of academic staff. She introduced the five core values upheld by the UoD: Working together, Making a difference, Valuing people, Integrity and Excellence. She encouraged new students to engage actively in classes, make the most of DIICSU’s collaborative educational resources, develop independent thinking and critical reasoning skills, and grow into forward-thinking global explorers.
Prof. Kim Dale travelled from the UK to attend the ceremony in person. She remarked that starting university marks an exciting milestone in every student’s life, and urged them to explore boldly and tackle academic challenges head-on. She also introduced exchange programmes offered by the UoD, including summer schools and semester exchange programmes. She urged students to cherish this international learning experience, work hard and keep innovating, adding that DIICSU will fully support students to build up the knowledge, skills and experience needed to thrive.
In his address, Prof. Li Zhihong noted that the long-standing partnership between the two universities has yielded remarkable achievements. He reaffirmed the fundamental mission of fostering virtue through education, and encouraged students to uphold the university motto Integrate Knowledge with Practice, Serve the Society with Expertise. He advised the new students to make full use of DIICSU’s open and international learning environment, strengthen their cross-cultural communication, independent learning skills and dialectical thinking abilities. He hoped they would embark on their new journey with dedication and love filled in heart, and strive to become the bridges connecting Eastern and Western civilisations.
The ceremony concluded with warm applause. Afterwards, the attendees posed for group photos with the 2025 cohort.
