GTIIT Commencement for Bachelor Degree Graduates 2021 was held successfully at the Auditorium of GTIIT North Campus on July 11. Cai Hanfeng, a graduate from Biotechnology and Food Engineering Program, delivered a speech as the representative of the Class of 2021. He said GTIIT is a place where he learned to think independently and critically, and offers him a global perspective. He hoped that all the students could have a bright future and realize their dreams.

Here is the full text

Distinguished guests, dear faculty, staff, fellow students, parents and friends,

Good afternoon.

My name is Cai Hanfeng. I am a student from the Biotechnology and Food Engineering Program in GTIIT. It is my great honor to be selected as the student representative to give a speech in the commencement ceremony.

First of all, I would like to congratulate all of the students here for finally graduating today! We are the first cohort of students in GTIIT. As a Chinese saying goes: 万事开头难, which means that the beginning is the most difficult part. I am so proud that we managed to overcome all the challenges and difficulities, and we finished our undergraduate studies after four years. We didn’t do it alone of course. All along the way we had the wonderful support of our families and the guidance from our teachers. 

I have been asked many times the same question: why did you choose GTIIT? In my first year, I would say because it is close to my home, and I can enjoy homemade dishes with my family every weekend. But now I would answer it with confidence: I chose GTIIT because it is such a unique place that made me better.

This is a place where we learn to think independently and critically. We were encouraged to ask questions instead of sitting through classes quietly as we did in high school. Our doubts were always answered with patience and inspiration by our professors. Our opinions and ideas were never judged without a thorough investigation. As such, we were gifted with the right mindset to be future scientists and engineers.

This is also a place where I found inspiration and motivation from our professors. I remember it was late in a hot summer evening. I was walking through the corridor of the Education Building heading back to my dorm. Suddenly, I saw Prof. Yigal Achmon, standing in front of an empty classroom, practicing his lecture passionately with sweat dripping from his forehead. I was deeply touched and inspired. He was working so hard to prepare his lecture for us, I realized that I should stop finding excuses for my laziness. From then on, Istarted to build up good habits to always be well-prepared for lectures, for presentations, and for my entire undergraduate studies.

As a Sino-foreign cooperative university, GTIIT provided us a wonderful campus with strong international atmosphere. We have professors from all over the world including Israel, US, Canada, and many more. I am so grateful to meet such excellent people, to learn from their research, from their cultures and even make friends with them. This offered me a global perspective and enabled me to take a glimpse of the world from here in Shantou.

As President Xi Jinping said, “Technology is the foundation of the country's prosperity, while innovation is the soul of national progress”. Before I came here, innovation was such a vague and abstract concept for me. Now I have a better understanding about what it is, after attending lectures from professors and having hands-on experiences. For example, in the food innovation course, my group and I created new functional food using ingredients from our daily life. It’s so exciting to practice how to be innovative and really create something new and unique by myself.

Even though I am still here, I already miss the campus, which has grown up with us in the past four years. I would like to thank our faculty and admin staff, who work so hard to guarantee a comfortable campus for study and living. Also, I want to thank my friends, we live together, work together, and play together. We have created so many great memories here. Last but not least, we should thank our parents who took a risk and sent us to such a new university. Because of that risk, we became who we are today. 

Every end is a new beginning. I believe all my fellow graduates are ready to face new challenges in their lives. And I am so excited to continue my journey in the Technion. Finally, congratulations once again and I wish all of us good luck with the future ahead.

Thank you for your attention.

Text: Cai Hanfeng, GTIIT News & Public Affairs

Photos: GTIIT News & Public Affairs