Dear colleagues and students,
As 2020 draws to a close, we get ready to usher in 2021. As we do so, I bring you good tidings and my warmest New Year greetings.
2020 has been a difficult year—a year of unprecedented global health threat, a year when the world has been turned upside down. None of us has escaped its impact. But somehow, we are coming through. We are thankful for a campus life that resembles the normal more than most, an oasis of peace and quiet, humming along with active learning on- and offline.
For UIC, good things continue to happen despite 2020. Physically, a bigger campus beckons. The blueprint for the 2nd phase of our campus is now oven-ready. Academically, in terms of reputation, we are the nation’s number six in the ratio of graduates pursuing further studies, and third in terms of overseas-destined students, 70% of whom have been tapped by the world’s top-100 universities. In our own talent hunt, to date, we have attracted scores of tip-top scholars who together have nudged us into the nation’s top 100 in the concentration of high-caliber talents. That is not all. We have rolled out new professional programs and added more cutting-edge facilities. Thanks to your collective efforts, we have much to celebrate for our 15 years of existence. There is significant progress even amid the pandemic.
In 2021, we must remain vigilant and health-conscious. A healthy body is the anchor for a healthy mind. I also hope we will never lose our sense of curiosity about the world around us, and dig deep into our creative potential. Above all, keep that love of life burning bright so that it will shine on those who are near and dear to us.
The coming year is still full of uncertainty. But together, let us embrace that uncertainty to forge a better future.
As we bid farewell to 2020, let me wish you all a happy and safe new year. May UIC grow and prosper as you grow and prosper.
Prof Tang Tao
President, UIC
