On September 6, Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) warmly welcomed the Class of 2025. The campus was filled with vibrant youthful energy, as freshmen from all over the country, full of hopes and aspirations, embarked on their new academic journey on this land of dreams.

In the early morning, the Smart Student Community, Excellence Student Community, Xuehai Student Community of Nanhu Campus, and Haihong Student Community of Yujiatou Campus were decorated with fluttering flags, creating a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere. Welcome stations of various schools were arranged in order with neatly lined tents, exuding enthusiasm and warmth. Staff and volunteers at the Parent Reception Area, Student Community Comprehensive Service Station, Consulting Service Points, and college publicity booths arrived early, each performing their duties in an orderly manner. Coordinated efforts among university departments ensured the smooth operation of services such as express enrollment channels, medical stations, anti-fraud awareness booths, and community lecture halls for parents, providing comprehensive support to freshmen and their families.

Real-time data on freshmen registration were displayed on the welcome dashboard screens across all campuses. Through the online welcome system, freshmen could complete information collection, self-selected dormitories, tuition fee payment and registration, commodity reservation, textbook reservation, and online learning of the first class and safety modules in advance. This “cloud registration” greatly streamlined the on-site process, ensuring that “data runs more, while students run less.”

University leaders and heads of relevant departments visited the welcome sites, student dormitories, and Intelligent Operation Center (IOC) to carefully inspect the scheduling of welcome work and check the details of links on-site. During the visit, they had cordial exchanges with freshmen, parents, and front-line staff, warmly welcoming the new students and encouraging them to cultivate independence, pursue academic excellence, and make the most of their years at WUT.

As of 11:10 a.m., the real-time welcome dashboard reported: “This year, 9,627 undergraduate freshmen have been admitted, with 94.3% completing the full online registration process. The total hours of compulsory course study reached 20,647.4.”

Figure 7

Electronic displays continuously updated information on student registration, pedestrian and vehicle flow, dining services, pick-up arrangements, and online maintenance. Central to this effort was the university’s newly developed digital twin campus map, which integrated data from 71 cameras and 3 eagle-eye systems, covering all welcome stations, school gates, main roads, canteens, and other key locations. It realizes real-time scheduling for 6 application scenarios, including real-time monitoring of school gates and welcome stations, statistics and live display of canteen dining, real-time perception of traffic heat maps, and immediate reporting of irregularities. University leaders and staff could flexibly adjust and efficiently allocate welcome resources based on dynamic data on the screens, achieving precise on-site scheduling.

The university continues to promote the digital transformation of education, enhancing service efficiency through digital-intelligent welcome work. This year, the welcome dashboard fully integrates system data from 13 departments, including registration, finance, transportation, and the university’s Smart Course system. Built upon the digital twin campus platform, the system provided three major modules—real-time data on people and vehicles, command and dispatch, and resource assurance—creating a new model of data-driven, coordinated, and efficient enrollment management. 

Colleges fully leveraged their disciplinary strengths, integrating professional characteristics into the welcome process: the School of Materials Science and Engineering showcased 3D printing models; the School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Energy Power Engineering set up a scientific and technological innovation exhibition area; the School of Automotive Engineering displayed small autonomous intelligent vehicles; the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering presented robots; and the School of Automation exhibited robot dogs...

In addition, a variety of creative activities helped freshmen feel at home.  The School of Transportation and Logistics Engineering celebrated birthdays for freshmen, making it an unforgettable moment for them; the School of Law and Humanities and Sociology set up creative photo walls for freshmen to capture their first picture with the university; the School of Safety Science and Emergency Management provided time mailboxes for freshmen to write messages to write letters to their future selves; the School of International Education used check-in maps, inviting freshmen to light up their hometowns with their names; and Qihang College organized interactive quizzes to help new students learn about the university. These thoughtful initiatives formed the first emotional bridge between freshmen and their new academic home.

The university set up a welcome station at Tianhe Airport for the first time. “A total of 23 volunteers, divided into 4 groups, are expected to assist 281 freshmen and their families in reaching campus,” said He Han, a volunteer at Tianhe Airport. To ensure the smooth progress of the welcome work, the university arranged 5,356 welcome volunteers, with 797 students providing volunteer guidance services at three railway stations, one airport, and on campus. The presence of “volunteer green” (referring to the color of volunteers’ uniforms) could be seen everywhere on campus. “I am proud to help freshmen start a new chapter of their lives with my enthusiasm and patience,” said Yu Wei, a volunteer from the School of Transportation and Logistics Engineering.

During the welcome period, all canteens provided free “Sailing Meals” for the 2025 freshmen, offering a warm opening gift. University alumni and Dongfeng Yipai jointly formed a welcome fleet to provide one-on-one door-to-door pick-up services for special students, fully escorting freshmen’s academic journey. Parents of freshmen expressed heartfelt appreciation: “The shuttle service is both convenient and comfortable, the volunteers’ assistance is thoughtful, and the campus is far more spacious and beautiful than we imagined. We truly feel reassured as parents.”

Looking forward to their new journey, the Class of 2025 expressed excitement and anticipation. “The banners on the new sports ground, the flowers along tree-lined paths, and the warm smiles of seniors and canteen staff—all of these felt like Wuhan University of Technology’s invitation to me,” said Hu Xinchang, a freshman from the School of Law and Humanities and Sociology. “I feel both fortunate and proud to officially join WUT today.”

To all freshmen of 2025: may you stride forward with confidence, set sail toward excellence, and compose a brilliant chapter of youth together with Wuhan University of Technology.

Written by: Xie Xintian, Xie Xiaoqin, Feng Yunci, Li Wanyu, Li Zhaoxin, Wang Shiyuan

Rewritten by: Lin Qiaochu

Edited by: Liang Muwei, Li Tiantian

Source: Publicity Department of the CPC WUT Committee