【Editor’s Note】In 2020, while devoting to preventing and controlling the COVID-19 in an all-round way, BIT will hold the 15th Party Congress, celebrate the 80th anniversary of the its founding, and its first step of the “three-step” development strategic goal will also enter the sprint stage. Now, the development of the school is in a period of strategic convergence. In this landmark year, the Publicity Department of the Party committee, BIT, has specially launched a series of special reports on “to forge ahead, to be a better BIT”, which comprehensively displays the achievements of the school’s career development and the elegant demeanor of teachers, students and alumni, creates a good atmosphere of uplifting, passionate and enterprising, and reflects the majestic strength of teachers, students and staff to unite and strive for the determination to be first-class.

　　At the 2020 BIT Graduation and Degree-awarding Ceremony, Chen Yuhong, as the representative of alumni, addressed to all the graduates: “‘with firm faith in mind, and be a down-to-earth person’. Every generation needs to draw strength and power from history. After graduating from BIT, every student should be a unique spark and works together to light up the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and achieve an ordinary and brilliant life!

　　Chen Yuhong, the Chairman of the board and the CEO of Chinasoft International, is the 1981 undergraduate, 1985 master graduate and 1987 Ph.D. graduate of School of Optics and Photonics. In early 2020, the COVID-19 broke out, Chen launched the “Shenbing Plan” and led Chinasoft International to help the construction of “Huoshenshan” hospital and “Leishenshan” hospital in Wuhan, Hubei Province with modern technology; In July 2020, on behalf of Chinasoft International, Chen donated 100 million yuan to BIT, focusing on talents training. Whether he treats his alma mater or the society, Chen always practices the spirit of BIT. He is conscientious, down-to-earth and hardworking, and put his heart and soul into giving back to BIT and serving our country.

“No excuse for failure”

　　“At that time, the distinctive characteristics of the major of Photoelectric Imaging Technology attracted me especially and made me earn a strong interest in learning”. In 1981, as a 17-year-old boy, Chen came to Beijing from Xi’an, his hometown, to further his study. He recalled his original intention to choose BIT, and his study and life since then have greatly benefited him. “When I was doing an IC electrical experiment, I burnt the board several times. I went to my supervisor to explain why I failed. The teacher told me that you should not give reasons for failure and the only result I saw was that your experiment was unsuccessful. Such a reply made me feel aggrieved. However, under the strict requirements of the supervisor, I finally discovered that one of my own pens was accidentally placed under the bottom plate, which caused the experiment to fail. As time went by, I understood the his profound intentions better, and in my future study and life, I would always be strict with myself and never give up”.

　　Prof. Qin Bingkun once recalled that Chen was smart and diligent in his studies and liked to think and research. “During the Ph.D. study, his research topic was the latest research direction abroad, and almost no one had done it in China. Generally speaking, students may be worried about choosing unfamiliar research topics, and prefer to conduct more in-depth research in their familiar fields. However, Chen likes to challenge and explore, and is not afraid of failure. In order to do research, he specially purchased the extended range board for experiment from Hong Kong, and immediately put into research after getting the equipment. He was very motivated, and finally achieved better results than foreign ones.” In Chen’s own words, he thinks himself that he has always been a “silly” person——once he has found his goal, he will stick to it.

　　Chen Yuhong’s tenacity in learning and scientific research left a deep impression on the students around him: he is a warm-hearted class leader, helping the students in difficulty and the teachers to deal with the class affairs.

　　Thanks to teaches’ guidance and his painstaking efforts, Chen successfully completed his bachelor, master and doctor studies. During his 9-year studying time in BIT, the red gene of “the root of Yan’an and the soul of military” and the down-to-earth and hardworking quality of BIT have left a deep imprint on him, accompanying him through various important turning points in his life.

Serving the country, climbing the Mount Everest together from the north slope

　　After graduating and working for a while, Chen made a decision that was not common to ordinary people at that time——starting a business! As a Ph.D., he chose to embark on an arduous entrepreneurial road with an uncertain future and full of thorns, which requires great determination, insight and courage.
In the 1990s, many key core technologies have not been mastered, which should be mastered so that the industry could be developed. With such a “simple” purpose and combined with his own professional knowledge, Chen founded Chinasoft International and started to serve the country with software industry.

“Once you set a goal, you will always stick to it”! Since 2000, Chinasoft International has developed from a small team of less than 25 people to a large-scale comprehensive software and information service enterprise with more than 60,000 employees in the world. It enjoys a high reputation in China’s IT industry with leading technology, rich experience and meticulous service. All of these are inseparable from his dedication and perseverance.

　　Chen believes that entrepreneurs should be self-motivated, and he often reminds himself that if an enterprise does not innovate or develop beyond its limits, it will be in a deadlock, which requires entrepreneurs to maintain keen insight and continue to strive for it. At the time when the development momentum of Chinasoft International is booming, Chen had a deep insight into the current situation of the industry. He saw the problems of homogenous competition, repeated development, and inadequate utilization of resources of traditional IT companies. He also keenly sensed market opportunities and decided to make full use of the tool of the Internet age to fully tap the engineers, technicians and other human resources hidden behind it to improve the matching efficiency. Therefore, in 2015, “JointForce”, a Chinasoft International Internet cloud platform, came into the world, which is a highly distinctive online crowdsourcing platform, and its appearance has attracted the attention and participation of many companies and individuals.

　　In July 2017, ChinaSoft International and Huawei formally signed a partnership agreement to be partnership, and the two have carried out all-round cooperation in software development cloud, cloud solutions and cloud services, etc., and shared the achievements of digital transformation. The cooperation is the process of “climbing the north slope of Mount Everest” through establishing a common goal and gradually establishing mutual trust. “ChinaSoft International and Huawei fit each other, and we have experienced many setbacks together based on our common faith. Cooperation is not only about making money, but also about future management. Some things that seem to suffer from losses may become “blessings” in the future”, Chen said. This kind of persistence and earnestness is often referred to as “honesty”, but it is this kind of “honesty” that finally brought ChinaSoft International and Huawei together.
The rapid development of the enterprise is closely related to Chen’s perseverance and foresight. He often says that once finding your direction, you should be persistent and absorbed, so that you will earn the success by your simple pursuit and no selfishness. The study style of “seeking truth from facts and not being opinionated” and inculcation of “being honest person and doing honest things” by teachers has tempered his outstanding character, and has become an inexhaustible driving force for him to overcome difficulties.

“It’s my honor to contribute to our country”

　　Chen always puts the country at the top of his mind, and says: “I have learnt ‘to love the home and country’ from BIT. When the country needs our assistant, we do take actions to prevent and control the COVID-19 with science and technology and contribute to our country, which makes me very proud. We work overtime, regardless of cost, and are duty-bound to complete the tasks assigned by the state with high quality”!
Chen led ChinaSoft International to actively respond to the country, and provided manpower and material support for the epidemic area, as well as professional digital technology during the outbreak of COVID-19 in the early 2020. In addition to donating 10 million yuan to Wuhan, the “JointForce” of Chinasoft International also launched the “Shenbing Plan” and quickly developed 5 epidemic prevention and control solutions, including the “Shenbing Clicks”, “Shenbing Announcement”, “Information Management System for Patient Admission and Treatment in Fangcang Hospital”, “Urban Health Code” and “Recording System for back to Work”.

　　The “Recording System for back to Work” helps the government to achieve precise and effective control over the flow of people between cities, reduce input risks and potential diffusion risks, and provide health information traceability channels for people returning to work. More than 540,000 people applied for the Chongqing Migrant Workers System, over 370,000 people passed the preliminary community review, and nearly 240,000 people passed the hospital review and went back to work. “Shenbing Clicks”, the APP for daily health clocking in, can realize the systematic and rapid collection of the health status of the personnel in the organization, improve the efficiency of information collection, and form a three-dimensional prevention and control system with full coverage, accurate investigation, and trajectory tracking. During the epidemic, the “JointForce” had more than 10,000 registered organizations and over 110,000 registered individuals, and issued over 1.95 million questionnaires, covering over 30 provinces and cities, including Beijing, Guangxi, Heilongjiang, and Jiangsu.
When planning the development blueprint of Chinasoft International, Chen also repositioned himself——not a businessman, but an entrepreneur. “Now, I feel like I’m doing business, because everything I do will have an impact on society and provide helps. We have taken part in many major events, such as Olympic Games food safety services, Olympic Games airport monitoring, on-site support of moon landing satellite photos and meteorological system for the 60th anniversary military parade, which makes me feel more and more that I am doing a business”.

　　“It takes ten years to grow trees, but a hundred years to rear people. BIT has given me too much, and I hope to give back to her and wish her a better and better development”! In Chen’s point of view, for overcoming the “bottleneck” problem of key technologies encountered in China’s software industry, it is not enough to introduce only equipment and knowledge, but depends on “talents”! In July 2020, on behalf of Chinasoft International, Chen donated 100 million yuan to BIT for talent training. In addition, he will work together with BIT to explore in-depth cooperation opportunities in the field of industry, education and research, and jointly cultivate open-source software talents by “Characterized National Demonstrative Software Academy” and “Xinchuang CIO Seminar”.

　　“The clear water of Yan River will nurture your vigorous growth; the long years of time will witness your strong will” (BIT’s school song). Combining career development with national needs is the belief and pursuit of many BITers. Like Chen Yuhong, many alumni of BIT express their sincere love for the country with down-to-earth efforts in seemingly ordinary but extraordinary posts. All of them are the fighters of the times and the pride of BIT!