After He Jiang delivered an address at Harvard University as its first Chinese graduate student council representative on May 26, 2016, he became an overnight celebrity in his native land.
His status as a graduate from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei, Anhui Province, in 2009, and that of his Harvard supervisor, professor Zhuang Xiaowei, also a graduate of the same university, attracted particular attention.
A number of well-known Chinese working in science, technology, education and business graduated from USTC, often paradoxically dubbed China’s most prominent “low profile” college, according to a report by China News Service.
Founded in 1958, USTC was the first university on the Chinese mainland to establish a graduate school, as well as the country’s first class for gifted young people. Over the years, it refused to expand enrollment or increase the size of its campus at the rapid rate seen in other colleges, or to merge with another university.
Wang Zhizhen, vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, who is also an alumna of the university, said USTC's record of innovation deserves study.
She added that USTC has played a unique role in pushing Chinese sci-tech innovation and social reform, and that its commitment to quality over scale will be judged favorably by history.
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