On Saturday 12 December, UIC celebrated a decade of growth and innovation with the 10th Anniversary Celebration which was held in the Great Hall of Zhuhai. The event’s idea began early on in 2015 with the concept of showcasing the skills and achievements of UIC within the last 10 years. Over 100 people assisted in creating the show coming from all different sections and aspects of UIC.
Guests from all around Zhuhai and Guangdong began to arrive around 6:30pm and were greeted by refreshments provided by the Wall Free Club at UIC. The show started off at 7:00pm sharp with the UIC orchestra performing two of their most well-known songs. The UIC Choir then premiered the college anthem.
After the opening entertainment, speeches from various representatives began. UIC President Ng Ching-Fai [click for full speech] started the formalities by giving the history of the formation of UIC and his views on the success of the new Chinese education that UIC represents. He proudly outlined the difficulties the college faced early and how they were overcome. He then stated the things that had been successful at the university by saying “We have successfully introduced outstanding Chinese culture into a modern university classroom”. At the end of his speech, he announced the college motto, “in knowledge and in deeds, unto the whole person.” His speech’s conclusion was answered with the loudest applause of the night.
President Ng says UIC has successfully practised the educational cooperation model between Hong Kong and the mainland, adding that being the mainland’s first liberal arts college, UIC has introduced diversity to China’s higher education
President Ng was followed by the Council representative Mr Cheng Yan Kee, a UIC council member, a government representative Mr Zhong Guosheng, the Municipal Deputy Secretary-General of Zhuhai, a student representative Qiuyi Wu, the president of the student union, two staff representatives Professor Kaitai Fang and Ms Angel Luo, and concluded with the alumni representative Mr Daimin Yang, the president of the UIC Alumni Association.
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| Cheng Yan Kee |
Zhong Guosheng |
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| Qiuyi Wu |
Daimin Yang |
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| Professor Kaitai Fang |
Angel Luo |
After the conclusion of the speeches the awards of the night were conducted. The first award handed out was the President’s Award for Teaching and Service for Academic Staff. The two recipients of this award were Ms Chunyan Ji of the Division of Science and Technology and Dr Milen Jissov the Associate Director of General Education Office. The criterion for the award was based on the performance and achievement of the two professors in both teaching and service. The second and final awards handed out were the long service awards, which were given to staff who have worked for the university for 9-10 years. These awards were handed out to 28 recipients.
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| Ms Chunyan Ji and Dr Milen Jissov are awarded the President’s Award for Teaching and Service for Academic Staff |
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| 28 staff members receive the Long Service Award |
After the formalities concluded, the grand performance began. The performance, titled We Walk Together, focused on showcasing the talents of the university through the skills of the students. It opened with a moving handoff of the show from President Ng to Dr Michael Li, a teacher for the Whole Person Education Office. Next, a showcase of the different cultures represented at UIC titled The World is Dancing. This featured exchange students, teachers, and teaching assistants dancing in the styles of their home countries. The countries represented included America, France, Korean and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This was followed by a group modern dance by freshman and senior students as they came together to represent the development of UIC.
The dancing was followed by a performance, titled The Heart and the Victory, by the Traditional Chinese Orchestra of the UIC Traditional Arts Club. This performance showcased the commitment of UIC of utilizing Chinese history in a modern age. This performance was followed by a snippet of the Sound of Music as well as performance by a teacher and was inspired and adapted in Chinese from the original Sound of Music show. Following this the Emotional Intelligence Development Centre of Whole Person Education Office’s performance of Dancing Tai-chi and Sword Dance featuring students and teachers together to symbolize the progressive transfer of this traditional art form.
The Grand Performance was closed out by two group dances, one included singing an original song written by two alumni of UIC and current professors. The first part of this fantastic finale featured students singing together their love of UIC and then was followed by a large group dance showcasing the individuality of the students of UIC. The dance just solidified the purpose of the dance, to showcase how diverse the students and staff at UIC are and how UIC is helping China to develop as a strong education centre.
Attending the celebration included: members of the UIC Council Tu Qingyun, President of Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai; Simon Wong, Dean of the School of Continuing Education at Hong Kong Baptist University; members-designate of the UIC Council Chen Lihao, Chairman of the Board at Yuanguang Software Co Ltd; Yu Binglin, former Vice Chairman of Zhuhai Municipal CPPCC; and representatives from the government, parents, alumni, enterprises, nearby universities and middle schools.
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| President Ng receives gifts from Hong Kong Baptist University, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai and Jinan University |
When asked at the end of the night about her thoughts on the whole experience, Kelly Lau a year two student of accounting said, “This has made me feel closer to my school and I am so grateful for the opportunity. Though it was a long day and a lot of work, in the end it was definitely worth it.”
Overall the night was a great success and helped bring students together with staff to form a connection of pride in their college.
Reporter: Heather Lana
Photographers: Xin Shang, Liang Jianhao, Lin Miao, Simon Liu, Cheryl Chen
Editor: Deen He
(from MPRO, with special thanks to the ELC)
