For over 127 years, Southwest Jiaotong University has by her initiatives made achievements of great consequence and graduated generations of talented young men and women. On record are many of the groundbreaking technologies she spearheaded in China and the world, and more than 300 thousand extraordinarily gifted members she contributed to our society. Her role in the advancement of science and technology and the acceleration of the country’s general progress has been most singular and significant. At this historical point of departure, our objective is “to mirror ourselves with the best, to push ourselves to excel, to better integrate our policies with strategies of nationwide development, and to always think and plan ahead.”

Focused on cultivating upright students of rigorous professionalism, the University’s mission is to evolve into a globally leading institution in the education and research of rail transit technologies. Higher education serves both the desire for personal growth among students, and the prosperity of the nation and progress of our society. In the current state of university education, a transition is called for. We must safeguard our mission and responsibility in earnest. We must pass on our inherited values and traditions. We must also make necessary adaptations in curriculum design in response to the new wave of technological innovations and industrial transformation led by artificial intelligence. We must draw a greater number of excellent youths to Southwest Jiaotong University. And we must turn them into pillars and leaders with vision and ability to carry the industry forward.

We take as our own the calling for the creation and discovery of new knowledge. We abide strictly by “the thorough interpenetration of research and education” as a golden standard of modern university education. Only at the cusp of discovery and invention may the university, as a commonwealth of higher education composed of teachers, staff and students, be continuously enabled to cultivate and release the creativity of our students, and to spawn innovative minds generation upon generation. We must never lose sight of the true demands of the nation, and become much more proactive in radical original research, i.e., to “make something out of nothing,” in breaking bottlenecks of crucial projects, and in developing “paradigm shifting” core technologies impacting multiple platforms.

We need to take innovation as the guiding inspiration so as to make us work harder. To aim for the best is always a quality of leading universities. We must strive for the best, to turn into our best selves. And a university’s high ambitions are predicated on her top-rated faculty. Thomas E. Everhart, the 98th president of Caltech, once said, “One truly excellent scientist is more valuable than 1000 very good scientists.” Without exception, the history of a great university is one made by its numerous excellent scientists and intellectuals who invented knowledge, educated students, and rendered significant services to the society day by day, year upon year. It is a must, therefore, for us to create a context in which “those who are with us may feel at home, and those from afar may experience the attraction.” And a faculty of excellence will thus be brought together.

It is also unnegotiable that we embrace the world with an open mind. We are committed to bringing Southwest Jiaotong University into the community of global institutions of higher education, to promoting understanding across cultural differences, to strengthening international exchanges in education and research, and to advancing dialogs among civilizations.

Let us collectively think and plan hard for the future, and skip not the slightest effort, so that the day may soon arrive, when OUR University claim its position as “one of the world’s leading institutions in traffic and transport technologies.”