The annual homecoming symposium for alumni of the Pharmaceutical Engineering major from the 2005 graduating class of the School of Pharmacy was held in Conference Room 1301 of the School of Pharmacy. The symposium was hosted by Liu Zhengxin, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Pharmacy. Wei Yuan, the Dean of the School of Pharmacy, along with teacher representatives, gathered with the returning alumni to reminisce about their youthful years and jointly draw up a blueprint for development.
At the beginning of the symposium, Wei Yuan gave a comprehensive introduction to the development achievements of the college in recent years: the pharmacy major has been selected as a national first-class major, with two master's degree programs and professional degree authorization points in pharmacy and traditional Chinese medicine at the first-level discipline. Pharmacology and toxicology rank steadily in the top 1% of ESI globally, and the discipline of traditional Chinese medicine has been selected as a key discipline in Jiangsu Province for the 14th Five-Year Plan. The talent cultivation is widely praised by the society for its "strong foundation, strong ability, and high quality".
At the symposium, alumni spoke freely, sharing their growth experiences and mental journeys over the past twenty years since graduation. Among them were scientific research backbones who have been committed to the front line of pharmaceutical research and development and participated in the approval of innovative drugs, as well as explorers who have crossed over from pharmacy to diverse fields such as finance, education, foreign trade, and civil service; there were also doers who have been deeply involved in grassroots services and helped rural revitalization, as well as entrepreneurs who have pioneered and established their own laboratories.
Next, the alumni reminisced about the warm scenes from their school days twenty years ago. Professor Ouyang Zhen, the former Vice Dean of the School of Pharmacy, who served as the class teacher at that time, emotionally recounted the early history of the major. Professor Chen Jun praised the alumni as the "pioneers" in the arduous process of establishing the school. The past of raising experimental animals in the dormitory building moved the audience. He gave a message to everyone: "Maintain the bottom line and inherit the truth." Teacher Xu Weidong displayed teaching floppy disks and examination papers from many years ago, recreating the years of struggle. Teacher Cao Jin, the Director of the Pharmacy Department, presented appointment letters of off-campus mentors for career planning to seven alumni representatives on the spot, and reached a consensus on continuing to build bridges of cooperation in the future.
In his summary, Liu Zhengxin expressed affectionately that the alumni are the "contemporaneous students" who have grown alongside the development of the School of Pharmacy, and they are the most precious educational achievements of the School. He paid tribute to the first generation of teachers who laid the foundation for entrepreneurship, emphasizing their rigorous scholarship and nurturing talent with love, which laid a solid foundation for students' lives. The symposium came to a successful conclusion amidst the reminiscences of old photos titled "Time Amber". The camaraderie among classmates and the friendship between teachers and students, like aged wine, become more fragrant with time.
