Recently, the Institute of Economics and Social Development held the 2025 Orientation Meeting for New Students. The leadership team of the institute, discipline heads, and several faculty representatives attended the event, which was chaired by Professor Bai Xuejie, Vice Dean of the institute.

Dean Liu Binglian, on behalf of the institute, extended his warmest congratulations and welcome to the Class of 2025. He reviewed the development of the institute since its establishment in 1998 and put forward three expectations:

1.Root research in China’s reality — write papers on the land of the motherland and seek research directions from real economic and social issues.

2.Hone academic skills — consolidate the theoretical foundations of economics and sociology, and master practical tools such as quantitative analysis and policy simulation.

3.Cultivate a sense of responsibility to the country — become researchers with a strong sense of duty and accountability.

Vice Dean Liu Weilin gave a detailed introduction to the development of the Institute of Economics and Social Development in terms of disciplinary standing, academic achievements, and international exchanges, highlighting the institute’s distinctive “six-in-one” graduate training system. By continuously innovating its mechanisms, the institute has nurtured several nationally leading disciplines and has become both an important pillar for applied economics at Nankai University and a key think tank platform serving society. The institute also provides students with extensive academic exchange opportunities, advanced facilities and resources, a rich array of extracurricular activities, and generous scholarship support.

Subsequently, the heads of each discipline introduced the development of industrial economics, regional economics, and logistics and expressed their high expectations for the new students.

Professor Du Chuanzhong, Director of the Institute of Industrial Economics, encouraged the students by noting that China is currently at a critical stage of industrial restructuring and high-quality development, which presents many challenging research topics. He urged them to seize the opportunity and lay a solid professional foundation for the future.

Professor Zhou Mi, Director of the China Center for Urban and Regional Economics, emphasized that during the graduate stage, students should continuously sharpen their research skills, identify clear directions, and be bold in pushing their own boundaries.

Professor Xiao Jianhua, Director of the Modern Logistics Research Center, called on the students to maintain curiosity and sensitivity, stay grounded in practice and collaboration, and uphold responsibility and vision throughout their studies and lives.

Representatives of the 2025 cohort of new doctoral and master’s students delivered speeches.

Cheng Qian, representing the new doctoral students, reflected on her academic journey from undergraduate to master’s studies, noting that her focus had gradually shifted toward exploring the unknown. She remarked that the greatest challenge along this path is“uncertainty.”By choosing Nankai once again, she felt a deeper sense of determination, gratitude, and anticipation, and expressed confidence that she would continue to surpass herself at the Institute of Economics and Social Development.Zhang Hanwei, representing the new master’s students, stated that graduate study is not only an advancement in knowledge but also a training of thinking and an expansion of vision. Here, they will learn how to identify key issues from complex phenomena, how to conduct independent research with rigorous methods, and how to approach the fate of ordinary people behind the data with empathy. He expressed the hope that they would not only gain the knowledge to “explain the world” but also cultivate the courage to “change the world.”

At the end of the meeting, all faculty members and students gathered in front of the lecture hall for a group photo.