I’d like to say a few words to college students

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A Few Words to College Students – Author: Ning Shoujian (Expert Member of the National Biodiesel Industry Cooperation Group, Shenyang University) 13940536479 synsj.blog.bokee.net synsj@yahoo.com.cn Abstract: Some insights gained over years of work in chemical research and teaching, shared as an encouragement for college students! While working on the development and research of biodiesel, I have received many inquiries and questions from college students; I was able to answer quite a few of them, but there were also many that I could not address. The words I say today stem from my reflections, or perhaps from the accumulation over time that has led to a ‘quantitative change turning into a qualitative change’ First of all, I want to tell you that those who are my age did not have the opportunity to receive professional training in biodiesel, as such a field did not exist back then. You, on the other hand, are fortunate to have access to comprehensive education and training in this area. Therefore, the future of biodiesel belongs to you. There are still many issues related to biodiesel that await your exploration, research, and advancement – you will be a generation that can achieve great things! The first thing I want to say is: cherish the existing learning opportunities – cherish them a hundredfold, a thousandfold! Although the various media these days say that you don’t know how to study hard, that’s not what I see; at least I have received many calls and emails from students at school, and their desire for knowledge and their hard work are truly moving to me ； When I was in college, I was a poor student who didn’t study hard; it was only after graduation that I realized how foolish I had been. Fortunately, I didn’t give up, and my efforts later on made up for the mistakes I had made earlier, which is why I have managed to achieve something today! But it’s always a pity, because after all, there’s no chance to acquire in a systematic and comprehensive way those knowledge areas that weren’t studied properly! So I hope you will cherish all the facilities provided by the school as well as your own precious time. Value the guidance and answers to your questions that the school’s teachers can offer you, make use of the rich collection of books, materials, and documents available in the school library, and take advantage of the various experimental conditions and instruments provided by the laboratories. Absorb, understand, and summarize everything you learn, including those non-specialist knowledge areas that you may not be enthusiastic about studying. Remember, after graduation, you will only feel that your knowledge is insufficient – you will never feel that it’s enough! But many students might feel confused: Why can’t I apply what I’ve learned? Let me tell you, this is normal. In an era where knowledge is growing at an exponential rate, all that remains useful to you is what is left after you \"forget\" everything you learned in university: your qualities! And the development of skills requires you to acquire a great deal of knowledge; perhaps this is what is meant in martial arts novels by \"having no technique is better than having one.\" The second thing I want to say is: read more books, but don’t believe everything in them. The school library offers a vast array of books and documents. It is important to read as much as possible, and to make use of various sources to access as many books and documents as you can in order to expand your knowledge and stay informed about developments in your field ； But one should not be \"superstitious.\" This is why the vast majority of your books and materials are labeled as \"reference materials\" – because you yourself should be proactive and conscious; the books and materials are there to serve you. Only by not being \"superstitious\" can they become part of you. Many students have asked this question: Teacher Ning, why can’t I get the result by following the data and steps provided in the book (literature)? To be honest, in many cases I don’t know why either, because I’m not there in person and I’m not aware of the specific details of what you see and do ； Similarly, you cannot fully understand the author’s original level of mastery. Faced with this situation, you must, while respecting the author’s own account, recall the knowledge you have acquired and combine it with your own experimental conditions (which cannot be exactly the same for everyone). Through experimentation and reflection, you should transform the account you have seen into your own, arriving at your own insights and results – this is what true learning entails. Furthermore, no single field of study exists in isolation; it is necessary to read more books from outside that field, especially classic works from both the East and West. Such books may not tell you how to produce biodiesel, but they will explain what happens with biodiesel, revealing the objective laws governing its development – and this represents a higher level of knowledge ； Many of you may read works on history, philosophy, and economics in your free time, and this is a very good habit – keep it up! Because what these works provide you with is a methodology, which is extremely valuable! The third thing I want to say is: do more experiments. What we deal with is chemical science, and chemistry is an experimental science; that is to say, all of its conclusions are based on experiments. Without specific experiments, all your ideas are meaningless. This is what is meant by having a solid foundation in one’s knowledge. When it comes to the biodiesel project, without hundreds of experiments, one can only learn how to carry out the tasks, but cannot reach the level of mastery ； Because for many process details, you cannot arrive at correct conclusions or solutions without experiencing them through experiments. If you want to design a new process flow, you must identify subtle differences through repeated experiments; it is only by observing these various differences that you can summarize them and develop new ideas for processes. Such subtle differences certainly cannot be transformed into theories after just one or two repetitions – it takes multiple repetitions before you can be fully convinced. After that, you conduct further experiments on these differences to identify patterns, which ultimately lead to innovation. During the experiment, it is essential to keep careful records. Whenever time permits, try to record all the experimental data, and then write a thorough experiment report that summarizes the entire process in detail. Pay close attention to every experimental phenomenon – this is part of developing a scientific attitude. Moreover, every opportunity to conduct an experiment at school is valuable, so it should be cherished greatly. The fourth thing I want to say is: make good use of the computer and internet resources at your disposal (as a supplement to the second point). The Internet has made the world smaller and expanded our horizons ； Today, the channels through which we obtain information are limited but effective; by turning on our computers and connecting to the Internet, we can \"read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles\". But it should also be noted that there is a lot of junk on the Internet as well. Due to the lack of laws, the Internet contains both good and bad content, which requires us to have strong judgment skills. More importantly, we need to be able to resist various temptations. Some students use their computers as gaming consoles or merely for chatting and making friends, which is like getting the box instead of the pearl – it’s an unprofitable approach ； University libraries can now access virtually all professional literature, materials that the schools have purchased at great expense and obtained with much effort! I say this because I have met many small and medium-sized investors; it is not easy for them to get access to the documents that are readily available to you – they have to pay for them themselves. Therefore, they cherish every bit of information they have, reviewing it repeatedly, thinking carefully about it, and raising many questions. Although some of these questions are rather naive, I never feel any need to mock them. I see them as those elderly people in \"The Last Lesson\" who regret not having mastered their mother tongue properly! So for each of their questions, I answered them in detail and carefully, or told them to look for some free resources. Classmates! The Internet is a powerful tool for acquiring knowledge and information; one should not spend too much time playing games, reading about celebrities’ anecdotes, or watching movies. Value the learning tools and environment provided to you by your parents and school!