During the morning of June 11, Nankai and Flinders held the 2022 Opening Ceremony of their three Master’s degree programs. The event was done entirely online.
Professor Michael Gilding, Vice President and Executive Dean of the College of Business, Government and Law; Mr. Bill Damachis, Director of the International Partnerships Portfolio; Mrs. Allisa Zhao, International Programs Manager; Associate Professor Anthony Langlois, Course Coordinator of the MAIRET program, Professor Arthur van Deth, Senior Lecturer of the MHA program; Dr. Michael Bell, Course Coordinator of the MELM program; Professor Liu Binglian, Dean of our College; Professor Bai Xuejie, Vice Dean of our College, staff from the Cooperative Programs Office and 570 freshmen from the three majors attended the ceremony.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Professor Gilding congratulated all the new students. He talked about the long-lasting relationship between the two universities. Their 22-year partnership is one of Flinders University’s most enduring and important joint ventures. With the combined efforts of the faculty and staff of the two institutions, both universities have obtained remarkable achievements, meaningful academic exchanges, and research cooperation. Professor Gilding reminded the students that face-to-face communication with them will not be possible, at least in the near future, due to the pandemic outbreak. Nevertheless, Flinders continues to work hard and help students improve their capabilities in the current changing global scenario. Gilding wished the best for the students in this year to come.
Professor Liu Binglian, Dean of our College, welcomed the freshmen on behalf of Nankai University. He stated that the program is actually the largest Chinese-Foreign cooperative education program, which undoubtedly contributes to the internationalization of both universities. Liu encouraged the freshmen to cherish this opportunity and strive to become better students with a global vision and innovative spirits. The representatives of the three majors also sent their blessings to all the freshmen.

Wang Weilin, a student of the MAIRET program, delivered her whole speech in English. She expressed her yearning and expectations for the next two years and called on all her new classmates to make the most of this opportunity.