Some graduates take part in the commencement ceremony on-site in Beijing, July 2, 2020. Other students joined in the ceremony online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with UCAS promising they could join a commencement ceremony on-site in the following years. [IMAGE: CHINA DAILY]

“No matter where you are, today, please enjoy your moment of accomplishment!” said Bai Chunli, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences at the graduation and degree-awarding ceremony of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) for the class of 2020 held in Beijing on July 2, 2020.

Bai Chunli, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivers a speech at a commencement ceremony in Beijing, July 2, 2020.

A total of 9,415 students graduated from UCAS this year: 4,465 with doctorates, 4,601 with master’s degrees and 349 with bachelor’s degrees.

Some graduates took part in the commencement ceremony on-site in Beijing, but the vast majority of students joined in the ceremony online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with UCAS promising they could join a commencement ceremony on-site in the following years.

According to incomplete statistics, among the academic papers written by the 4,465 Ph.D. recipients as first author during their studies, 45 were published in journals such as Science, Nature, and Cell, 8,130 were included on the SCI (Science Citation Index) journal list, and 1,529 appeared on the EI (Engineering Citation Index) journal list.

Fifty-five of the master’s degree graduates are from the UCAS School of Artificial Intelligence, the first university institute established in China focused on artificial intelligence. Eighteen of them have accepted job offers from leading Internet companies such as Huawei, Tencent, and Alibaba. Thirteen chose to further their studies at home and abroad, and one was selected under Huawei’s “Top Minds” recruitment program.

In addition, as of June 28, 324 of the bachelor’s degree graduates in the class of 2020 had decided to continue their studies for a master’s or doctor’s degree. Two hundred and fifty-seven, 68.9 percent of the total number, will do so on the Chinese mainland or in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and 67 will go abroad for further studies.  Twenty have been admitted by Harvard and other top-ten universities around the world.

More than 20,000 graduates participated in the virtual graduation and degree-awarding ceremony through live streaming and social media platforms, according to incomplete data.