On November 27th, 2020, the 12th International Advisory Committee Meeting was held successfully at the School of Economics and Management (hereinafter referred to as SEM). Prof. FANG Shouen, Chairman of University Council of Tongji University attended the meeting and delivered a welcome speech. Prof. LI Yuan, Dean of SEM, briefed the past development and future plan of SEM, and gave close attention to the advice made by advisory members on SEM’s international development. The meeting was hosted by Prof. HUO Jiazhen, the former dean of SEM and Director of International Advisory Committee.
Committee members present at the meeting hall included: Prof. WU Qidi, Former President of Tongji University; Former Vice Minister of Education; Former Member of Committee of Education, Science, Culture, Health and Sports, National People’s Congress, China; Former Chairman of National Supervisory Committee for MBA Education; Prof. GUO Chongqing, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering; Prof. YU Lijuan, Deputy Secretary-General of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government; Prof. ZHOU Zhen, Former Executive President of Tongji University; Former Dean of SEM, Tongji University; Mr. LIU Xinyi, President of Shanghai International Group; Prof. Clas NEUMANN, SAP Senior Vice President, Head of Global SAP Labs Network; China Mr. SHEN Xuejun, General Manager of Distribution Systems, Smart Infrastructure of Siemens Ltd., China; Mr. XIE Wei, Vice President of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank; Mr. CHEN Xiaodong, Secretary of BOD, SAIC Motor Co., Ltd. Committee members present online included: Mr. Jean-Pierre RAFFARIN, French Government’s Special Representative to China, Former Prime Minister of France; Mr. SUN Jian, General Manager of Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Co., Ltd; Prof. Amir REZA, Senior Vice Provost of Babson College, US; Prof. Fiona DEVINE, Dean of Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK.
In his welcome speech, Prof. FANG Shouen expressed his gratitude towards the guidance and support from the Committee members on the development of Tongji University and SEM. He said that China is currently under a new development pattern, which puts forward new requirements for talent cultivation in universities. While maintaining prevention of the epidemic, the school will continue to promote the high-quality development of teaching and scientific research, deepen internationalization, and cultivate more talents with global vision and innovative spirit for the country and society in the new era. Prof. FANG then awarded certificates to the new members of the committee.
At the meeting, Prof. YU Lijuan, Deputy Secretary-General of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government; Mr. CHEN Xiaodong, Secretary of BOD, SAIC Motor Co., Ltd; and Mr. SUN Jian, General Manager of Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Co., Ltd became the new member of the International Advisory Committee.
As a representative of distinguished alumni of SEM, Mr. SUN Jian provided fully support to the meeting and he said he was very grateful for being trusted and would actively support the future development of SEM.
Prof. LI briefed the development of SEM in 2020 and achievements made during the China’s 13th five-year plan period. He said that this year, the school has made many achievements on high-quality, innovative and coordinated development, based on the recommendations from International Advisory Committee last year. During the China’s 13th five-year plan, the school has mainly focused on moral education, discipline construction, faculty construction and internationalization. In the 14th five-year plan ahead, SEM will focus on the strategic needs of national economic development and lay emphasis on discipline construction, college reputation, international coordination and other aspects to further improve the development quality.
During the panel discussion session, members offered their thoughts on International Development in Post-Epidemic Era. Mr. Jean-pierre RAFFARIN shared his views with the committee via a video. He believed that countries should strengthen cooperation and work together to tackle the challenge of COVID-19 outbreak. At the same time, universities should strengthen high-quality international exchanges and cooperation with the help of digital technology or other innovative means, and establish programs that are more suitable for students to study abroad and acquire knowledge in the long term.
Prof. GUO Chongqing pointed out that schools and colleges need to think ahead of the times, plan the transformation and upgrading of disciplines in advance in face of the future challenges of data, computing power and algorithm, and attach importance to strengthening the cooperation and collaboration across disciplines, industries and countries during the 14th five-year Plan.
Prof. YU Lijuan stated that a new wave of information technology revolution will bring fundamental change for human development. When we think about scientific research and talents cultivation, we should think about it in the context of new economic development led by information technology. We should closely follow the important national and municipal strategic layouts and directions, focus on urban construction and social governance, make full use of big data and think tanks, strengthen the integration of industry and education, in order to realize the recognition of the school’s reputation in economic and social development.
Prof. ZHOU Zhen commended the achievements of SEM, and he agreed that high-level applied discipline that are cross-disciplinary, cross-industrial and cross-borders should be built to solve practical problems in business management, social governance and national development.
Mr. LIU Xinyi said that the combination of research and application should be considered in the context of international development. It should not only keep pace with international development, but also solve China’s practical problems and even create China’s own advantages.
From the perspective of talent demand of multinational enterprises, Prof. Clas NEUMANN proposed that Chinese students should further improve their communication skills, analytical thinking, critical thinking and leadership. In addition, he suggested that we could learn from the German industrial models, strengthen university-enterprise cooperation, and jointly cultivate master and doctoral talents.
Mr. SHEN Xuejun said that the new economic development situation has redefined the standard of talent cultivation. In the future, enterprises need inter-disciplinary talents with structural thinking, digital ability and international vision. He hoped that the college could accelerate the construction of the knowledge and skills cultivation system for inter-disciplinary talents.
Mr. XIE Wei believed that under the current strategic context of vigorously promoting the integrated development in the Yangtze River Delta region, SEM should base itself on Shanghai, go deep into the Yangtze River Delta and spread across the country. He hoped that SEM strives to improve its scientific research capacity and social service level to achieve in-depth development.
Mr. CHEN Xiaodong pointed out that the cultivation of management talents should pay attention to the combination of theory and practice, and specific measures such as strengthening university-enterprise cooperation and double-tutor system can fully strengthen Tongji students’ adaptability.
International advisory committee members who were unable to attend the meeting also expressed their advice online. Prof. Amir REZA put forward that high-quality employment of talents is an important criterion for examining business schools. In terms of how to build the future ecology of international education, he put forward relevant opinions and suggestions from the aspects of administrative staff allocation, construction of international faculty, curriculum setting and so on.
Prof. Fiona DEVINE stresses that faculty has always been a key factor in a business school’s position to compete internationally. From her point of view, SEM could recruit high-quality scholars around the world to achieve a virtuous circle of teaching and talent cultivation. Meanwhile, SEM could also attract talents by setting up funds, academic visits, academic exchanges and other means.
Professors from Tongji University that present at the meeting also included: Prof. KONG Deyi, Director of Office of University Council, Tongji University; Prof. SHI Qian, Chairman of School Council; Prof. RUAN Qingsong, Deputy Dean; Prof. DONG Bianlin Deputy Dean; Prof. CHENG Mingwang, Deputy Dean; Prof. XIE En, Deputy Dean; Prof. CHEN Song, Department of Innovation and Strategy; Prof. ZHANG Xiaoning, Department of Management Science and Engineering, and Prof. Jérôme BON, Department of Marketing.