Yenching Academy hosts opening ceremony to welcome 6th Cohort Yenching Scholars
Peking: On September 19, Yenching Academy of Peking University welcomed the 6th cohort of Yenching scholars by hosting an opening ceremony that was held both offline and online with 92 young scholars from around the globe. Wang Bo, vice president of Peking University, and Professor Yuan Ming, dean of Yenching Academy, were among the many prominent figures who delivered speeches at the ceremony.
In his speech, Wang mentioned that maintaining communication is particularly vital given the adverse impact of the global pandemic and the intensifying conflicts of different civilizations. Misunderstandings and scepticism could be avoided with openness and effective communication, therefore young scholars around the world need to remain open-minded and conduct discussions with a strong grasp on scientific and humanistic evidence. He encouraged students to immerse themselves and explore their potential interests at Yenching Academy. Becoming passionate and inspired in the process of learning can turn out as the greatest gift, in which Wang believes would be the most rewarding experience of all.
Professor Yuan, on the other hand, recounted the conversation she once had with three incoming students from Hubei province. She mentioned that each student was recollecting the bits and pieces of memories filled with heartfelt warmth from friends and family, near or far, that helped them through some of the toughest times during the pandemic. She proposed two important questions: How can higher education play a role in preparing the young generation to be ready for the unknown? How can cross-cultural, cross disciplinary institutions of higher education like the Yenching Academy bring out their students’ full potential? Besides the recent COVID-19 pandemic, many daunting challenges exist in our global community, including but not limited to global climate change, economic recession, gender inequality, and so on. Yenching Academy wished that students would carry the questions above with them on the quest for knowledge, and begin their exploration to find the answers to them all.