Amid the Tide of Algorithms, Be Your Own Navigation Chip

Speech by Alumni Representative Niu Weidong at the Graduation Ceremony and Degree Conferral Ceremony of Jilin University's College of Automotive Engineering for the Class of 2025

Respected leaders, teachers, and dear fellow students,

Good afternoon everyone!

It is a great honor to stand here at this solemn and momentous Jilin University graduation ceremony as a representative of former graduates, and share thoughts with all of you who are about to embark on a new journey in life.

When I received the invitation to share insights at this graduation event, I pondered long and hard about what topic to focus on. Then, during a discussion with colleagues about future technical route choices, inspiration suddenly struck.

I graduated from the College of Automotive Engineering at Jilin University in 2002 and began my exploration in the automotive industry. Having devoted over two decades to this field, I have been a deeply involved participant in the transformation of China's automotive industry—from "manufacturing" to "smart manufacturing". As autonomous driving still explores its path amid uncertainties, and intense debates surround technical routes for power batteries, we stand in an era where "certainty" is being redefined.

Against the backdrop of the VUCA era (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity), "how to find certainty in an uncertain world" has become a topic we discuss most frequently lately. As someone who has weathered numerous industry storms over the years, my most precious realization is this: the essence of the "smart manufacturing" revolution is not replacing humans with computing power, but teaching us how to safeguard our core algorithm amid chaos—the source code we call "ourselves".

From rigid assembly lines to flexible skateboard chassis, the industry has taught us that all hardware can be restructured and all software can be iterated. However, only the "chassis-like" inner framework—your bottom line for safety, wisdom to maintain balance, and shoulders to bear responsibility—serves as the irreplaceable foundation for survival.

Whether it is hydrogen energy or lithium batteries, mechanical four-wheel drive or electronic torque distribution, top engineers always focus on solving the most fundamental question: how to enable vehicles to reach their destinations more safely. Dear students, this is our certainty: in times of change, be a solver of problems, not a chaser of trends.

Modern smart vehicles can process 100 gigabytes of data per second—they understand road conditions better than we do, yet they can never replace certain things: the excitement you feel when touching the temperature of a prototype vehicle with your hands, the alertness when detecting abnormal noises on test benches. Such engineering intuition, translated through human perception, can never be replicated by AI.

The lesson I’ve learned from 20 years in the industry is this: the most powerful sensing system lies in maintaining respect for reality; the most accurate decision-making algorithm lies in being loyal to your inner value hierarchy.

The vitality of smart vehicles lies in this: they can connect to charging networks without relying on a single charging pile; they can access cloud computing power while retaining a local decision-making core. This is precisely the survival rule of the digital age: integrate into the ecosystem without dissolving into it; share data without compromising your core values.

From a dedicated engineer to my current role as Vice President of Zhuojun Holdings, I have seen too many people lose sight of their original aspirations amid competition. Please remember: true success is not surpassing others, but remaining loyal to yourself.

Throughout my career, I have always aspired to build the smart cockpit of my dreams—and it was this aspiration that led me to join Zhuojun. Upholding the corporate mission of "providing customers with a safer, more comfortable, smarter, and more environmentally friendly automotive world", we have built an ecosystem centered on automotive seats and serving the entire-vehicle smart cockpit platform.

At Zhuojun Holdings, we have launched multiple cooperation projects with our alma mater: we established the "Jilin Provincial University-Enterprise Joint Technology Innovation Laboratory for Automotive Smart Cockpits" and organized the "Zhuojun Cup" Smart Cockpit Design Competition. We do all this in the hope of helping you uphold your unchanging original aspirations.

Dear classmates, graduation is not a moment when answers are revealed, but a starting point to set off with questions. When the outside world is noisy, root yourself deeply and grow toward the light.

May you:Forge resilience amid storms,Discover stars in the ordinary,And embrace the countless uncertainties of the future with your unwavering original aspiration.Thank you all!