Embrace the Creative Spirit and Cultivate Makers at Tsinghua Campus
May 5, 2015. Tsinghua News (Reported By Qutian) – On May 4, the students at Tsinghua University received a special gift, a letter from Premier Li Keqiang on China Youth Day, who wrote, “Glad to hear from you prior to our Youth Day, I am inspired by your vitality, and even more heartened by your creative spirit.”
“It really motivates us to hear from the Premier,” said teachers and students, who spoke rather freely and frankly at the Gongzi house on the morning of May 5; they came from the Departments of Precision Instrument, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Technology, and School of Arts & Design. They shared the contents of the Premier’s letter, as well as their experience as visionaries, and expounded the impact and insight of an innovative spirit on their study and the way of thinking. President Qiu Yong, along with Party Secretary Chen Xu and Vice-president Yang Bin, also attended the session.
Bi Ying, co-founder of Tsinghua University Makerspace,delivered a speech at the session (Photo by Zhang Yu)
“Our members have never stopped to exchange ideas, to communicate arcross disciplines at a higher level. Every student have found out their direction of innovation in such way,” said Bi Ying, co-founder of Tsinghua University Makerspace. At the beginning of May, 2015, Premier Li Keqiang visited Chaihuo Makers in Shenzhen. After that, he proposed the policies and measures to develop “Maker Space” at a plenary meeting of the State Council, to build a new arena for innovation and entrepreneurship. The word “ Maker” was first written in the report on the work the government during the two sessions. In Early March, Bi Ying, together with 7 students in his association, wrote a joint letter to the Premier, introducing their work around innovation and entrepreneurship under the guidance and support of the university.
“In my opinion, Premier Li puts forward two requirements in his letter”. Zhang Chengwei, a Mechanical Engineering major student, and one of representatives of the student Makers, stated when reading the letter, “firstly, the Premier stresses the importance of basic knowledge, a student should do well with his courses; secondly, the Premier hopes we can strive to put the knowledge into practice and use our talents to make the dream into reality on the basis of a solid knowledge.”
Wang Mingying, a student from School of Arts & Design, joined in an interest-based team targeting the culture industry, such as animation and gaming. She thought that there may be anything to be improved in the current culture industry in China. However,the Premier said in the letter, “ the government will introduce more active policies to clear obstacles and build stages for the development of “Makerspace”, which would give everyone more incentive and courage to devote themselves to the culture and art industry.
Zhang Yuanxing from the Graduate School of Automation takes charge of the “Skyworks”, a sci-tech team of Tsinghua students. She shared her views on “transforming creative ideas into real products” mentioned in the Premier’s letter. As far as she was concerned, the students should take quality as the core of entrepreneurship and innovate based on creative power, then go beyond for entrepreneurship through innovations, which progresses step by step to make contributions to the society.
At present, maker practice is vigorously carried out at Tsinghua Campus, as an important mode of education reform and talent cultivation. From platform establishment to course exploration, maker practice subverts traditional educational patterns, brings new experiences to campus culture, makes every participants a part of innovation, inspires entrepreneurial sense and ability, and strongly influences future education. “ Maker Education aims at inspiring and fostering the entrepreneur and pioneer spirit. It provides a good overview to the ‘three-in-one’ educational reform,” said Sun Hongbin, a prestigious national teacher. He also hoped that Tsinghua would nurture more creative, innovative and entrepreneurial talent for the country.
“Design Now” is an innovative design studio that attracts both talent from different departments of Tsinghua University, and technicians from outside the university to complete a series of creative models for design products. Fu Zhiyong, the director of the studio and an associate professor at the Academy of Arts & Design, said in the forum, “Maker Education leads each student toward his own innovative ‘heroic journey’, in which he converts creative ideas into real products and enjoys the fruit and pleasure of wisdom.”
Li Shuangshou, director of Fundamental Industry Training Center of Tsinghua University, delivered a speech at the session (Photo by Zhang Yu)
Li Shuangshuang, director of Fundamental Industry Training Center at Tsinghua University, expressed his excitement after receiving the Premier’s encouragement. He promised that the fundamental industry training center, as the largest practical education base in Tinghua University, would make all effort to build open platforms to support innovation and entrepreneurship, and provide better service to the nurturing of top-notch personnel.
Around the letter of reply from the Premier, teachers and students attending actively spoke about the relationship between disruptive innovation and micro-innovation, and the rules of innovation in education.
Qiu Yong delivered a speech at the session (Photo by Zhang Yu)
After carefully listening to the speeches, Qiu Yong, a former “maker”, also talked about his excitement about the letter. In his words, China now gives more political support to innovation and entrepreneurship than in the days earlier, and attaches importance to innovation in the current overall strategic deployment. Moreover, the whole society also pays high attention to it. Today is the best time for students to make innovations and start businesses worthy to be cherished. Innovation and entrepreneurship is more a process to cultivate talent, than a fruitful result. In the process, students should learn to think, seek problem-based knowledge, communicate with different people, and understand social demand so as to acquire authentic ascension.
Qiu Yong stressed that entrepreneurship based on innovation promoted it to a higher level. As the ‘Makers’ of Tsinghua University, the students must shoulder the mission of this era, show the vitality of Tsinghua people, dare to take responsibilities, adhere to practices and play the demonstration rule so as to “ sow the maker seeds on a larger scale.”
Chen Xu delivered a speech at the session (Photo by Zhang Yu)
Chen Xu said that the letter from Premier Li Keqiang embodied his earnest expectation from, and profound friendship toward the young students. The letter was written not only to Tsinghua Makers, but also to the young people who hold a maker dream and strive to be one. The university would integrate all resources, build linkage mechanism, and further strengthen the maker education so as to live up to the Premier’s expectations. He hoped the Premier would keep his word, as stated in the letter, that he would come to Tsinghua as soon as possible, and expected the Makers to present plentiful achievements to the Premier in his Tsinghua visit.
Session on Site (Photo by Zhang Yu)
The Principals of the university office, publicity department, graduate school, office of academic affairs, student union, graduate student affairs office and league committee also attended the forum.
