The first - day registration at the University of Oxford: Have a high - table dinner with the princi

First-day registration at the University of Oxford: Have a high-table dinner with the principal and embark on a century-long academic exchange journey

After a long-haul flight of more than ten hours, when the spires of Jesus College, University of Oxford finally came into view, all the nervousness and uneasiness before the trip turned into a solid sense of joy. This academic shrine with an eight-hundred-year history, with its thick stone walls and quiet courtyards, gently soothed every knowledge-seeker who came from afar.

On March 24th, the visiting-study program of the Postdoctoral Development Project at Jesus College, University of Oxford officially kicked off.

In the early morning light, the students stepped into the college dining hall, which was built in the sixteenth century, and had a traditional English breakfast with scholars from all over the world. In the aroma of buttered toast and Earl Grey tea, an academic dialogue across time quietly began. Professor Richard Hobbs, the executive principal, personally served as the guide and led everyone to stroll in the Tudor-style arcade courtyard. The sun shone through the Gothic window lattices, gilding the scholars who were hurrying by with papers in their hands. The shutter clicks captured this unique academic romance exclusive to this place. When moving to the Cheng Yu Tung Building, the modern glass curtain wall had an interesting dialogue with the ancient stone pillars. In the well-lit meeting room, the principal's philosophical opening remarks and the students' enthusiastic exchanges of ideas were as vibrant as the newly-grown ivy outside the window.

In the afternoon, in the university assembly hall that has witnessed countless important moments, the school held a solemn ceremony to present library cards to the students. When the cards printed with the Oxford coat of arms fell into their palms, these researchers from the East finally had the key to the temple of knowledge - from this moment on, they were not only visitors but also members recognized by this academic city.

As the twilight fell, the candlelit High Table Dinner brought the first day's itinerary to a climax. Professor Richard Hobbs, the executive principal of the Oxford Institute of Digital Surveillance and the person in charge of global cooperation affairs, along with five University of Oxford leaders and professors, participated in the dinner. The participating professors included: Ian Critchlow (Director of Asset and Space Management at the University of Oxford), Anna Strongman (Chief Executive Officer of Oxford University Development Company), Paula Brown (Responsible for the development of the innovation park in the real estate service department of the University of Oxford), Mamutimin Sunudulla (Director of the East Asian Department and Curator of Chinese Collections at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford), and Olga Kozlova (Director of Innovation and Cooperation Affairs at the University of Oxford). In his speech, Principal Hobbs said affectionately: "Every stone in Oxford remembers the footsteps of the pursuit of truth, and tonight, it will remember the new stories you bring." Amidst the clinking of glasses, the principal humorously responded to the students' questions, and his wise answers made everyone in the room burst into smiles.

When the ancient college bell rang ten times, the moon was gently caressing the rose window of the chapel. Tomorrow, there will be more sparks of thought waiting to burst...