Hui Jianfeng

Keep Energy Industry in Mind and See the Frontier of Electricity

In 1979, Hui Jianfeng was born in Yulin City, an important energy and chemical base in Shaanxi Province. Hui Jianfeng’s father, a teacher in economic management, is much concerned about the country’s development planning strategy. He believes that the power industry, as the lifeline of the national economy, has a bright future with the rapid national economic growth. Therefore, in 1998, when Hui Jianfeng was admitted to Tsinghua University with excellent grades, he chose to study in the Department of Electrical Engineering after a consultation with his father.

When he first came to Beijing and entered Tsinghua University, Hui Jianfeng was shocked. At the semester opening ceremony, the sincere teachings of academician Zhang Guangdou, President Wang Dazhong, Secretary He Meiying, and the beautiful scenery of Tsinghua University, such as the auditorium and the moonlight on the lotus pond, deeply impressed him. Although it was still in the 1990s, the computer room of the school at that time could already let students surf the Internet and browse various foreign websites. The CEOs of Microsoft, Intel and other international companies, as well as well-known domestic experts and scholars often came to the school to give lectures, which opened Hui Jianfeng’s vision. Studying in such a campus was a life experience that he is proud of.

During the four years of undergraduate study in the Department of Electrical Engineering, he was most impressed by the “High Voltage Technology” taught by Mr. Liang Xidong. Mr. Liang’s passion for teaching, rigorous thinking, vivid language, and broad knowledge shocked everyone. Through the lecture of the high-voltage course, Mr. Liang introduced the development of the entire power industry, gave the students a more comprehensive and systematic understanding of the curriculum system of the Department of Electrical Engineering and the frontier of the energy and power industry, and strengthened Hui Jianfeng’s ambition to join the power industry in the future.

Further Explore in Tsinghua University in South China and Study Basic Theories

After the undergraduate course, Hui Jianfeng went to the Institute of High Voltage to directly study for a doctoral degree under the tutelage of Professor Guan Zhicheng, Dean of the Department of Electrical Engineering. As the first doctoral student majored in high voltage in the New China, Mr. Guan’s macro research orientation and rigorous treatment on academics and work have become an example for students to follow. Mr. Guan is a gentleman whose meticulous care for the students has deeply affected Hui Jianfeng like the breeze and the rain in spring.

In 2000, the Shenzhen Municipal Government cooperated with Tsinghua University and established the Shenzhen Postgraduate School of Tsinghua University in order to develop local higher education in Shenzhen. In 2002, Mr. Guan Zhicheng was appointed by the university and went to Shenzhen to serve as the second President of the Shenzhen Postgraduate School of Tsinghua University. In 2004, having completed the first two years of direct doctoral course, Hui Jianfeng went to Shenzhen Postgraduate School to continue his study. As the first generation of doctoral students to go to Shenzhen Postgraduate School, Hui Jianfeng felt the big difference in the natural environment between the north and south campuses, and also faced various challenges that the campus had not yet been built and the experimental equipment needed to be rebuilt from scratch. Despite the difficulties, he still persevered with the encouragement of his teachers. While working hard to build a laboratory, he read a lot of difficult mathematical literature and studied the basic theories related to gas discharge. The energy and electrical engineering laboratory where he works has achieved 30% of outstanding graduation theses for consecutive years, much higher than the average level of 5%-10% of Tsinghua University. Years later, when he returned to Shenzhen International Postgraduate School again and saw the great changes on the campus of Tsinghua University in South China, he often recall his days of “pioneering”.

In addition to study and scientific research, he also actively undertakes certain social work and serves as the deputy secretary of the Youth League Committee of the Deep Research Institute, which improves his organizational, coordination and leadership skills. Recalling this experience of "carrying on both shoulders", he also suggested that students should rationally allocate their time and energy according to their hobbies and employment orientation, and achieve a balance between study and social work.

Work on the Position for Power Dispatching and Adhere to Actions over Words

After graduating from his doctorate, Hui Jianfeng chose to work in the power system. He took the initiative to return to Shaanxi to support the construction of his hometown, went to work in the power dispatching and control center of the State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Company, and made his own contribution to the power industry in his hometown. As the command center of the power system, the provincial dispatching work involves high technical content and strict requirements for programmed and standardized execution. In his work, Tsinghua University’s spirit of “actions speak louder than words” and the motto of “Self-Discipline and Social Commitment” always inspired Hui Jianfeng to set a higher standard for himself, and thus won the admiration and recognition of others.

From 2008 to 2015, Hui Jianfeng exercised himself in the operation department of the provincial dispatching system, and gradually grew from being a dedicated director to a deputy director and director, actively participated in development planning, equipment commissioning, feasibility study review and external relations, and formed a macro understanding of the operating characteristics of the power grid in his work. Later, Hui Jianfeng was transferred to be the director of the dispatching control department, and he organically combined the real-time dispatching operation control with the power grid knowledge accumulated in the previous period. The work experience from macro planning to real-time operation gave him a lot of inspiration and helped him form a unique perspective on the power system.

Talking about the attitude to work, he called on the students to keep self-confident and believe that they are the best when entering the workplace; at the same time, they should also remain humble, because the society needs not only a person’s academic ability, but also a person’s comprehensive ability. Therefore, we must constantly stimulate our potential, improve our abilities, and keep our feet on the ground while establishing lofty aspirations, and pay 120% of our efforts. Starting from the basic position and doing the best in the basic work, everyone will grow up well.

Root in Ground and Accept New Challenges

Talking about his expectations for work, Hui Jianfeng said that he likes changing work and life, and likes to accept new challenges. Because of his outstanding work achievement, he was promoted to general manager of State Grid Xi’an Lintong District Power Supply Company in 2016. Lintong Company belongs to the bottle-level power supply unit. In fact, this large-span transfer was not common in the national grid system. Although the bottom unit is small, it is complete with complicated affairs such as organization and personnel, material production, marketing and construction. It was the most challenging three years for Hui Jianfeng so far. He started from a piece of blank paper to gradually accumulate experience on the operation process of bottom-level power supply enterprises until got familiar with the coordination and management of various affairs. The academic training he received during his Ph.D. study enables him to form a rigorous thinking and rational attitude. Therefore, when encountering problems that he has never encountered in his bottom-level work, he can always keep calm, dare to question and challenge, efficiently collect key information and material, and strive to explore better solutions. Later, in 2019, he was appointed as the Secretary of the Party Committee of the State Grid Yulin Power Supply Company, and in 2020 he was transferred to the State Grid Tongchuan Power Supply Company as the general manager. The work experience in this power supply company has also laid the foundation for him to engage in various management work in the future. With the joint efforts of him and his colleagues, State Grid Tongchuan Power Supply Company has entered the State Grid’s “Top Ten City Companies” for three consecutive months, and has been selected as “Top 100 County Companies” 22 times and “Top 100 Stations” 29 times. The average power failure hours decreased by 57% year-on-year, and the management quality and efficiency is improved constantly.

Talking about the experience in management work, Hui Jianfeng said with a smile that “the highest evaluation on a doctor is that he’s not like a doctor”. In order to do well in various management affairs, it is necessary to exercise excellent comprehensive ability — cultivate the characteristics beyond the doctoral degree in addition to showing the scientific research expertise. Here, he encouraged the students to read more, read more history and humanities, celebrity biographies and other related books in addition to engineering studies, learn some knowledge of business management, complement with the exercise in work practice, and connect theory with practice. He also encourages students to not only learn to solve problems independently, but also cultivate their own sense of teamwork. Any problem at work is faced by the entire team, it is necessary to learn to “rely on but not totally rely on” the strength of the team to overcome more complex and difficult problems. For team members, it is better to teach them how to fish than to give them fish, so that all work can be done perfectly..

Put Himself at the Frontline of Power Supply and Send His Best Wishes to Students

At present, Hui Jianfeng is still in the front line of China’s energy and power industry, and contributes to China’s dual-carbon journey. When talking about the development of the Department of Electrical Engineering, he said that the power system under the “dual-carbon” goal is facing a profound revolution, and students should be prepared for this. From the old coal and water power generation to new distributed energy storage, from the old load-side control to the new demand-side management, the energy and power industry is changing rapidly. Therefore, he also hopes that the Department of Electrical Engineering can lay a solid foundation in the vertical direction and broaden the knowledge of the students horizontally in talent training, provide various lectures and curricula related to the national situation and policies so as to make students have a clearer understanding of the orientation and significance of the future work, enhance their sense of mission and responsibility, and lay a solid foundation for the realization of the dual carbon goal.

Hui Jianfeng’s resume

In 1998, he was admitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering of Tsinghua University. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2002 and studied under the guidance of Guan Zhicheng, a professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering and President of Shenzhen Postgraduate School. He graduated with a Ph.D. in 2007 and worked for State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Company. In 2016, he was appointed as the general manager of the State Grid Xi’an Lintong District Power Supply Company. In 2019, he was appointed as the secretary of the Party Committee of the State Grid Yulin Power Supply Company. In 2020, he was transferred to the State Grid Tongchuan Power Supply Company as the general manager.