The old year has drawn to a close, and the new one is now dawning with all its possibilities.

As we enter the year 2023, we would like to extend, on behalf of SYSU, our best wishes and sincere thanks to all of our students, current and retired faculty and staff, alumni at home and abroad, and friends from different walks of life who have supported the development of SYSU.

The year 2022 will be remembered as a year of historic significance.

In 2022, we saw the successful convening of the 20th CPC National Congress. The report to the Congress set clear goals for higher education in the new era, highlighting the core position of innovation in China's overall modernization drive, and making, for the first time, coordinated arrangements on science and technology, education, and human resources as a whole.

In 2022, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, SYSU consistently followed the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and worked to strengthen the Party's leadership over the university in all respects. We conscientiously studied the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, stepped up efforts to rectify problems exposed by CPC disciplinary inspections, kept in mind the bigger picture of the Party and the country, and made solid progress in virtually all our endeavors.

Throughout the year, we kept in mind the top priorities of the country, fortified Party building in all our endeavors, and made manifest the defining features of SYSU. We pooled the strength of our Party members and united the whole university under the guidance of the SYSU Work Conference on Party Building, and worked to promote high-quality development of the university. We devoted great energy to explore effective ways of strengthening Party building in the new era, and the university was successfully included in the third batch of Party construction demonstration units. We made strategic plans to advance full staff education, whole process education and all-round education, and ensured that SYSU focused on nurturing talents for the Party and the country.

Throughout the year, we pursued “fostering virtue through education” as the central task, concentrated on enhancing the quality of education, and made solid progress in exploring the SYSU pattern of talent cultivation. We convened the Spring and Autumn Work Conferences to promote understanding of our mission in education. Efforts were made to strengthen students’ academic foundations, develop an environment that concentrated on student development, provide students with both specialized and general liberal education, and nurture talents who can take the lead in the future. Measures were taken to promote interdisciplinarity, with the establishment of the Economics and Management Branch and the Medical Sciences Branch marking the launch of the university's education reform and a further improvement of cross-departmental education. Policies were put forward to provide students with more choices, creating a favorable environment that encourages cross-disciplinary learning and learning through practice and research, ensures a smooth transition between undergraduate and postgraduate programs, and provides assistance to students’overseas study plans. Steps were taken to achieve excellence in education, by developing student autonomy, deepening teaching reform, accelerating first-class curriculum construction and textbook development, and optimizing student learning environment.

And our efforts paid off. We made a historic breakthrough in the new round of China Discipline Evaluation, with 11 disciplines included in the updated List of "Double First-Class" Initiative, all existing majors included in the "Double 10,000 Initiative" for first-class undergraduate majors, 10 majors included in the national "Strengthening Basic Disciplines Plan", and 11 majors included in the MOE’s list of bases for top students training program 2.0 in basic disciplines. We made notable progress in attracting outstanding individuals from all over the world, recruiting a total of 331 people through the Hundred Talents Program, and having another 68 of our teachers included in the list of National High-level Talents. We also achieved a significant improvement in campus facilities, with the newly completed floor area amounting to over 960,000 square meters. Among these are a number of major construction projects on different campuses. The University Museum and the Life Sciences Complex on the Guangzhou South Campus, Medical Buildings No. 3, 4, and 5 on the Guangzhou North Campus, and Jinyuan Dining Hall, Hanlin Complex 3, and Boyayuan Faculty Apartment Building on Zhuhai Campus have all been completed, whereas the first phase of construction projects on Shenzhen Campus is about to be completed soon.

Throughout the year, we took to heart the country's major strategic priorities, strived to promote scientific research and innovation, and demonstrated SYSU as a force in scientific research and academic performance. We ranked third numerically, in a row of seven years, in terms of the number of projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and were also the host of two major projects. We ranked third numerically, again in a row of seven years, in terms of the number of projects funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China and MOE Humanities and Social Sciences Research Program. We also reached a historical high in terms of the number of projects funded by the National Key R&D Program.

We made impressive advances in many academic areas, demonstrating SYSU as a remarkable force in scientific research. The establishment of the P4 laboratory marked another big step in the construction of key strategic infrastructure of science and technology, which, along with the existing National Supercomputer Center in Guangzhou and Tianqin Center for Gravitational Physics, will work to meet China’s strategic needs. The icebreaker named "Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di", which navigated its pilot trip in 2022, will greatly assist the existing oceanographic research and training vessel, named " Zhong Shan Da Xue", in our efforts of building China into a strong maritime nation. The first batch of national key laboratories at SYSU underwent a smooth reorganization, and our application to jointly build another national key laboratory was approved. To promote the transformation and upgrading of the real economy, a total of nine innovation platforms were jointly established with leading enterprises including iFlytek and China Unicom Guangdong. The Institute of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Development Studies achieved fruitful results in its consulting services, reinforcing its function as a national high-end think tank.

Throughout the year, we practiced the “People First” Philosophy, adopted a down-to-earth attitude in all our undertakings, and demonstrated SYSU's strong sense of duty. We actively participated in the fight against Covid-19, providing medical services in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Hainan. During the peak of the pandemic, our doctors and nurses worked tirelessly and devoted themselves to treating patients. We continued our poverty alleviation projects in Fengqing, Yunnan and Lianzhou, Guangdong. We contributed to the efforts of aiding-Xinjiang and Tibet missions, providing assistance in education, science and technology, and medical care.

Dear students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends, after looking back with pride and satisfaction on 2022, which was packed with so many incredible moments, we now invite you to look ahead to 2023, which is full of hope and possibilities.

In 2023, we are to rally more closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core. We are to enhance our understanding of the decisive significance of the “Two Establishments”, strengthen our commitment to the “Four Consciousnesses”, the “Four-Sphere Confidence” and the “Two Upholds”, and take concrete actions to implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress. We are to coordinate our efforts to strive for new successes in invigorating our country through science and education, enhancing talent support for modernization, and promoting innovation-driven development. We are determined to celebrate the SYSU Centennial with more outstanding achievements.

We sincerely wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year in 2023.

CHEN Chunsheng, GAO Song

January 1, 2023