On May 5, Shanghai Jiao Tong University President Mr Zhang Jie visited Pao School for a special partnership signing ceremony. The event saw participation from Pao School’s teacher representatives as well as leadership, including Founders Prof Anna Pao Sohmen, Madam Tan Fuyun, and Mr Philip Sohmen, along with Headmaster Mr Wu Zijian, Secretary General Ms Li Jing and Executive Principal Dr Paul Wood.
Prof Pao Sohmen extended a warm welcome to Mr Zhang in her opening speech, bringing attention to Jiao Tong University’s long history and its great international reputation. Pao School’s partnership with the university began as early as 1981, when Sir YK Pao generously funded the construction of the Pao Siu Loong Library at Jiao Tong University - it was the first foreign investment in higher education in Chinese history. On December 5, 2015, the Pao Family-donated Yue-Kong Pao Tracks was unveiled at the University’s Minhang campus.
Mr Zhang, led by Pao School’s leadership and student ambassadors, toured Pao School’s Secondary Division campus and enjoyed a spectacular piano performance by students.
Mr Sohmen then introduced the signing of the partnership agreement between Pao School and Jiao Tong University: ‘Pao School will work closely with the university to implement innovation and training activities as well as projects in the humanities and sciences. We will be leveraging the university’s world class reputation to provide a variety of learning opportunities and resources for Pao School’s students.’ Expert scholars from Jiao Tong University will also be mentoring Pao School students and providing assistance with extracurricular scientific research activities. The university will also be offering summer school and valuable training programmes for Pao School students.
Mr Zhang Jie then addressed attendees: ‘Coming to Pao School gives me a feeling of coming home’ – this is due to the long history of friendship between Jiao Tong University and Pao School. He went on to explain how Sir YK Pao’s generosity helped the university to regain momentum during a difficult phase of development in the 1980’s.
Mr Zhang then took the time to share the university's past academic achievements as well as its history of fostering talent: According to Mr Zhang, the university’s goal is to establish a place for teachers and students to realise their dreams. As one of China’s first universities, over the course of China’s 120-year development, Jiao Tong University has set many precedents.
From the time of former president Tang Wenzhi, Jiao Tong University's mission was to cultivate leaders for China and the world. Mr Tang once said: ‘To be the best in your field, you must have the best character.’ This is the reason for the university's motto: ‘the source of drinking water, patriotic wing school’ – when one drinks water, they shall never forget its source; one shall love his motherland and remember his Alma Mater.’ As Mr Zhang explains, character is most important at Jiao Tong University, a philosophy shared by Pao School’s educators: ‘We believe that as a progressive Chinese university, we should not only to use knowledge to teach concepts. Cultivating world-class talent requires intellectual enquiry, the nurturing of abilities and character development.’
Mr Zhang then recounted the inspiring story of three scientists and how they held steadfast to their dreams in the face of major hurdles and challenges.
Mr Zhang then shared his own learning experiences and emphasised the importance of persistence and perseverance. Mr Zhang was raised during the Cultural Revolution, a tremendously tumultuous time in which a large number of scholars were persecuted, including his father, who was a counter-revolutionary. For this reason, Mr Zhang was suspended from school for one year. It was during this time that he learned to study by himself. He also learned to design automatic chicken incubators with his father, and together, they would later devise a method for extracting sulfuric acid from table salt. They eventually sold these in an effort to help support the household. Mr Zhang credited this experience for exposing him to experimentation in physics and chemistry as well as fostering his interest in science, eventually culminating in his role as a leading figure in the discipline.
Following his speech, Mr Zhang then answered questions from students, discussing the exploration of new areas of knowledge and giving advice to those students about to embark on their journey to postsecondary education. When discussing the topic of training innovative talents, he believed that Western education began 2000 years ago in the age of Socrates and encouraged all to challenge and learn from each other, while the strength of Chinese education lies in the transfer of cultural heritage and falls short in terms of nurturing the ability to innovate: ‘Students work on problem after problem, which teaches them how to solve problems, but when it comes to actually asking the questions, we are still a work in progress.’ Mr Zhang believes that the unique educational style of Pao School that brings together the best of Chinese and international education, will truly help foster a new generation of innovators. (For more on Mr Zhang’s Q&A session with Pao School’s students, please see the transcript below.)
After his enlightening and inspirational speech, Mr Zhang was treated to cherry blossom-themed poetry, composed and performed by Pao School students themselves.
This signing ceremony was crucial in promoting friendly relations and cooperation between the two schools. Together, Pao School and Jiao Tong University will collaborate and share educational resources, ushering in a new era of innovation and development in Chinese education.
Prof Pao Sohmen and Mr Zhang participate in signing ceremony.
Q&A session transcript
Q1: Can you share some of your learning experiences with us?
Zhang: My learning experiences happened in an era that most of you are probably not familiar with. I was caught in the middle of the Cultural Revolution while completing secondary school. My time in primary school nurtured my ability for self-learning. My father, or should I say, my family, were counter-revolutionaries, and because of that, I could not continue my studies. For one year, while I was suspended from school, I learned to study by myself. I completed my Year 4 and 5 education, and then when I entered secondary school, I realised I needed to study English, but at the time, due to lack of resources, my high school did not offer an English programme. All I could do at the time was learn English from the Shaanxi People's Broadcasting Station. I will always remember this. It was the first Chinese radio station to teach English. The show aired every day at 6am, 12pm and 10:30pm, but because at the time, we installed our own radio, we couldn’t find the station at noon, so we could only tune in at the other two times. I was still young at the time, so while I was listening, I would often fall asleep by the radio. I want to thank my mother, because she would wake me and make me continue listening. Over time, I learned English as well as other subjects.
Because my father was a counter-revolutionary, so he had no income. My mother single-handedly supported the family financially. To help my mother, my father would take me along to design automatic chicken incubators. We also designed a method for extracting sulfuric acid from table salt. We wanted to sell these to support our household. During this process, I got my first taste of scientific experimentation in physics and chemistry. I also became quite interested in science.
Q2: You just spoke about projects related to science and technology. Can you tell us about some of the university’s projects and developments in field such as social science and literature?
Zhang: In 2014, Jiao Tong University’s liberal arts programme ranked in the top 1% of the world’s universities. This is very significant for us. Jiao Tong University began as a comprehensive university. As of 1952, Jiao Tong was one of the top comprehensive universities in China.
In 1952, the university was restructured into 18 different faculties. 17 of our faculties were reshuffled to support other universities in the country, including liberal arts and sciences, which were shifted to Fudan University. Our textile machinery was given to Donghua University, while our chemical engineering department became part of the East China University of Science and Technology and so on...
From that point on, Jiao Tong University became an engineering university. For us, we are very eager to return to form as a comprehensive university.
Also, in terms of nurturing talent, the environment of a comprehensive university is very important. After many years of hard work, our applied arts programme has become one of the world’s finest. Jiao Tong University also offers world-class programmes in media and design, law, economics and management and finance.
Our history and philosophy programmes are also world-class. The philosophy we teach is primarily Western philosophy, which we do very well, while with our literature programme, we mainly teach comparative literature. So, at Jiao Tong University, in addition to sciences, you can pursue your dreams in literature.
Q3: What advice do you have for young people who are about to enter university?
Zhang: The spirit of university has two parts: the first is the scientific spirit, and the second is the human spirit.
On the one hand, you have a new context of knowledge. With a lot of things, when you sort them out, you will find that your knowledge is actually easy to master and remember. On the other hand is what abilities this knowledge teaches you. What’s even more important is the cultivation of the human spirit.
University is the last stop before you enter society. At university, particularly with good universities, we strive to create an environment that encourages everyone to explore. It’s also OK to fail, because the cost of failing at university is much smaller than failing in society. Failure is natural. The university is the place for trial and error. It’s where you will get to make many friends, and more importantly, you will gain the confidence you need to succeed in society.
Q4: What are your opinions and recommendations on how to cultivate innovation and the quality of science education for students in China?
Zhang: The strength of Chinese education lies in the transfer of knowledge, while Western education system encourages the exploration of new knowledge. But with the current state of development of China, for many students who want to engage in more innovative work in the future, this kind of ability is of course essential. Therefore, in terms of nurturing the ability to innovate, basic education in China falls short. The flaw lies in the fact that we teach students the ability to solve problems: In China’s general public schools, we make students work on problem after problem, which teaches them how to solve problems, but when it comes to actually asking the questions, we are still a work in progress, but this situation is gradually improving. We need to encourage everyone to raise issues, and we especially encourage students to discuss them with their teachers, and even challenge ideas. This is the kind of environment we need to create.
I’m especially impressed with the learning environment at Pao School. Although I haven’t had a chance to listen carefully to your classes, I can already see that Pao School is very different from other public schools in China.With Pao School, I believe that Prof Pao Sohmen set out to create an educational style – to bring together the best of Chinese and international education and share it with all of you.
