Dear teachers and students,

Good morning! Today, we are here to hold a grand orientation ceremony for newly enrolled students of 2023. On behalf of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, I would like to extend my warmest welcome to the 864 undergraduate students and the 1980 graduate students.

Among yousome are freshmen who have just started medical study, and some are graduate students who are continuing their studies. You have gone through rounds of selection, standing out from tens of thousands of contenders. Having achieved previous success, you are here as the best among your peers to start a new journey of life and study.

Stepping into the beautiful campus, the first thing you will see is the big characters engraved ona caesious Taishan stone: "Serve thecountry, serve the people." The words written by Academician Wang Zhenyi, winner of the National Top Science and Technology Award, explain the mission of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and embody the spirit ofstruggle and forging ahead of generations of people in SJTUSM.

Through its 127 years of medical education and 71 years of the school’s development, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine has always embraced the world with open arms, gathering great masters and nurturing generations of talents. In 1952, St. John’s University School of Medicine, Aurora University School of Medicine, and Tongde Medical College merged to form Shanghai Second Medical College which was renamed as Shanghai Second Medical University in 1985. In 2005, it merged with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and formed the current Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

Choosing SJTU is choosing responsibility, and choosing SJTU School of Medicine is choosing dedication. Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine has always been committed to cultivating outstanding medical innovative talents to protect people's lives and health. It has formed national and international competitive disciplines such as clinical medicine, basic medicine, and stomatology. It has brought together 203 academicians of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering and other national-level talents to form a high-level faculty team and an outstanding medical innovation talent training system with distinctive characteristics. Owning 7 national-level medical centers, it has produced several scientific and technological innovation achievements with world influence. In response to the national strategy of "Healthy China", Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine is making big strides on the road to building a world-class medical school and a first-class medical discipline.

Dear students, you have made excellent achievements with hard work, realized your dreams with intelligence, and entered the sacred hall for first-class medical talent cultivation.The aspiring medical student Zhang Youyou said in her wonderful speech “to study medicine in the best medical school and to be the best doctor who can serve the patients”. In the classroom with renowned teachers, and in the affiliated hospitals with renowned doctors, you will temper your character, learn medical knowledge, and cultivate practical ability.In this new era for fighters, everyone can be a dream-maker. I wish you success in your study at SJTUSM, to grow into a better self, and to write a more wonderful chapter of life.

I have three expectations for you:

01

Medicine is a great cause that protects life, saves the dying, and cures the wounded, a cause of dedication and selfless love. Teachers who pass on knowledge and resolve doubts, and doctors who protect life and health, are the two most honorable professions. Health entrusted; Lives confided. Selfless dedication is the doctor's character; Diligence is the doctor's spirit. The young people of the new era are determined, confident, and calm, with the confidence to look at the worldas equals. When you choose the profession of a doctor, you muststrengthen your faith, adhere to the original intention of studying medicine, always put the interests of the people in the first place, always care about the pain and concern of patients, give them the warmest care and love, and provide comprehensive, accurate and considerate medical services for patients.

In the course of its development, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine has sent more than 70,000 medical talents to the country, including a large number of academic leaders and medical professionals with firm ideals and convictions and pursuit of excellence, such as Kuang Ankun, YuHe, Lan Xichun and Gao Jinglang. Last year marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. The seven former and current Party secretaries and Chancellors of the School gathered on the campus to discuss the brilliant achievements of building a world-class medical school and a first-class medical discipline. Facing future development, they shared their memory of the original mission and their ambition for the future.

Dear students, today you have joined the family of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine has a strong faculty, advanced teaching facilities, and a superior learning environment. I hope that you will behappy, confident, hardworking, andoutstanding in academic performance. I hope you will cherish your time and study hard on campus to lay a solid foundation for your medical career.

As a medical student, you should shoulder the responsibility of the times, scale the heights of science and technology, surpass yourself in diligent study, and improve medical skills in clinical practice.

Along the way, generation after generation of people in SJTUSM hasforged ahead to innovate, making many world-leading scientific and technological achievements. In 1958, the affiliated Ruijin Hospital successfully rescued Qiu Caikang, a steelworker with 89% of his body burned, overturning the conclusion that one with more than 80% of the body burned cannot be cured, and rewriting the history of world medicine. In 1963, the team of Chen Zhongwei of the affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, after eight hours of hard work, successfully reattached the completely severed right forearm of a 27-year-old worker, completing the world's first severed limb replantation operation. In 1986, Academician Wang Zhenyi appliedAll-transRetinoic Acid induced differentiation in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia, which improved the five-year survival rate of the disease from 10% to more than 95%, and opened a new era in the treatment of leukemia in the world. The innovative pursuit ofSJTUSM has ignited the light of modern medicine, made outstanding contributions to the development of China's medical cause, and left an impressive mark in the history of medicine.

"Ambition is realized through persistence; Success is notabout instant benefits.” I hope that you will be hard-working and confident, develop excellent skills, integrate your lofty ideals into the development strategy of the Party and the country, devote yourself to the great cause of safeguarding the people's lives and health with unremitting efforts, spend your youth in the glorious course of building a world-class medical school and growto be the pioneer for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

02

Dear students, just now at the white coat ceremony, you made a solemn oath to " alleviate human suffering and promote human health". The original intention and mission of doctors is to cure diseases and save people. In the critical moments of preventing and controlling schistosomiasis, Tangshan earthquake relief, fighting against SARS, Wenchuan earthquake relief, and fighting against theCovid-19 epidemic and fights against other major disasters and major diseases, people in SJTU School of Medicine have stood up and fought at the forefront without fear of danger or difficulty.

In the early days after the country’s founding, about a quarter of the population was at risk of schistosomiasis. Professor Huang Mingxin, Academician Jiang Shaoji, and others established the Schistosomiasis Laboratory in the affiliated Renji Hospital to study the pathology and prevention of schistosomiasis, and put forward a number of important treatment programs and research results, making important contributions to the fight against schistosomiasis.

After the Tangshan earthquake in 1976, our school sent three batches of medical teams with more than 1,200 medical workers to Tangshan, accounting for one-third of the total number of medical teams in Shanghai, and becoming an indispensable rescue force in Tangshan earthquake medical relief.

After the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, the medical staff of the affiliated hospitals of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine immediately volunteered to be sent to the front for earthquake relief. We always appear where the country and the people need us the most, shouldering responsibility and making dedication.

In 2020, facing the sudden strike of the COVID-19 pandemic, SJTUSM dispatched eight batches of 569 medical personnel to the front line of Wuhan to build a medical Great Wall against the pandemic. The teachers, students, and medical staff demonstrated their lofty medical ethics and superb medical skills in the great test of the epidemic.

Dear students, carrying out the medical mission requires many qualities. But the most important and most simple quality is kindness. A doctor should have "great kindness and compassion", and shall "have his heart in the right place" first. I hope you can always maintain your nature of kindness, continue to gather the strength to go forward and perform your duty to assume your mission.

Professor Ding Wenxiang, who has been repeatedly mentioned by yourfellow student Jiang Daiji, dedicates himself to the cause of children's health. In the 1960s, he created the first pediatric cardiothoracic surgery team in China from scratch, achieving many "firsts" in the treatment of congenital heart disease in China, and leading the pediatric cardiovascular discipline in China to rank among the top in the world.

Medicine is a study of science, and also a study for “people”. Being a doctor is about dealing with people’s lives, which requires the heart of compassion and the desire to save people. Medicine is not only the treatment of disease but also the concern and care for patients. The development of medicine has been closely accompanied by innovation and technological progress. The progress of medical technology calls for the humanistic spirit of medicine. Medicine should not be as cold as instruments and equipment. And the compassion of doctors should not be limited by laboratory indicators. "Practice medicine with superb skills to help the world." Only by integrating the humanistic spirit into the progress of medical technology can we develop medical science in the right direction.

Each generation has its responsibility and its mission. The national strategy of "Healthy China" is being deeply promoted, with the needs of the people rapidly shifting from "treatment-centered" to "health-centered".

Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine is promoting the construction of the Pudong campus with high quality, drawing a magnificent blueprint for the centenary development of the school. We are building the Hainan International Medical Center to be a world-class, international, and high-level base for joint education with Chinese characteristics; The School of Global Health and theOne Health Center have been established to contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the building of a community of human health.

Today, you become part of the development of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. You will witness the official opening of the new Pudong campus and join us in the building of the global science and innovation center. I hope that you will always bear in mind the Healthy China mission, and make good use of your youth in the continuous struggle of safeguarding people's lives and health.

03

Medical science is constantly evolving, from empirical medicine, evidence-based medicine, and precision medicine to translational medicine, smart medicine, and digital medicine. The field of life science and medicine is the "main front" that brings together the cutting-edge research of multiple disciplines. The interdisciplinary integration has continuously promoted the progress and development of life science and medicine, exerting a fundamental impact on human life and health.

Science is developed to let people live better, longer, and more comfortably. Aiming at improving people's lives and health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine has strengthened basic medical research and built first-class innovation platforms such as Shanghai Immune Therapy Institute, Shanghai Institute of Virology, and Songjiang Institute, gathering top talents to carry out original and leading innovative research and joint research in life sciences. It hasbecome a world-class medical frontier center and a source of medical research and innovation.

Only by setting a firm goal, being down-to-earth, and working diligently, can we achieve innovative and breakthrough results. Ms. Zhou Huifang, who spoke just now, was not afraid of difficulties. She chose thecomplicated diseases of orbitopathy as the direction of research, devoted herself to research work, and achieved excellent results. This year, she wasawarded as "Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor". I hope you will be focused and not easily distracted,take solid steps,dare to explore and innovate, adhere to the road never taken before, solveproblems that others cannot solve, and grow to be the main force of medical science and technology innovation.

In the 1950s, the team ofendocrine and metabolic diseases at Ruijin Hospital diagnosed China's first case of primary aldosteronism. Under the leadership of Professor Kuang Ankun, Professor Chen Jialun, Professor Xu Manyin and Academician Ning Guang,the endocrine and metabolic disease department of Ruijin Hospital has made unremitting efforts to develop into one of the first national clinical medical research centers and established the national Metabolic Management Center, serving more than 100 million diabetes patients across the country.

When Academician Dai Kerong of the affiliated Ninth People’s Hospital first started his career, the orthopedics departmentonly had 4 beds. With the spirit of "sharpening a sword for ten years", Academician Dai has promoted interdisciplinary integration, taken the lead in applying 3D printing technology to the field of artificial joints,and pioneered a path of interdisciplinary innovation combining basic and clinical research.

"Only by enduring the extreme coldness canthe plum blossom bloom.” In front of you is a new era full of opportunities and challenges. When you encounter setbacks and difficulties, remember to use your unwavering will to avoid discouragement, distress, and complaints. When you lack the confidence to solve a problem, remember to use your perseverance to tide over the difficulties.

The roadto medical study is long and difficult. Five years of medical textbooks piled up together will be taller than you.It would help if you were ready for a hard life of medical study. I hope you will study hard, pursue excellence, uphold the scientific spirit of exploration, questioning, positivism, and analysis, adhere to the problem-oriented way of thinking, cultivate a sense of teamwork, learn to listen to and respect the opinions of others, lay a solid foundation for the future, and become the pillars of national development and social progress.

As President Xi Jinping pointed out: "Only universities that train first-class talents can become world-class universities." Since its establishment 71 years ago, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine has cultivated many great scholars and doctors. I firmly believe that many of you will become famous doctors and teachers who will make new and greater contributions to the development of medicine. The future of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine will be written by you.

Dear students, today you embark on a new journey. You will be studyingat Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in the School of Medicine, and in affiliated hospitals, which will inevitably bring you new challenges. I sincerely wish every student can realize their medical dreamat Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. I hope that you will hold firm to your ideals, with confidence in your face, kindness in your heart, and strength in your bones, making unremitting efforts to build a world-class medical school and a first-class medical discipline, to safeguard the lives and health of the people, to build a healthy China and to create a bright future for medicine.

Thank you.