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In his speech President Li emphasized the importance of "ideals" and "integrity", urging NTU graduates to always harbor ideals so that they could become leaders of the society. When confronted with the fierce competition of the globalization era, students should make extra efforts to improve their knowledge, foresight, perseverance, and the ability to examine and to distinguish. In the meantime, they should devote themselves to multi-faceted learning, this includes acquiring knowledge in different languages, cultures, areas of specialization, etc., so that they stand a chance of coming to the fore in cutthroat competition.
For this year's graduation ceremony, NTU invited the President of Commonwealth/Global View Cultural Business Group Dr. Charles Kao to be the guest of honor. Dr. Kao urged NTU students to develop the kind of "soft power" that can overcome hard power. He said that in lieu of hard power, which is often associated with advanced weaponry and military oppression, NTU graduates should cultivate moral integrity, cultural attainments, and political vision, so that they could become the elite of society , truly liked, envied, and espected by others.. In addition, Dr. Kao reminded NTU's graduates that "There is no such thing as a free lunch," every gain must come with pain, one can only rely upon himself in difficult situations. Facing stiff competition from the outer world, students especially need to know how to develop foreign language proficiency, knowledge about humanities, and a global view.
Aside from the usual valedictorian's speech, in this year's graduation ceremony a representative from the international student body was invited to give a speech as well.
A foreign student from Germany, Mr. Alexander Kais of the Department of History, shared his tidbits of NTU life with others. He said, "When I looked at the Chinese characters I wrote when I first came to NTU, I couldn't even recognize them myself, but the teachers and teaching assistants of NTU were so smart they could make out what I put down on the test papers." His remarks were so full of fun memories that the ceremony was imbued with laughter.
Alexander Kais also said that he was most impressed with the enthusiasm,
broad-mindedness, conscientiousness, and diligence of the Taiwanese people.
When he was living in the dormitory, he discovered that in order to prepare
for exams and to hand in reports, NTU students often burned the midnight oil till 3 or 4 a.m.
He was amazed by the"superhuman power"of NTU students, which in his mind would definitely be
appreciated by their superiors when they were employed. In addition, he maintained that NTU
students should not become arrogant just because they were considered to be the elite of society.
Rather, he thought that NTU students should face all kinds of large responsibilities in neither
a servilenor overbearing manner, while trying to positively influence people around them, thus
avoiding losing themselves in the socialization process.
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During a tour of the campus, the non-graduating students put on all kinds of fancy costumes to bid farewell to the graduating seniors.
President Si-chen Li delivered a speech admonishing the graduates during the graduation convocation.
Dr. Charles Kao, guest of honor at this year's graduation ceremony, urges NTU students to cultivate "soft power" so they can face future challenges.
The first foreign student to give a speech at the graduation ceremony is Alexander Kais from Germany.
The graduates having their photos taken together amidst great joy and passion.
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The graduation ceremony was interlaced with many spectacular activities. In the morning, outside the Sports Center there were joint performances by the student associations, in which the University Symphony Orchestra, the Modern Dance Club, the Kendo Club and others participated, making the ceremony bustle with excitement in addition to warmth, while stirring up memories and sentiments related to club experiences among the graduates.
In the evening's graduation prom, President Si-chen Li and his wife, the Dean of Student Affairs and her husband all made appearances and danced with the students, sharing fun together!
The actual participation of the faculty expressed their blessings and well-wishes for the graduates.
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