1. Party construction achieves new progress
- A temporary Party branch was established in Hubei, giving full play to the exemplary and vanguard role of Party members.
- The first Party Member Congress of the Tsinghua SIGS CPC was held. A new Party committee and disciplinary committee were elected.
- The Tsinghua SIGS Party committee was selected as a “Benchmark unit for Party building” by Tsinghua University.
- A forum series was held to strengthen ideological and political education.
- Students and staff sang "My Motherland and I" to celebrate National Day.
2. Research groups assist in the fight against COVID-19, classes and research activities continue
- Research groups offered their expertise and scientific findings to meet pressing demands in COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment, and technological support.
- Online teaching was carried out smoothly according to original schedules. A hybrid approach of both online and in-person classes was adopted in the second half of the year.
- Tsinghua SIGS conducted student enrollment independently for the first time and online reexaminations were held for domestic applicants. Student defenses transitioned online.
- During the pandemic, the Youth League Committee and Graduate Union planned various activities for students at home. Starting from May, students returned to school in a staggered approach.
- The Graduate Student Affairs Office as well as three Tsinghua SIGS students and staff were recognized by Tsinghua University for their work against COVID-19.
3. New breakthroughs in the construction of 6+1 Theme Areas
- The Institute of Biopharmaceutical and Health Engineering, Institute for Ocean Engineering, Institute of Environment and Ecology, Institute of Materials Research, and Institute of Future Human Habitats were established.
- Academicians Zhang Jianmin, He Kebin, Cheng Huiming, and Professor Peter Russell were appointed as Deans of the Institute for Ocean Engineering, Institute of Environment and Ecology, Institute of Materials Research, and Institute of Future Human Habitats, respectively.
4. Scientific research gain fruitful results
- Liu Houde, Wang Zhi, Zhu Xiaoshan, and Wang Liming won Shenzhen Science and Technology Awards. Kang Feiyu won the Mayor Award.
- Research projects led by Kang Feiyu and Wu Yaojiong won first and second prizes of the Guangdong Natural Science Award respectively.
- Ma Hui and Liao Ran successfully completed an expedition in the South China Sea.
- Cheng Huiming, Kang Feiyu, Li Baohua, Lv Wei, and Zhou Guangmin were named “Highly Cited Researchers” by Clarivate Analytics.
- Wu Qianyuan and Wu Guangxue won the ISO Outstanding Contribution Award.
- The Tsinghua SIGS Center of Shenzhen Positive Well-being Policy was approved as a key research base for Humanities and Social Sciences in Shenzhen.
- The Mi Shengli & Sun Wei research group, Cheng Huiming & Liu Bilu team, Huang Laiqiang team, Gan Lin & Li Jia team, Xu Tao team, Zhang Xihui research group and others have published significant findings in internationally renowned journals. Li Bing was elected into the editorial board of the SCI journal Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, and the Wang Xiaohao/ Tang Fei/ Ni Kai team won the RCM Beynon Prize for Best Paper in the authoritative journal Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry.
5. International partnerships deepen, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute sees a new phase of cooperation
- Phase II of cooperation between Tsinghua University and the University of California, Berkeley began at Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI).
- Tsinghua University and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) signed a memorandum of understanding to form a flagship partnership.
- Tsinghua SIGS, Tencent Games, and University of Southern California’s USC Games signed a new agreement for joint training of students.
- The Asian University Alliance Executives’ Meeting 2020 was held. Members looked forward to the future development of higher education in Asia.
6. Symposiums promote the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
- The 3rd Tsinghua Symposium was held in Shenzhen where international and domestic scholars gathered to share their views on scientific revolution and social progress.
- The Tsinghua Hong Kong-Macao Symposium focused on the unique advantages of Hong Kong and Macao in national reform and opening up in the new era.
- The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Education Alliance of Shenzhen was established.
- The University Robotics Technology Alliance of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao was formed.
- The Tsinghua SIGS Career and Entrepreneurship Guidance Service Station passed inspection and acceptance.
- The 12th Nanshan Academic Forum for Ph.D. Candidates in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was held online.
- The Institute of Belt and Road Initiative, Tsinghua University, Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University, and Center for Public–Private Partnership, Tsinghua University were unveiled.
7. Tsinghua SIGS celebrates Shenzhen SEZ’s 40th anniversary
- Two Tsinghua alumni were honored among 40 role models and pioneers in innovation and entrepreneurship. Chen Xu, Chairperson of Tsinghua University Council, attended the grand gathering to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and met with alumni at a symposium held at Tsinghua SIGS.
- “Qing Yan 1”, Tsinghua and Shenzhen Municipality’s first scientific expedition and trial ship, participated in the Shenzhen Media Group’s 40-hour live broadcast event.
- Interviews for “40 years of Tsinghua People and Shenzhen” kicked off.
8. Tsinghua SIGS contributes to poverty relief at Suguang Village
- The Suguang Village Smart Agricultural Base was unveiled with the help of Tsinghua SIGS and modern agricultural technology.
- Livelihoods and surroundings of Suguang Village were drastically improved through technology, education, and growth of businesses.
- Since 2016, Tsinghua SIGS staff has helped lead poverty relief efforts at Suguang Village. In 2020, all its impoverished households have reached poverty alleviation standards, and Suguang Village was removed from the list of provincial-level impoverished villages.
9. Faculty win honors and awards
- Li Xiangming and Sun Chunliu were named “Shenzhen Excellent Teacher” and “Shenzhen Advanced Educator”, respectively. Guan Yuntao, He Yonghong, Wang Xiaohao, Tan Chunyan, Zhang Yaou, Huang Wei, Zhai Dengyun, Tang Xian, Lin Xiaokang, Yang Junyou and Tao Yi received various awards from Tsinghua University for their excellent work in teaching, in international cooperation and exchange, and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Affairs, or in other areas.
- “Machine Learning for Big Data” (Yuan Chun) and “Advanced Big Data Systems” (Wang Zhi), were named “National Online First-Class Courses”.
10. Innovation & Entrepreneurship achieves excellent results, Innovation Base wins awards
- The “AI+Mueller microscope early cancer diagnosis system” won the top prize at the 2020 Dreamcatcher Cup. The “Sirius” student team won first prize at the 2020 International Competition of Autonomous Running Robots, and the "Software Lab" team won second prize in the 2nd China Post-Graduate Robot Innovation and Design Competition.
- 5 Tsinghua SIGS students and staff were commended by Tsinghua University for their excellent work and support for students.
- The Youth League Committee and Graduate Union were graded excellent by the school.
- The Phase II Innovation Base Construction Project (Information Building) won awards including the National Quality Engineering Award and China Building Decoration Design (Gold Award).
Source: Office of Communications and Outreach
