20th Anniversary Feature Series

  

Clarine Beryl

Clarine Beryl

Assistant Manager at PGM System

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryCommunity

‘Next Together’ Alumni Stories: Clarine Beryl, Assistant Manager at PGM System

Clarine Beryl, an Indonesian graduate of XJTLU's BEng Intelligent Robotics Engineering with Contemporary Entrepreneurialism programme (2021–2025), now works as an Assistant Manager in overseas business development at PGM System Ltd. She credits XJTLU with building the technical and entrepreneurial skills she now uses, and stays actively engaged with its alumni community.

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Dr Xin Bi

Dr Xin Bi

Chief Officer of Data and Director of the Centre for Knowledge and Information, XJTLU

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryCommunity

The builder behind the systems: Dr Xin Bi's 20 years at XJTLU

From the library to the Learning Mall, from brand communication to digital intelligence, Dr Xin Bi has repeatedly stood at the frontlines of XJTLU's development.

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Professor Sir Drummond Bone

Professor Sir Drummond Bone

Former Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryAbout XJTLU

Professor Sir Drummond Bone: ‘XJTLU has grown beyond what I originally conceived’

Professor Sir Drummond Bone reflects on the growth of XJTLU in 20 years, how far it has come, and its role in bridging China and the UK.

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Professor Andre Brown

Professor Andre Brown

Former Vice President of Academic Affairs, XJTLU

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryCommunityAbout XJTLUXJTLU Stories

It wasn’t a question of whether XJTLU would be successful. It was how successful

After arriving from the University of Liverpool to take up the role of Vice President of Academic Affairs in 2014, Professor Andre Brown was tasked with helping turn XJTLU into a genuine research university.

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Professor Qiuling Chao

Professor Qiuling Chao

Vice President for Student and Information Affairs, XJTLU

XJTLU 20th Anniversary

Keeping students in view as XJTLU grew

Campus culture is hard to see or touch, explains Professor Qiuling Chao. But it is built through continuous support and activities.

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Professor Sarah Dixon

Professor Sarah Dixon

Founding Dean of International Business School Suzhou

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryBusinessAbout XJTLUXJTLU Stories

The chance to create something new: The beginnings of IBSS

Professor Sarah Dixon likens the founding of XJTLU’s International Business School Suzhou in 2013 to starting a business, and explains why her time at XJTLU was her “best job ever”.

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Professor Kelvin Everest

Professor Kelvin Everest

Former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryAbout XJTLU

Professor Kelvin Everest: ‘Very early on, our main focus was just on making it work’

Professor Kelvin Everest played an important role in the establishment of XJTLU. He says he is amazed by how quickly XJTLU has grown over the past 20 years.

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Professor Eddy Fang

Professor Eddy Fang

Dean of International Business School Suzhou

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryBusinessXJTLU Stories

After growing with IBSS, Dean Eddy Fang is asking what comes next

Professor Eddy Fang has been at IBSS since its founding. With the international foundation firmly established, he reflects on where the School will go next.

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Professor Michael Fang

Professor Michael Fang

Former Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryAbout XJTLU

Professor Michael Fang: ‘It has been an amazing 20 years’

Professor Michael Fang shares the story of his time at the University of Liverpool, and the beginnings of XJTLU.

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Jingkang Gui

Jingkang Gui

General Manager of Solar PV and Battery Energy Storage Systems at Keppel

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryCommunity

‘Next Together’ Alumni Stories: Jingkang Gui, General Manager of Solar PV and Battery Energy Storage Systems at Keppel

Jingkang Gui, who was part of XJTLU’s second cohort, was the principal engineer at SP Group, previously served as the VP head of smart PV digital power at Huawei (Singapore), and is now General Manager of Solar PV and Battery Energy Storage Systems at Keppel. He shares his career journey.

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Professor Jingming Guo

Professor Jingming Guo

Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, XJTLU

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryCommunityAbout XJTLUXJTLU Stories

Professor Jingming Guo: Reimagining how mathematics is taught

Having taught mathematics at XJTLU for fifteen and a half years, Professor Jingming Guo turned abstract concepts into stories students could truly grasp, and made the young university's math classroom "the most glorious chapter" of his nearly five-decade teaching career.

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Professor Simon Jones

Professor Simon Jones

Dean for Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University at the University of Liverpool

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryCommunity

Professor Simon Jones: ‘XJTLU students consistently impress me with their resilience, curiosity, and ambition’

When Professor Jones was appointed Dean of XJTLU in 2023, he was struck by the shared purpose and community of students and staff who cared deeply about what the University could become.

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Professor Tim Jones

Professor Tim Jones

Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryAbout XJTLU

Professor Tim Jones: 'We are incredibly proud of all that XJTLU has achieved to date'

Professor Tim Jones talks about the early vision of XJTLU: to create a new international model for higher education, giving Chinese students the opportunity to experience the best of both Chinese and Western approaches to learning.

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Ruijiao Li

Ruijiao Li

Co-founder of Amy Robotics and XJTLU alumnus

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryScience and Technology

Step out and see the world: The journey of a geek

Ruijiao Li, a former BSc Information and Computing Science student, shares his story of entrepreneurship inspired by trying new things, following his curiosity and stepping out into the world.

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Yunguan Pan

Yunguan Pan

Former Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Suzhou Industrial Park

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryCommunity

From recruiting graduates to building a university

When recruiting graduates for SIP, Yunguan Pan realised the region couldn’t build its future by always looking elsewhere for talent. That thinking helped create Dushu Lake Higher Education District.

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Professor Konstantinos Papadikis

Professor Konstantinos Papadikis

Associate Vice President for Education

Feature Stories

Teaching in the age of AI: ‘Humans are what matter’

Professor Konstantinos Papadikis has spent fifteen years watching XJTLU grow from a handful of buildings into a multi-campus university. He has also spent those years watching something more troubling take shape: A generation of students slowly outsourcing their thinking. As the university's Associate Vice President for Education, he is now doing something about it, rethinking curricula, redefining assessment, and making the case that in the age of AI, the most important thing a university can teach is what it means to be human.

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Professor David Sadler

Professor David Sadler

Former Vice President of Academic Affairs, XJTLU

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryAbout XJTLU

Professor David Sadler: ‘The campus was a tribute to the power of creative thinking’

Professor David Sadler shares a message of congratulations to XJTLU

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Professor Jionglong Su

Professor Jionglong Su

Professor at the School of AI and Advanced Computing, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Entrepreneur College (Taicang); Director of the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Education and Research and Development Institute

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryScience and Technology

From chromosomes to construction: Professor Jionglong Su on interdisciplinarity

For Professor Jionglong Su, the true value of interdisciplinarity isn’t merely bringing people from various disciplines together – it’s about tackling a problem from all angles.

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Professor Jianhua Wang

Professor Jianhua Wang

Former Party Committee Secretary of Xi’an Jiaotong University

XJTLU 20th anniversarycommunity

Find a way through: Former XJTU Party Committee Secretary on the founding of XJTLU

Recalling the beginnings of XJTLU, Professor Jianhua Wang recalls: “XJTLU was among the first international joint-venture universities formally approved in China. It set a precedent, and there were uncertainties in almost every area. We had no idea how many hurdles lay ahead.”

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Shuai Wang

Shuai Wang

Associate R&D Director at Crystal Pharmatech (Suzhou) and PhD student at XJTLU Wisdom Lake Academy of Pharmacy

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryScience and TechnologyCommunityXJTLU Stories

Patients can’t carry a fridge around: research meets the real world

While working at Crystal Pharmatech, Shuai Wang was inspired to pursue a PhD by a long-standing challenge in the industry. This allowed her to tackle the problem from both the academic and industry perspective.

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Wencan Wang

Wencan Wang

Founder and CEO of Hecbert Information Technology

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryCommunity

‘Next Together’ Alumni Stories: Wencan Wang, Founder and CEO of Hecbert Information Technology

From XJTLU to UCL, from real estate to AI entrepreneurship, every shift Wencan Wang has made has not been about following the pack, but a proactive response to changing trends.

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Professor Youmin Xi

Professor Youmin Xi

Executive President of XJTLU

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryCommunityAbout XJTLU

The question that keeps XJTLU moving forward

From 1.0 to 4.0, Professor Youmin Xi has continuously redefined what a university should be, based on what’s next.

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Professor Minzhu Yang

Professor Minzhu Yang

Former Vice President of XJTLU

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryAbout XJTLU

‘No way back’: Professor Minzhu Yang on the ‘tough battles’ he fought at XJTLU

Professor Yang joined XJTLU when the University was only two years old. Reflecting on the milestone of XJTLU’s 20th anniversary, Professor Yang says XJTLU’s development has far exceeded his expectations.

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Feng Ye

Feng Ye

Former Executive Deputy Director of the Dushu Lake Higher Education District Office

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryCommunity

The ‘angel board’ that helped XJTLU begin

Feng Ye looks back on the early days of XJTLU’s planning – a 10pm meeting, an informal admissions office and support from SIP.

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Hui Zhang

Hui Zhang

Logic Design Engineer

XJTLU 20th AnniversaryCommunity

‘Next Together’ Alumni Stories: Hui Zhang, Logic Design Engineer in Singapore

Hui Zhang, a successful engineer, selected XJTLU for its strong science and engineering programmes. His educational journey, including research experiences, shaped his career decisions. Though initially pursuing a PhD, practical considerations steered him into industry before returning to academia to deepen his expertise in chip design. Zhang advises aspiring PhD students to explore research, find motivation, and remain flexible in their career paths.

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Professor Xiaojun Zhang

Professor Xiaojun Zhang

Chief Officer of Education, Head of the XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang) leadership team, Executive Dean of the Academy of Future Education, and Director of the Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Hub

XJTLU 20th Anniversary

No template to follow: Professor Xiaojun Zhang on building XJTLU’s educational influence

Professor Zhang joined XJTLU full-time in 2013. He reflects on the past 13 years and shares how the University built its educational influence step by step.

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