On Nov 12, Sun Yat-sen University celebrated its 100th anniversary and held an innovation development forum in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

A commemorative stamp for the 100th anniversary of the university was released on the same day, and a series of anniversary activities were held on the campus.

Gao Song, the university's president, promised that the university would expand high-level opening-up to the outside world to build a global network of university partners, deepen international exchanges and cooperation, serve as a bridge in cultural exchanges, promote mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations, address global challenges and promote scientific and technological progress and sustainable economic and social development in the months to come.

Gao said the university would focus on China's major strategic needs.

Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, said Sun Yat-sen University stands as an aspirational model for creating partnerships with institutions of all types.

The pioneering initiatives of Sun Yat-sen University, with colleges and universities around the world and with organizations, are not merely transactional, she said.

"Instead, they are transformational, with Sun Yat-sen leading the way by contributing a road map for relationship-building and the mutual development of common goals, alongside ensuring institutional buy-in among constituents at all levels from across the university."

Equally impressive, she added, "is Sun Yat-sen University's research innovation, from its cutting-edge work in bioinformatics and cancer treatments to its national status as the premiere institution for social science research, each grounded in the university's mission of advancing knowledge in areas that will benefit the nation and the world."

The university was founded a century ago by Dr Sun Yat-sen, a revolutionary pioneer. Earlier, he penned the motto "Study extensively, inquire accurately, reflect carefully, discriminate clearly, practice earnestly" — a creed that has been carried forward.

Sun Yat-sen University has cultivated more than 800,000 professionals across various fields over the past century. Numerous masters in their respective fields put their weight behind the the university's development, including Feng Youlan, Guo Moruo, Lu Xun, Fu Sinian, Zhao Yuanren, Chen Yinke and Zhong Shifan.

In another development, China held a ceremony on Tuesday to commemorate the 158th birthday of Sun Yat-sen, a great national hero, a great patriot and a forerunner of China's democratic revolution.