Good afternoon, Distinguished teachers and classmates:

I am honored to be invited to participate in the opening ceremony for new students today. Let me introduce myself first, I am a student of the MPA Customs Class of 2015 grade, my name is Zheng Sun. Today I will share my learning experience with you and hope that can help you be more prepared for the new beginning.

First, I would like to talk about the reasons why I applied for MPA. Maybe all of you know a word of Xiaosong Gao’ s: “Beyond the pots and pans, there should be poetry and the far afield”. Personally I think the on-the-job postgraduate student are eager to pursue the poetry and the far afield. I have worked for more than ten years. With constant adaption, the pressure of work I can feel is gradually decreasing, which makes my life easier. But easy life is not my goal, I want to live a more exciting and more fulfilling life. So I applied for MPA education to increase the breadth of life, gain knowledge, and enrich my experience. The goal is basically achieved through the two years of study. I think the decisions of choosing MPA and choosing MPA of the University of International Business and Economics are very wise. I also hope that all of you will have the same feelings with me after two or three years.

I'll talk about what I have gained in the two years of study, which you can refer to and check if this is what you expect.

Undoubtedly, the first aspect is the growth of knowledge. Public administration is a comprehensive discipline. During the learning process, you will learn many disciplines such as management, politics, economics, sociology, statistics and so on. I suggest that all of you try hard to understand the methods and principles of these disciplines in interpreting the world. Those knowledges are necessary tools for the in-depth understanding of the world.

The second thing I gain are broader vision and multiple perspectives. After studying the MPA, I become more understand towards the diversity of the world and see problems from a more comprehensive view than before. At the same time, I can try to comprehend matters from different perspective through learning and thinking. Before studying the MPA, I was a young cynic and I dissatisfied with many social phenomena. When I started to study MPA, I became even more cynical as I saw more social problems. However, with the deepening of learning, I felt that my attitude towards the social matters became not so cynical, I became more inclusive and patient. Although there are many problems in the society we live in, we should also see the advantages of the society and realize that the society is constantly improving. Many problems seem unfair or unreasonable from a single point of view, however, considering the overall situation from multiple perspectives, this solution may be one of the best choices at that time. It is difficult to put forward Pareto improvement plan on the basis of the solution. Some problems are solved by the maturity of conditions and the accumulation of time. I thought my change of mindset is the result of the improvement of the cognitive level.

The third aspect is that with the growth of knowledge and the broadening horizon, I became more confident. The source of the confidence is from that I gradually clarified my own value system and criteria in the process of learning. The judging criteria I mean is the method and basis for making decisions. In this sense, everyone has their own judging criteria, and all kinds of choices and judgments they make are the results of certain criteria. However, many people’s judging criteria are subconscious and ambiguous. These criteria are manifestation of obvious fluctuations of choice preference and lack of subjective opinion and non-confidence of their own judgement, etc. When you establish a relatively clear criterion with knowledge and theory as a support, you will be more confident. The highest level of self-confidence I understand is what Mencius said, “Where the truth is, I will go there despite the resistance of tens of thousands of people.” In a simple term, this means that insist on doing what I think is correct, even if there are tens of thousands of people opposing me. There is a premise here that when we insist, we need to always maintain an open mind. Once we find that our judgments need to be adjusted, we need to adjust them in a timely manner, rather than having a paranoiac insist. This is the correct confidence and determination of “although millions of people oppose, I will go”.

The fourth gain is that I knew a new group of friends who are very excellent in MPA. The teachers in the MPA class are undoubtedly elites and can give you guidance and assist in many aspects especially knowledge. Driven by the goal of self-enhancement, the students are from all walks of life and from the north to the south to get together. Everyone has their own twinkling points. We should strengthen the exchanges with classmates and learn their advantages, which is also a good way to make progress.

Then I would like to share with you some points that I think need be noted in the learning process.

First of all, I must remind everyone that if you want to gain more, the learning process of MPA would not be easy but be very hard. Learning itself is a process of sailing against the current. On-the-job learning must face the pressure both from work and family. Therefore, when I study MPA, I give myself a piece of advice: do not study for just having a diplomas but overcome difficulties and strive for the greatest gains in the learning process. I go back the topic I said at the beginning, why I choose to study MPA. Getting a Diploma is not the main purpose, enjoying the process of learning and trying to gain more are my purposes. I think maybe it is the meaning of “getting the success with remembering the original goals.”

The second point is to correctly view the process of on-the-job learning. MPA learning provides a platform for participants, and an opportunity for them to reshape themselves. The most important factor in determining how much you gain is the performance of each person. Waiting to receive knowledge in the classroom will not have good effect. You need to take the initiative to explore, actively acquire knowledge, exercise ability, which is the correct way to learn MPA. For example, each class discussion, classroom presentations, after-school report assignment, etc., are all opportunities to sort out knowledge, exercise thinking ability and express skills. I recommend that everyone carefully and actively prepare for these activities. For group assignment, the students who hitchhiking looked relaxed and in fact they lost a workout opportunity. The ability is gradually improved in these kinds of practices. Knowledge taught in class by teachers is limited, you can also write down the reference books that are mentioned in class, and read books that you are interested in to getting more information and improve yourself.

The third suggestion is to participate in activities as much as possible in the university. I think this is a as much important way as learning in class for growth. For example, attend various lectures in the university, follow to the We-Chat Subscription of the school library to get information of these lectures; and there is also some lecture information on the bulletin boards of the teaching building and in the campus. The school will also invite some domestic and foreign experts and scholars to give lectures, which are of high quality. It is advisable to attend some lecturers that you are interested in or unfamiliar with. There are also various special activities of the university, such as the Campus Culture Festival, which is a stage for foreign students to display their culture. This activity is a unique characteristic of UIBE, even the University of Tsinghua University and Peking University cannot compare, because we have a large proportion of foreign students than other universities. We can learn the characteristics and styles of dozens of countries around the world without getting out the university. As a student, it is a pity if you have never participated in this activity. There are also exchange programs such as going to foreign universities. In July this year, I participated in a cultural exchange programs between UIBE and the Georgia State University and went to Atlanta. This process is very exciting. It is no exaggeration to say that it is unforgettable in my life. I lived in student apartments and had buffet cafeterias every day, the conditions of Georgia State University are very good. I went to the class of American teachers introducing American culture and visited local attractions, etc., which were very wonderful. I can’t experience such things if I did not do there. There was a reason driving me to overcome all difficulties to participate in this program: this may be the only chance in my prime of life or even the only time of my whole life that I can put aside my work and family to go out and relax for 15 days. The opportunity is precious. I hope everyone can grasp this opportunity. If you ask me the opinions about this activity, I strongly recommend all of you to participate.

I say so much and I don't know whether these words can help you. In the end, I would like to borrow the parting words of a talented woman classmate from Ningbo Customs as the end of today’s speech, she said that at the end of our classes and I think that was excellent. She said, I wish everyone can become a better person, never get confused, never waste your life, and always be sincere and kind, and become a soul with warmth, interest, and thinking ability.

That’s all I would like to share, thank you all.