Cloud and Silver Lining

For this year’s college and high school graduates, the year 2020 will be remembered for a lifetime.

Due to the coronavirus epidemic, college graduates were unable to finish their theses in the classroom or library, unable to attend their graduation ceremony and take the cherished keepsake photos wearing graduation gowns and mortarboard caps, and even unable to hug their classmates goodbye.

However, it should still not be written off as something entirely unsalvageable because they have undergone a unique experience different from the previous graduates’—cloud graduation.

Cloud graduation became the new normal with universities setting up online platforms for students to communicate with their supervisors and defend their theses, attend graduation ceremonies, and even search for jobs. This year, cloud graduation became a standard configuration in many universities.

For high school graduates, this year’s national college entrance exam, or gaokao, was rescheduled one month later than in previous years due to the epidemic, from early June to July. All test sites implemented stringent sanitization before, all students underwent 14day health monitoring and temperature checks, and special sites were arranged for students who showed symptoms of fever and cough.

Both the cloud graduation and strict gaokao protection measures were a test of the organization and management capability of universities and local education authorities, as well as of students’ capability to adapt to emergency events. In addition, the innovation capacity of China’s Internet technology and 5G coverage, important for ensuring cloud graduation and epidemic prevention and control, were also tested.

The college entrance examination has been successfully held, with more than 10 million students across the country taking the most important academic test in their lives. Over 8 million college graduates finished cloud graduation. Despite the absence of a ceremony in the real world, various kinds of creative graduation photos and graduation ceremonies were displayed on the Internet, demonstrating the vitality, creativity and adaptability of the younger generation.

The coronavirus outbreak has undoubtedly affected people’s lives and work. Life itself is full of uncertainties. The epidemic has taught us to be prepared for all kinds of challenges, at any time. From that perspective, this year doesn’t mean only a disaster year for these young people, but also a trial. Those who can keep their head and spirit and pass this acid test are bound to have a promising future.