On August 26, 2024, the School of Management of Beijing Institute of Technology held the opening ceremony for the 2024 freshmen of the graduate program of Information Science, a joint education program between Beijing Institute of Technology and the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, in Classroom 240 of the main building of Zhongguancun Campus. Professor Yan Zhijun, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Management of Beijing Institute of Technology, Professor Wu Shuilong, Assistant Dean, Professor Weizi Li, Project Leader of Henley Business School, University of Reading, UK, Professor Kasun Millawithanachchi, Project Director, and 2024 freshmen attended the opening ceremony. The ceremony was presided over by Li Xiaohui, deputy director of the Joint Center of Professional Degree Education of School of Management.

Secretary Yan Zhijun expressed his heartfelt congratulations and warm welcome to all the students, introduced the glorious history of BIT from Yanan, traced the long-standing exchanges and cooperation between the school and the University of Reading in the UK, and put forward three expectations for all the 2024 freshmen: First, cherish the rare learning opportunities and maintain their desire for knowledge and enthusiasm for academics; Second, we should make full use of the advantages of Sino-foreign cooperation projects, establish close ties with the two universities, and constantly broaden our international vision and international communication ability; The third is to inherit the red gene of the university "Yanan root, military soul", and set a higher goal for life.

On behalf of the University of Reading, Professor Weizi Li extended a warm welcome to the freshmen, and introduced the specific requirements, course modules, training direction and other related issues of the masters degree in information science program to the students in detail. Subsequently, Kasun Millawithanachchi explained in detail the training process of the whole program and the problems that may be encountered, including personal information registration, assessment requirements, assessment standards and other related educational affairs.

The opening ceremony ended successfully in a warm atmosphere, and the guests and all teachers and students took a group photo.