The Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) held its 2026 opening ceremony on Sept 18, running the event simultaneously at four venues — the Liangxiang and Zhongguancun campuses in Beijing, the Zhuhai campus in Guangdong province and the Jiaxing campus in Zhejiang province.

Over 15,000 new undergraduate and graduate students participated in the event.

In his address, BIT President Jiang Lan said that a university is not only a conveyor of knowledge, but also a place that shapes character and conscience. As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful, he told the students that they must root themselves more firmly in their own values, adding that in the AI era, the strongest foundation is not knowledge but character.

Jiang also encouraged the students to push for breakthroughs in research, and dare to try — and to fail — in innovation, describing independent thinking as the most reliable safeguard in an age of information overflow.

Freshman representatives from the four campuses shared their journeys to BIT and their hopes for the years ahead.

Senior officials and guests then pinned university badges on the freshman representatives as a symbol joining the BIT community.

The ceremony concluded with all attendees at the four campuses singing the university anthem.