On the afternoon of September 24, the orientation for 2020 CIM postgraduate freshmen was held in Shiing-Shen Building. Attendees included the Director of CIM Prof. Chengming Bai, Vice Director Prof. Huitao Feng and Aifang Chen, representatives of the faculty and student leaders and the postgraduate freshmen enrolled in 2020. The orientation was hosted by Ms. Guoping Feng.

In 2020, a total of 19 postgraduate students were admitted by the Chern Institute of Mathematics (CIM), including 13 master students and 6 Ph.D. students. The orientation started with impressive self-introductions made by the newcomers. Then Prof. Chengming Bai extended a warm welcome and introduced the guideline proposed by Prof. Shiing-Shen Chern and followed by the Institute: based at Nankai, serving the country, and embracing the world. He also briefly introduced the sustainable development initiatives of CIM, as well as the current team of teachers and research directions provided by the Institute. For the coming years at CIM, Prof. Bai advised the newly come postgraduate students to learn more about Prof. Shiing-Shen Chern and the Institute; to keep the initiative in study and actively communicate with the advisor, teachers and other students; and to take an active part in all kinds of academic activities. Teachers at the orientation introduced their own research directions and welcomed the students to discuss with them at any time on topics of interest. Administrative staff of the Institute explained some dos and don'ts of safety matters and offered tips on personal property management.

Held in a lively atmosphere, the orientation helped to facilitate the communication between teachers and students. Each freshman was given a book, the S. S. Chern, and  a CIM brochure in the hope that they will look to Prof. Shiing-Shen Chern as a role model and fight for making China a leading country in mathematics.