On October 25, as Ocean University of China (OUC) celebrated its 102nd anniversary, its 2026 Alumni Homecoming was held at the Laoshan Campus. More than 800 alumni who entered OUC between 1963 and 2022, together with their family members, returned to campus to reminisce about their student days and celebrate their alma mater’s anniversary.
Yu Zhigang, former President of OUC and President of the OUC Alumni Association, noted in his remarks that alumni are the university’s most valuable resource and asset, as well as a vivid testament to the OUC spirit being passed from generation to generation. The Alumni Association has always upheld its mission of serving alumni, the university, and society by actively addressing alumni concerns, diversifying its activities, strengthening its network, and creating broader platforms for collaborative development. He expressed the hope that alumni would continue to support the university, move forward alongside their alma mater, and work together to create new successes.
On behalf of the university, Fan Qiwei, Deputy Secretary of the CPC OUC Committee, thanked the alumni and guests for their continued interest in and support for OUC’s development. He briefly outlined the progress made over the past year in the university’s efforts to become a world-class university. He noted that alumni are not only a vivid reflection of the university’s educational achievements but also the most dependable force advancing its development. Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period, OUC will give greater priority to alumni engagement, further improve its service system, broaden channels for cooperation, facilitate the efficient connection and two-way flow of talent, technology, industrial resources, and other elements, and promote mutual empowerment and shared success between the university and its alumni.
Yang Yuezhong of the 1982 Physics Cohort and Deng Deng of the 1996 Food Science and Engineering Cohort delivered remarks in turn as representatives of the alumni. They fondly recalled their student days at OUC and shared stories of their longstanding work in marine instrumentation and aquaculture feed research, respectively.
At the event, Fan Qiwei presented donation certificates to representatives of donor groups and individual donors. Representatives of returning alumni presented flowers to former teachers in attendance. A slideshow of old photographs evoked shared memories of youth among the alumni.
The trailer for Chasing Waves, OUC’s first original film for theatrical release, was screened. It provided the alumni with a vivid sense of the spirit embodied by an older generation of marine science and technology professionals: “standing at the forefront and serving the nation through ocean development.”
After the event, alumni gathered at Canteen No.1 on the Laoshan Campus for the “Taste of OUC” nostalgic lunch. Alumni chapters of various academic units organized a variety of exchange activities, during which alumni reminisced about their days as classmates and discussed the development of their former schools and colleges. The OUC History Museum, OUC Science and Technology Museum, Marine Biology Museum, Yiduo Building, and Alumni Home opened dedicated visitor access for alumni, welcoming them back to campus.
