On June 9, 2022, the learning exchange meeting of President Coching Chu’s spirit, “Carrying on the virtues of Coching Chu, cultivating outstanding students”, jointly organized by ZJUI CPC Branch, ZJUI students CPC Branches, was held at the International Campus, Zhejiang University. Ms. LI Hangchun, the academic editor of the Zhejiang University Institute for Advanced Study in Humanities and Social Sciences, made a special report. Prof. WANG Yufen, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Secretary of Committee for Discipline Inspection of the International Campus, and Prof. Der-Horng Lee, Dean of ZJUI, attended the event and delivered speeches. The event was presided over by Prof. MA Hao, Secretary of the ZJUI CPC Branch and Vice Dean of ZJUI.
Prof. WANG Yufen pointed out that this year is the 125th anniversary of Zhejiang University and the university’s cultural construction year. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the official partnership between Zhejiang University and UIUC, the holding of this event fits the requirements of the university’s cultural construction. Hopefully this will deepen faculty and students’ understanding about Coching Chu’s spirit. He taught students and faculty to learn, think , practice, study deeply, work perseveringly, strive for first place, and to contribute wisdom to the effort of creating an “International Collaborative Education Model”.
Prof. Der-Horng Lee gave a keynote speech at the meeting. He said that as an institute jointly run by ZJU and UIUC, ZJUI should carry on the spirit of President Coching Chu, which is the cultural intersection of the two universities, inherit the spirit of President Chu, and internalize it in heart, externalize it in action. This is the sacred responsibility bestowed upon ZJUI by history, and also a solemn commitment to the future. He said that ZJUI will further deepen the spirit of President Coching Chu as the spiritual and cultural connotation of the institute, promote the inheritance and development of the spirit of President Coching Chu, and make it a powerful spiritual force leading ZJUI forward.
Ms. LI Hangchun presented a lively special report on President Coching Chu to the participated faculty members and students. She talked about the experiences of President Coching Chu, and his persistence in writing a 10 million-word diary. She spoke of his firmness in “democratic governance” when he was in charge of the university, and his arduous struggle during the westward migration. She vividly depicted President Coching Chu as a man with a truth-seeking and pragmatic educational sentiment. He was a man with democratic and scientific educational ambition, a role model of educational masters who put the educational practice of respecting teachers and loving students into modern university education. By discussing his spirit, she called on faculty members and students to stick to the tenet of “seeking truth” and to keep forging ahead.
The event also invited four sharers from ZJUI to explain their understanding and practice of President Coching Chu’s spirit based on their personal and learning experience. They are, CHEN Wenchao, Assistant Professor; TANG Zhizhan, a 2021 graduate of ZJUI and a member of the Postgraduate Voluntary Teaching Group of the Chinese Young Volunteers Western Poverty Alleviation Relay Program; CHEN Haonan, a 2021 graduate student of electronic information; JIN Yiquan, a 2020 undergraduate student of mechanical engineering.
The event has received the guidance and strong support of the CPC of International Campus. Prof. WANG Hongwei and Prof. CHEN Xiqun, Vice Deans of ZJUI, all ZJUI faculty and staff, student representatives, and faculty members of the international campus attended the event.
