学生代表Thomas Cilloni 2020届毕业典礼致辞中英全文

西交利物浦大学

2020/8/02

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西交利物浦大学

西交利物浦大学2020届毕业典礼

学生代表致辞——Thomas Cilloni

我们正面临着一个前所未有的历史时刻，给我们、给世界带来了严峻的挑战。作为一个生活在中国的意大利人，我能深刻体会到新冠病毒给两个国家带来的影响。但是，我们要昂起头，坚持不懈地前进。我坚信个人的坚持，更相信一个强大而忠诚的群体的力量。

虽然我还年轻，对很多事情还不算是太有经验，但我已经意识到竞争的重要性，并使之成为我自己的价值观之一。自从三年前进入西浦以来，我可以感受到越来越大的来自同龄人的压力，我们需要表现得更出色，取得更高的成就。这种压力，起初可能看来是消极的，但我认为这是大一新生们的学习原动力之一。对我来说，这种压力很快就变成了正能量，让我产生了面对挑战的渴望。

正是这种心态让我挑战了一些计算机科学领域的同窗，同样地，我也接受了很多次来自他们的挑战。无论我们是在写一篇论文、完成一项编程作业，还是探究一个小项目，我们所共有的竞争精神都是非凡的。这些同龄人很快就成了我的朋友，我们开始互相合作。我发现自己处在一个从没预想过的情境里——我帮助我的朋友们，同时也得到他们的帮助，与此同时，我们仍在以竞争的方式达到更高的水准。我们互相督促，获得更出色的表现，不断提升学习效率并优化工作方式。

这种氛围营造了一种友好竞争的状态，这是我和我的朋友们在校园、工作和生活中取得成就的重要因素。随着时间的推移，我逐渐意识到这一点，特别是此刻当我们即将各奔东西。因此，我想和大家分享：让我们拥抱竞争，因为你的竞争对手督促你不断向前，竞争中催生出友谊。竞争可能意味着努力超越对方，但并不意味着在这个过程中拖垮对方。相反，健康和友好的竞争可以双赢的结果，推动我们达到至臻至善。我坚信这一点，同时也深深感谢这几年和我一起成长的朋辈友人。

大学不仅仅是由学生组成的。奉献其中的教职人员同样重要，他们是形成健康高效环境的关键。当然，这个过程中也有起起落落，或积极或消极的经历，但这不正是生活中最常见的情况吗? 作为积极强化理念的倡导者，请允许我对我遇到的那些努力付出的教职人员表示感谢。

首先，尽管他去年离开了学校，我还是要感谢Charles Fleming教授，感谢他的远见，感谢他对研究的专注，感谢他主动让各个年级的学生参与他的项目。他一直都是身边所有人的灵感来源。

我还想感谢Wei Wang教授和Gangmin Li教授，他们把热情融入每一堂课中，传递着宝贵的行业知识和丰富的个人经历。这些年来，他们教授的课程广受称赞，是优良教育的范本，更是产学融合的成功典范。

最后，我要特别感谢来自西浦国际办公室的Gary，他总是不遗余力地帮助每一位国际学生，并且常会承担本职工作之外的责任去帮助大家。

在西交利物浦大学学习是一段美好而丰富的经历，无论是在个人层面还是学术角度。这所大学独特的教育模式，让这一切都得以实现。以研究为主导的学习模式在许多课程和课外活动中推进、实践。事实证明，这对许多学生的成长至关重要，这一点也在他们的学术成就和许多人现在所选择的职业方向上得到了证明。我希望更多的高等教育机构能够采用这种模式，为学生提供终身学习的技能，并塑造一个比以往任何时代都更重视研究的世界。我衷心感谢西交利物浦大学给我这些改变人生的机会，并给予我今天在这里演讲的机会。

Graduate representative's address- Thomas Cilloni, Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering

We are now facing an unprecedented historical moment that has posed serious challenges to all students and staff in our school and around the world. As an Italian citizen living in China, I have been deeply moved by the impact of the corona virus pandemic on both countries. Nonetheless, we all have to keep our heads high and move forward with perseverance. I strongly believe in the power of a committed individual and, even more, in that of a community of strong and committed people.

Even though I am still young and inexperienced, I have come to realise the importance of competition and have made it one of the pillars of my own being. Since I started university, three years ago, I have felt an ever-increasing pressure from my peers, a pressure to perform well, and to achieve high results. This pressure, though at first may seem as something negative, is what I believe to be one of the engines that propel students in their first years of university studies. In my case, this pressure soon evolved into positive energy, creating in me a desire for challenge.

This state of mind is what led me to challenge some of my computer science peers, and in return be challenged by them, many times over. No matter whether we were working on an essay, a programming assignment, or a side project, the spirit of competition that we shared was extraordinary. These peers soon became my friends, and we started collaborating with one another. I found myself in a situation I never thought possible; I was helping my friends and receiving help in return, while at the same time competing with them to achieve higher heights, just as they were. We were pushing each other to perform better, study faster and work smarter.

This situation created a state of friendly competition, which I believe to be an important factor that contributed to both my own and my friend's achievements, at school, at work, and in life. This realisation is not something that I have known all along, rather I have come to understand it with time, especially now, because we are separated. Therefore, I would like to share with all of you this message: embrace competition, for your competitors can greatly help you, and can often become your friends. While competition may mean fighting to outperform the other, it does not imply dragging the other down in the process. Instead, healthy and friendly competition can result in mutual benefits and a push to achieve our best selves. I strongly believe in this idea and I am grateful to all my peers and friends who have grown with me in these years.

A school is not only made of students, though; its staff is equally important, and is key to building a healthy and productive environment. Naturally, there have been ups and downs in this, with some positive and some negative experiences, but that is most often the case in life too, isn't it? As an advocate of positive reinforcement, please allow me to express my gratitude towards those members of staff I met who have truly worked hard for the department and the school.

First of all, even though he left the school last year, I would like to thank Professor Charles Fleming, for his vision, for his strong research focus, and for his initiative in involving students from all grades in his projects. He has been a source of inspiration for all those who had the chance to know him.

I also want to thank Professors Wei Wang and Gangmin Li for the passion they put into delivering their classes, always enriched with precious industry knowledge and informative personal experiences. The modules they teach have been among the best throughout the years; they are models of good education and the successful fusion between industry and academia.

Finally, a special thanks goes to Gary from XJTLU Global, who is always there to help international students and often goes the extra mile to ensure everyone is happy.

Studying at XJTLU has been a wonderful and rich experience, both personally and academically. This wouldn't have been possible without the University's approach to education. Its research-led learning model was implemented in many modules and extra activities available for students. This proved to be essential for many students' growth, and is demonstrated by their academic success and the clear career directions that many are now taking. I wish more higher education institutions would adopt this very model, to give students life-long learning skills and shape a world in which research can be more present than ever. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to XJTLU for these life-changing opportunities and for the chance to speak to you all today.

西交利物浦大学