The year 2021 is arriving. On behalf of KUST, we would like to extend our best wishes to all students, faculty and staff, retired senior comrades, alumni from home and abroad, and all those who have been caring for and supporting the development of KUST. Happy New Year to you all!

We forge ahead together in the peaceful and flourishing age, and we reap more fruits. In 2020, we strengthened morality education, further promote the “Double First-Class” university project, comprehensively carried out epidemic prevention and control, and completed the main tasks of the 13th Five-Year Plan with high quality. It was a very great year with a steady pace and rapid progress. We struggled towards the goal of building a high-level research university with distinctive characteristics, which won high praise from all walks of life.

In 2020, all KUSTers overcame challenges and scored achievements in the battle against COVID-19.

In the face of the epidemic, KUST makes all students, faculty, and staff’s lives and health its priority. KUST promptly formulated work plan and implemented prevention and control measures. KUST built a strict prevention and control system, and formed a dynamic and rapid response mechanism. KUST united and led all teachers and students to fight the epidemic with all their might, and forcefully ensured development of the university.

In the face of the epidemic, all students, faculty and staff of KUST took responsibility for the overall situation. Many alumni cared about KUST and donated goods and materials to the school, and many students sincerely dedicated themselves by doing volunteering service during the outbreak. KUSTers actively took part in the anti-epidemic struggle with practical actions, which fully shows the profound foundation of the school and the spirit of solidarity and diligence, and greatly enhances the cohesion and combat effectiveness of starting a business and tackling difficulties.

In 2020, the 13th Five-Year Plan was accomplished in full with joint efforts of KUSTers.

We bear in mind its mission of cultivating talents for the state, developing teaching methods for the new era. The course of "one faculty, one characteristic discipline" achieved remarkable results. Teachers' professional ethics was promoted, and students' comprehensive quality was improved.

New achievements were made in discipline construction. In 2020, KUST was included in the monitoring system of high-level universities in Yunnan Province. Eight disciplines were listed among the advantageous and characteristic disciplines. We took full advantages of metallurgy, materials and biology, and built a first-class discipline system supporting "three green cards" of Yunnan Province. KUST won 17 national first-class undergraduate majors and five new engineering research and practice projects of the Ministry of Education. The first-class majors of KUST have ranked top in the nation.

KUST’s teaching ability showed strength again. Eight courses were awarded the first batch of national first-class undergraduate courses. Seven MOOC courses were selected into the international platform of online teaching for Chinese universities. Nine teaching materials were awarded excellent teaching materials in Yunnan universities. The KUSTers won one national silver award and three bronze awards in China College Students’ "Internet Plus" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. The social practice of going to the rural areas in summer won the advanced national unit for four consecutive years. KUST successfully obtained the qualification of flight dispatcher training, and became the sixth university with this qualification in China.

The talent pool was refreshed. We adhered to promoting the high-quality development of talents, guiding and encouraging talents to return to academics, and realizing the gathering of various high-level talents. We enhanced the construction of teachers’ work ethic, and four teachers have been awarded the titles of "National Model Teachers", "National Excellent Teachers", “Excellent Teachers of Yunnan Province" and "Excellent Educators of Yunnan Province".

Scientific research took a new leap. Annual research funding scale exceeded 1.8 billion yuan in the whole year. One project was approved to be funded by the National Key Research and Development Plan. One project was awarded the National Second Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress. One project was awarded the Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Award as one top prize and five first prizes. The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Province jointly built the construction of the National Key Biomedical Laboratory for Non-Human Primates. The Secretariat of the Strategic Alliance for Integration and Innovation of Advanced Technologies in Yunnan was established in KUST. The achievements were made in the construction of the three-level interchange think tank system at the provincial, municipal and municipal levels. The academic research level of natural sciences leaped to 33rd place nationwide.

New progress was made in external cooperation and exchange. The "Sino-German Institute of Engineering" project was launched smoothly. The Confucius Institute in Laos and the Confucius Classroom in Denmark were unveiled, and the construction has been steadily pushed forward. The first batch of "Emergency Safety Smart Learning Workshop" pilot project was successfully included in the list. The Sino-foreign joint undergraduate program of logistics engineering was successfully selected as a high-quality program in Yunnan Province. KUST’s Education Development Foundation was awarded 4A grade in the evaluation of Chinese social organizations.

In 2021, all KUSTers will strive forward and start a new beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan.

The nation is becoming prosperous, and KUST will be better. Standing at a new historical starting point, we seriously answer the fundamental question of "who to train, how to train and for whom to train", and put forward the "KUST Project" of educating people for the new era. We should work out the "14th Five-Year Plan", scientifically determine the goals and tasks of the next five years and even the medium and long-term development, and create a "model of KUST". We should deepen the reform of education evaluation, and make the high quality education of KUST known nationwide.

We should firmly carry out the great mission of building a strong country in education. We contribute to the "KUST Force" serving the major national and local strategies and the new development pattern. We should work together, aiming at the development goal of KUST, and focusing on creating a "double first-class" university. Based on the new development stage, we should unit and forge ahead, implement the new development concept, construct a new development pattern, start a new chapter of KUST, and fulfill the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Best wishes to all KUSTers and friends from all walks of life who care for KUST! We wish you all a harmonious, smooth and auspicious year, full of happiness!

ZHANG Yingjie, Chair of University Council

WANG Xueqin, President

Translated by: LU Xiaoling, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures

Edited by: CHEN Chunli, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures (English)

Issued by: Division of Overseas Cooperation (English)

Edited by: KUST News Center (Chinese)