Months after the COVID-19 pandemic forced Duke Kunshan University to close its campus and move classes online, the school welcomed its third cohort of undergraduate students on Wednesday.

More than 230 members of the Class of 2024 attended the undergraduate opening convocation at a theater in Kunshan city, Jiangsu province. Also present were vice mayor of Kunshan Hui Li, university leaders, faculty members, and 160 visiting students from Duke and other institutions of higher education in the United States.

Duke Kunshan is a joint venture between Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and Wuhan University.

About 80 freshmen overseas, mainly foreign students, who were unable to return to China for the start of the fall semester because of international travel restrictions joined the convocation via livestream.

"The pandemic has made us aware of the fact that no man is an island," said Feng Youmei, chancellor of Duke Kunshan, in her opening remarks, in which she urged students to strive to achieve a global vision.

"Will the future world be more beautiful, prosperous and peaceful, or will it become more polluted, divided and chaotic? The answer lies in your choices and actions," she added.

Making his first public address as Duke Kunshan's new executive vice chancellor, Al Bloom spoke on interconnectivity, inclusiveness and the importance of listening carefully to those whose knowledge, views and values differ from one's own.

"That recognition of difference and of commonality will equip you to become architects and engineers of shared understanding and shared purpose across the divides of our world," he said.