On July 2, Ocean University of China (OUC) held its 2026 Graduation and Degree Conferment Ceremony for Graduate Students. A total of 686 doctoral graduates and 4,562 master’s graduates successfully completed their studies.
University leaders, members of the OUC Academic Degree Evaluation Committee, heads of relevant administrative departments, faculties, colleges, schools, and centers, administrators responsible for student affairs and graduate education, secretaries of Youth League committees, counselors, faculty representatives, and all graduating master’s and doctoral students of the Class of 2026 attended the ceremony.
The ceremony opened with the solemn national anthem.
Li Ming, Chairman of the OUC Council, presented certificates of recognition to representatives of the outstanding graduates.
Zhang Junfeng, President of OUC and Chair of the OUC Academic Degree Evaluation Committee, delivered remarks at the ceremony. He extended warm congratulations to the graduates as they prepared to embark on a new journey in life and paid tribute and expressed gratitude to the university’s faculty and staff, as well as the graduates’ parents. He said that the graduates had spent a fulfilling, formative, and rewarding chapter of their youth at OUC. In addition to their graduation certificates—and the academic knowledge, skills, and abilities they represent—they should also carry with them a commitment to serving the country’s needs, a grateful heart, and a spiritual grounding of “Six Qualities.”
President Zhang Junfeng noted that, on this year’s Youth Day, President Xi Jinping, in his important reply letter to representatives of the awardees of the China Youth May Fourth Medal and New Era Youth Pioneer, commended and encouraged young people in the new era for their confidence, self-improvement, practical approach, and sense of responsibility. President Xi’s message also provided practical guidance for the OUC community to act on the important instructions of his reply letter to OUC faculty and students and make meaningful contributions through their work. As the graduates set sail on a new journey, President Zhang Junfeng encouraged them to remain confidence, blaze new trails and stand at the forefront of the times; strive for self-improvement through hard work and pursue excellence; take a practical approach, act decisively, and turn small efforts into significant achievements; and embrace responsibility, stay true to their mission, and courageously shoulder responsibilities. He expressed the hope that they would journey toward their own vast horizons and write new chapters in the new era.
Du Mengran, an alumna of OUC’s 2008 master’s program in Ocean Chemistry and a researcher at the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, shared reflections on her journey into the deep. She emphasized that the most important ability for the future would lie not in reproducing known answers, but in asking questions and exploring their boundaries. She noted that the key to growth was not always making the right choice, but holding firm to one’s own judgment and original aspirations at the most critical moments. What one could ultimately rely on, she said, was never the stability of external circumstances, but one’s own perspective on the world, the resilience to keep moving forward, and one’s unique capabilities.
Dong Junyu, representative of the graduate supervisors and Dean of the Faculty of Information Science and Engineering, delivered farewell remarks to the graduates. He noted that their most important competitive strengths in the future would be the abilities to “ask the right questions,” “define the kind of future worth pursuing,” and “learn and dare to shoulder responsibility.” He encouraged the graduates to think independently, maintain a critical spirit, remain guided by conscience, develop sound values, listen to their inner voices, embrace change, become their own unique selves, shoulder the responsibilities of the times, and create richer and more fulfilling lives.
Yuan Shimin, representative of the graduating students and a doctoral student in Physics Oceanography enrolled in 2022, reflected on her studies at OUC. She expressed her gratitude to her alma mater and anticipation for a new journey in life. She pledged to keep President Xi Jinping’s earnest expectations in mind, cherish her blue dreams, shoulder the responsibilities of the times, and bring the strength of OUC graduates China’s seas.
Tai Long, representative of the graduating international students and a Zimbabwean master’s student in Computer Technology enrolled in 2023, paid tribute and expressed gratitude to the university and its faculty members on behalf of all international students. He said that he would always remember the university motto, “Ocean Embraces All Streams; Exploring Promises Reaching Far,” and turn the wisdom, friendships, and goodwill he had gained in China into a force for driving progress in his home country and contributing to the advancement of human civilization.
At the ceremony, Fan Qiwei, Vice President of OUC, read out the Decision on Honoring Outstanding Doctoral and Master’s Graduates of the Class of 2026. Mai Kangsen, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Vice Chair of the OUC Academic Degree Evaluation Committee, read out the Committee’s Decision on Conferring Doctoral and Master’s Degrees.
