中英人文交流再添佳话 谢菲尔德大学校长亲赴北京为中国毕业生拨穗 Chinese graduates celebrate as Sheffield brings ceremony to Beijing

The University of Sheffield held a graduation ceremony in Beijing on March 29 — one of the first such events to take place in China for over a decade. The president of the university also traveled to Beijing to attend.

The event took place amid the renewed relationship and momentum of China-UK cultural and educational exchanges. This follows the UK Prime Minister's visit to China earlier this year.

Zuo Zongyou, the former president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association Sheffield (CSSA-Sheffield), received his PhD and expressed his joy in attending the ceremony in his home country. "I'm very excited to attend the ceremony in China because this is a special occasion for me," he said. He dedicated his achievement to his parents, saying, "I want to tell my parents without their support I cannot stand here and I cannot finish my PhD degree. So thanks for their support and thanks for loving me."

Reflecting on his time in Sheffield, he described the city as "a very open city," adding, "It makes me know a lot of other things like different cultures, different activities. So I think that's a special experience for me."

Koen Lamberts, president of the university, explained the decision to hold the ceremony in China. The aim, he said, was to give students the opportunity to celebrate their success with their family and friends. For many, traveling to Sheffield at the time of their graduation would have been impossible because they had returned to China, or their family could not travel.

"We thought we don't want them to miss out," he said. "We want them to feel part of their family as well." He added that by bringing graduations to China, the university had been able to reach that community, as proven in the sheer number of family members attending from Beijing.

When asked about the role of young people from both countries in fostering mutual learning and understanding, Lamberts said, "The world is a very complex place. But there are certain challenges that are universal, that we all face. Challenges around sustainability, about the future of energy. All those challenges are really important. We have to deal with them as a planet basically."

Dan Barcroft, vice president for Global Engagement at the university, noted that the institution now has over 41,000 alumni in China. "We haven't held a graduation ceremony in China for over 10 years," he said. "We have over 41,000 alumni now in China. And our connections with China have gone on for many years and we really value them."

Barcroft added that this Beijing ceremony was part of a broader engagement effort, with similar events held in Shanghai and Chengdu. This allowed them to reconnect with graduates and celebrate their achievements — particularly those who could not attend their graduation during the Covid-19 pandemic years.

Reflecting on the importance of people-to-people connection between China and the UK, Barcroft also highlighted that "On campus, those students all interact together and they become friends and they learn from each other… and… that for me is so important that in a very big global world, we maintain those connections between people."