Dear Colleagues, Students, and Alumni at Home and Abroad:

A new year kicks off a new start. We look forward to starting afresh. As we say goodbye to the old year and ring in the new, on behalf of the university administration, as well as Mr. WU Guilong, University Chancellor, I would like to extend warm New Year wishes and greetings to all our faculty and staff members, students, retired personnel, alumni at home and abroad, and friends from all walks of life.

2020 has seen China’s major achievements in its efforts to fight against COVID-19 pandemic, another iconic victory in mankind’s battle against such a disease. On May 17th, President XI Jinping sent a letter of reply to Pakistani students studying at USTB, who had written the President to thank him for China’s hospitality during the pandemic period. With thoughtful ideas, sincere emotions and motivational speech, his letter was both significant and profound. In 2020, the faculty and students of USTB earnestly studied President XI’s important statements on education and implemented the spirit of his letter to the Pakistani students. Staying true to our original aspirations and keeping our mission firmly in mind, USTB has forged ahead to make greater all-round achievements this year.

This year, we have remained committed to the mission of fostering virtues to cultivate first-class talents. We have made great efforts to implement the action plan for developing first-class undergraduate education, advancing a cultivation system including a comprehensive undergraduate mentorship program as well as combined Bachelor’s/Master’s degree programs and combined Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD degree programs, so as to improve the overall training system to foster talents. All these efforts have been conducive to realizing our students’ dreams. We are happy to announce that this year 871 students obtained national and provincial-level honors, 2,038 graduates enrolled in prestigious universities both at home and abroad for further study, and 761 graduates chose to serve the development of mid-western China. Our students’ progress on the way to their dreams points to a bright future of USTB!

This year, we have deepened the reform of the personnel system to build a first-class faculty. We continued to adhere to the strategy of “strengthening the university through talents” by reforming and upgrading our talent training system through carrying out “Dual-Approach” strategy,“Special Projects Graduate Advisor Program”and “Seed Program”. In 2020 Academician YUE Qingrui officially became a tenured professor of USTB, and 17 national high-level expert talents were also recruited. Our faculty remain dedicated to enhancing both their own and students’ morality, as well as fostering innovative talents. We thank all of our faculty for their hard work and efforts! 

This year, we have upgraded cross-disciplinary work to enhance the overall quality of the university’s disciplines. In order to research cutting-edge technology and fulfill national demands, we have promoted cross-disciplinary work, in part by founding the Research Institute of Urbanization and Urban Safety, the Research Institute of Safety Science, the Daxing Research Institute and other institutions. For the first time, USTB was ranked among the top 300 in the 2020 Academic Ranking of World Universities and placed 446 in the 2021 QS World University Rankings.

This year, we have followed R&D policy reforms to improve technological innovation. Under the new guidelines, we have revised and implemented five polices for R & D management to further unleash the vast potential of our faculty in the pursuit of science and technology. Moreover, we assembled one Key Area Innovative Team under the Ministry of Science and Technology, two Key National Natural Science Foundation projects, and seven new National Key Research and Development projects. USTB won two State Science & Technology Awards and eight Outstanding Achievement Awards for Research in Institutes of Higher Education by the Ministry of Education.

This year, we have deepened our joint-education efforts with international universities and formed a new international cooperative network. USTB has focused on promoting its international strategy by founding the World Steel Development Research Institute and the Institute for International People-to-People Exchange in Mining, Metallurgy and Metals Industries, and being selected to the first national batch of “Innovation Bases for Cultivating High-level Talents with International Proficiency”. We have attracted talents and established strategic partnerships with seven institutions including the University College London, POSCO, etc.

This year, we have strengthened our cultural outreach and expanded our social influence. USTB was highlighted by national mainstream media over 600 times, named an “Institution Base of Chinese Ordinary Colleges and Universities for Promoting Chinese Fine Traditional Culture”, and selected as an "Advanced Unit for Integrated Media in Education” by the Ministry of Education. We succeeded our mission of poverty alleviation by helping the people of Qin’an county to overcome local poverty ahead of schedule. Additionally, we have repeatedly received excellent news from our alumni in various industries. Mr. HE Rongwei, one USTB alumnus, was appointed as the chief commander of Mars probe, and has driven China’s space endeavour toward greater success. Alumni Mr. WU Baoqiao, Mr. TANG Xiaoyu, and Mr. XING Gang were named as national role model workers, while Ms. ZHANG Weiting was named as national exemplary individual. Our alumni have contributed to national grand-scale projects and won national awards, shining as symbolic icons of USTB.

Solemn missions ahead, we must take actions and march towards future. 2021 marks the first year of the 14th Five-Year-Plan. Standing at this historical juncture as we continue to pursue the “Two Centenary Goals”, we should carry forward the USTB spirit of “Pursuing Excellence, Seeking Truth and Innovation” in the New Era, and we should forge ahead to build up a world-class university with distinct characteristics.

We wish you a happy New Year, good health, happiness for your family, and good luck in all your endeavors!