Chapter 272 - 207: Ceremony and Interview

Chapter 272: Chapter 207: Ceremony and Interview

His response expressed his willingness to teach while also handing the final decision to the university—a perfect way to sidestep any potential controversy.

Hearing this, Principal Chang Kai, who was seated at the head table, immediately took the floor.

"Regarding Professor Chen Lin’s work arrangements, the university will first and foremost consider his personal circumstances."

"We will do our utmost to provide Professor Chen Lin with a flexible work environment, allowing him to focus on his research."

Chang Kai’s words were also very tactful.

They conveyed the university’s high regard and special consideration for Chen Lin without committing to anything concrete, leaving room for future adjustments.

The reporters in the audience all nodded.

It appeared the issue was now settled.

Chang Kai glanced at the time—it was already ten-thirty.

He picked up the microphone and said with a smile,

"Alright, due to time constraints, that concludes today’s interview session."

"Thank you to all our friends in the media for coming!"

"And once again, congratulations to Professor Chen Lin on officially joining the Yannan University Department of Mathematics!"

The moment he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

Chen Lin stood up, bowed to the audience once more, and then left the classroom, escorted by Principal Chang Kai and the others.

...

After stepping out of the academic building, Chen Lin let out a long sigh of relief.

’It’s finally over.’

To be honest, he much preferred sitting in his office doing research to standing on a stage fielding questions from reporters.

But Chen Lin also understood that some things were simply necessary.

Especially in his current position.

Since he had accepted the university’s investment and enjoyed the various benefits it provided, he had to cooperate when the university needed him to make a public appearance.

It was both a responsibility and an obligation.

With that thought, Chen Lin pulled out his phone and glanced at the time.

10:40.

’It’s not even noon. I can still get some work done if I head back to the company.’

Chen Lin started walking toward the university’s innovation hub.

However, deep down, he was still thinking about the question a reporter had asked earlier—

the one about teaching.

The answer Chen Lin had given was very diplomatic, but it didn’t fully represent his true feelings on the matter.

In reality, if he had the opportunity, Chen Lin was quite willing to teach.

Especially undergraduates.

Both Academician Liang Tianshi and Professor Qiu Chengtong had spoken with him about this before.

They had both mentioned a troubling phenomenon in the country’s universities—

many top-tier researchers were unwilling to teach undergraduate courses.

They felt that undergraduates weren’t advanced enough, and that teaching them was a waste of time. They’d rather supervise a few more graduate students and publish more papers.

But abroad, the situation was completely different.

Mathematical giants of Terence Tao’s or Schultz’s caliber taught at least one formal undergraduate course every semester.

They believed that training undergraduates, especially those with high potential, was an extremely important task.

After all, these undergraduates were the future lifeblood of academia.

Both Academician Liang and Professor Qiu hoped that Chen Lin would break this pattern and take the initiative to teach an undergraduate course.

Chen Lin actually agreed with their suggestion.

The problem was...

his current situation wasn’t quite the same as that of a traditional mathematics professor.

When those professors taught, they systematically imparted to their students the knowledge and experience they had accumulated over many years.

But Chen Lin?

His mathematical ability came entirely from his "Little Mathematician" title.

The effect of this title was: "to always find the correct solution to any mathematical problem."

Much of the time, he couldn’t even explain to himself how he had arrived at a certain step or why he had used a particular method.

Therefore, if he were to teach a class, Chen Lin would have to think long and hard about what format it should take.

But there was no rush to solve this problem.

It was already the twelfth week of the fall semester.

Even if he were to teach, it wouldn’t be until the spring semester.

That gave him several months to slowly figure things out.