On the evening of December 30th, Wuhan University 15th "My Ideal Mentor" Awarding Ceremony was grandly held in the Main Hall of the Humanities Building. Professor Lin Zhang from our School was honored with the title of "My Ideal Mentor".

At the ceremony, Professor Lin Zhang shared her insights in response to the host’s question on cultivating top-tier innovative talents in the context of digital-intelligence education. She emphasized the critical role of digital-intelligence thinking in graduate education, proposing that scientific research should foster students’ curiosity, independent thinking, critical analysis, and innovative capabilities.

"In today’s era of rapid technological advancement," she noted, "scholars bear the responsibility to safeguard and nurture humanity’s distinctive qualities—including a romantic imagination of the future, unique perspectives on scientific inquiry, and a profound sense of social responsibility." As mentor, she added, "we must not only teach students to conduct efficient research but also guide them in pursuing humanistic research that seamlessly integrates technology with humanities. This holistic approach is key to developing globally competitive, visionary innovators."

Academician Pingwen Zhang, President of Wuhan University, attended the awarding ceremony and delivered a speech. In his address, he extended his warm congratulations to the honored mentors and reviewed Wuhan University’s remarkable achievements over the past year in talent cultivation and scientific innovation. Pingwen Zhang articulated three expectations for graduate supervisors:

Ø To practice the educator’s ethos and demonstrate renewed commitment;

Ø To uphold the scientist’s spirit and achieve groundbreaking innovations;

Ø To carry forward the Luojia Spirit and embrace new missions.

He encouraged frequent academic exchanges among teachers and students, urging students to emulate exemplary mentors in refining their expertise, honing their skills, and unlocking their potential. Concluding his speech, Pingwen Zhang called for collective efforts to "uphold foundational principles while driving innovation", thereby advancing the university’s vision of becoming a world-class university with distinctive Chinese characteristics.

Wuhan University's "My Ideal Mentor" selection is organized by the Graduate Student Management Office of Wuhan University Party Committee and the Communist Youth League Committee of Wuhan University, with undertaken by the Wuhan University Graduate Student Union. Annually, a selection is made to honor 10 graduate supervisors distinguished by their exemplary professional ethics, remarkable scholarly accomplishments, and profound student admiration, aiming to promote a campus culture that values mentorship and academic excellence. Since its inaugural selection in 2010, 8 faculty members of our School, including Senior Professor Feicheng Ma, a preeminent scholar in humanities and social sciences at Wuhan University—have been conferred this prestigious honor.