On 1 September, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen held its Inauguration Ceremony 2024. Over 4,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from across the globe gathered at the “Fairy Lake” to embark on a new chapter in their academic journey. President Yangsheng Xu, alongside university officers, Governing Board members, faculty members, and new undergraduate students, participated in the solemn ceremony at the Liwen Hall, while postgraduate students joined at the University Sports Hall.

Distinguished guests and speakers included Professor Rocky S. Tuan, Chairman of the Governing Board of CUHK-Shenzhen and Vice-chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong; distinguished professors at large and Nobel laureates Professor Aaron Ciechanover (2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) and Professor Arieh Warshel (2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry); student representative Sizhe Liu; and President Yangsheng Xu.

In his address, Professor Tuan urged students to rise to the challenge of becoming future leaders. “We live in a time when critical issues like climate change, sustainable development, and inequality demand global attention and represent grand challenges of the 21st Century. Your responsibility therefore extends beyond borders. I urge all of you to translate your understanding of these grand challenges into actions that help solve the problems facing humanity” he said.

He also advised students to look beyond their own limitations, embrace a global perspective, and strive for excellence. “Although the road ahead may be arduous, as long as you ‘aim high and keep your feet on the ground’, continually delve into knowledge, pursue truth, goodness, and beauty, proactively care about society and give back positively, you will surely create a wonderful life of your own and contribute to the well-being of the nation.”

Professor Xu advised students not to focus excessively on the external world at the expense of self-exploration and growth. He said, "I hope that after arriving at the University, you can find yourselves through various activities offered by the schools and colleges,” he said. “Finding yourself in a crowded world gives you confidence; finding the world within yourself gives you breadth of mind. Step by step, seek to discover, strengthen, and perfect yourself. Gradually, you will find the special mission hidden within you and what you are destined to do in this life. This is what you should be doing most in university.”

Professor Aaron Ciechanover, the 2004 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, remarked, “The fact that I am here today, an Israeli scientist, addressing the Inauguration Ceremony for The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, means that science and knowledge have no borders. No gender borders, no language borders, no national borders, no religious borders, no borders. Knowledge and science belong to all of us, and we should all benefit from it.”

He further highlighted the importance of universities, noting that they are among the most significant institutions humanity has ever built. He said, "The medicine that you are learning today is not going to be the medicine of tomorrow. And the engineering of today is not the engineering of tomorrow. And the music of today even, and the literature of today, is not the literature of tomorrow. You are getting here tools, and the tools are in your hands to shape, to mould, and to take it to wherever your imagination will take you."

Professor Arieh Warshel, the 2013 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, extended a warm welcome to the new students in his speech. He recalled the challenges faced during his first opening ceremony at CUHK-Shenzhen, which took place in the midst of a heavy rainstorm and did not go as smoothly as planned. Despite these initial difficulties, Professor Warshel highlighted how the University has made significant strides in campus construction, faculty development, and academic programmes, transforming itself into one of China's leading universities in just ten years. 

He then shared his personal academic journey, reflecting on his early uncertainties as a student. "When I first started at university, I had no idea which course to take," he recounted, mentioning how a friend suggested he pursue chemistry due to his good eyesight, as the field required careful observation of test tubes and colours. In hindsight, this decision, though unplanned, set him on a path to success. He emphasised to the new students that it is nearly impossible to predict the future, urging them to spend their first year absorbing knowledge and mastering the tools of science.