On December 6th, the School of Economics and Management, Tongji University (hereinafter referred to as “SEM”) successfully held the 16th International Advisory Committee Meeting. Chinese and foreign members were briefed with the achievements of the school over the past 40 years since its establishment, and provided inputs and recommendations for the future development for SEM on the theme of “How to Promote Innovative Development in Economic and Management Disciplines through ‘Integration in Three Dimensions'”. Prof. FANG Shou’en, Chairman of the University Council, Tongji University, Prof. LYU Peiming, Executive Vice President of Tongji University, and Prof. LEI Xinghui, Former Vice President of Tongji University, attended the meeting. Prof. HUO Jiazhen, Director of the International Advisory Committee and Former Dean of SEM, presided over the meeting. Prof. SHI Qian, Chairman of the School Council and members of the management team of SEM attended the meeting. Prof. XIE En, Dean of SEM, introduced the key works of SEM achieved in 2024.

 

Prof. WU Qidi, Former Vice Minister of Education and Former President of Tongji University, Prof. YU Lijuan, Vice President of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Shanghai Committee, Prof. ZHOU Zhen, Former Executive President of Tongji University and Former Dean of SEM, Prof. LI Yuan, Former Dean of SEM, Mr. LIU Xinyi, President of Shanghai International Group, Mr. XIE Wei, President of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Mr. SUN Jian, General Manager of Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Co., Ltd., Mr. LIN Bin, Executive Vice President of Siemens Ltd., China and General Manager of Smart Infrastructure, Siemens Greater China, Mr. SHEN Xuejun, Vice President of JD Industries and General Manager of International Business, Mrs. LEE Hiu Hung, Global Chief Human Resource Officer of AESC Group Ltd, Prof. Frank BOURNOIS, Vice President and Dean of China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Prof. Amir REZA, Dean, Babson Academy & Global Education of Babson College, US, Prof. Clas NEUMANN, SAP Senior Vice President, Head of Global SAP Labs Network, Prof. Kenneth MCPHAIL, Dean, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK, attended the meeting. Mr. Jean-Pierre RAFFARIN, Former Prime Minister of France, and Prof. Jens WÜSTEMANN, President, Mannheim Business School, Germany, sent video speeches on the theme of panel discussion.

 

Prof. FANG Shou’en stated in the welcome speech that General Secretary Xi Jinping made comprehensive arrangements for further deepening reforms in his important speech at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. In his important speech at the National Education Conference, he put forward the requirements of promoting education development, scientific and technological innovation, talent cultivation, and accelerating the construction of an education powerhouse. Universities should focus on serving major national strategies and regional needs, actively promote the transformation and upgrading of disciplines empowered by artificial intelligence, break down disciplinary barriers, and promote interdisciplinary integration. We should continue to explore innovative practices in various fields such as disciplinary innovation, talent cultivation, scientific research, social services, international cooperation, and digital campuses, and effectively enhance the service capabilities and levels of higher education.

 

Prof. LYU Peiming stated in his speech that in the process of empowering the development of disciplines with artificial intelligence, three aspects need to be handled well. The first is the overall transformation of management disciplines, how to accurately understand and grasp the connotation and presentation of disciplines, talent cultivation models, and scientific research paradigms; Secondly, how to achieve collaborative development among various disciplines within the school; Thirdly, how can the school deeply collaborate with preponderant disciplines of Tongji University, further expand the fields of cross integration, in order to shape new strengths for the school’s development.

 

Prof. SHI Qian stated that over the 40 years since its establishment, SEM’s achievement has been realized through the unremitting efforts of several generations, from laying the foundation and improving the level, to entering the mainstream and creating its own characteristics. In the future, SEM will continue to follow the path of multidimensional integration and development through the integration of disciplines and the integration of industry and education, strengthen its international layout, and cultivate new driving forces for high-quality development.

 

Prof. XIE En introduced the school’s achievements in 2024, including talent cultivation, faculty team development, academic research, international cooperation, social influence, school-enterprise cooperation and co-construction. In response to the challenges faced by the school’s development, he proposed to expand and deepen teaching reform through “integration”, optimize the structure of professional degree enrollment and project settings, innovate the mode of faculty team construction to promote interdisciplinary integration, promote resource integration through overseas pivot construction, strengthen the support capacity for discipline development, and better serve national and regional innovation and development.

 

Panel Discussion

 

In May 2024, Tongji university launched “Artificial-Intelligence-Enhanced Initiative Plan  (2024-2027) on Discipline Innovative Development”. During the panel discussion, the committee members expressed their opinions on how to implement the above action plan and create new impetus to the development of traditional disciplines through the “three dimensions” of digital- intelligentization, greenization, and integration, how to comprehensively promote “artificial intelligence+” in talent cultivation, discipline development, scientific research, platform establishment, and other aspects, and how to cultivate top-notch innovative talents.

 

Mr. Jean-Pierre RAFFARIN stated in the video that global management education is becoming increasingly technological and segmented, requiring universities to break down disciplinary boundaries, integrate different knowledge fields, and attach importance to green and ecological themes, in order to respond to future challenges with diverse thinking and a global perspective.

 

Prof. Jens WÜSTEMANN expressed his best wishes to SEM in his video speech, hoping that SEM could continue its successful path, stick with the rigorness for academics and stay with relevance of topic chosen, keep the openness to learn from the outside and at the same time to apply their knowledge in industry.

 

Prof. YU Lijuan stated that the development of leading and key industries in Shanghai has a high demand for talents in areas such as digital transformation and green economy. The school can take substantive measures accordingly by promoting the integration of industry and education, optimizing the curriculum adjustment mechanism, and cultivating relevant scarce talents as soon as possible, in order to contribute to the construction of Shanghai’s “five centers” and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.

 

Prof. WU Qidi stated that in terms of integrating industry and education and enhancing the social influence of the school, we can fully leverage the roles and connections of outstanding alumni from various industries, deeply integrate into industry practice and strengthen the cultivation of talents.

 

Prof. ZHOU Zhen stated that on the one hand, artificial intelligence should empower the development of management, keeping the discipline of management up to date with changes in the times. On the other hand, management should also be used to promote the healthy development of artificial intelligence, ensuring that technology develops towards goodness. The dual drive of management and technology should be used to cultivate top-notch talents with innovative literacy.

 

Prof. LI Yuan expressed affirmation on the achievements of SEM made in disciplinary projects and talent development, and emphasized the needs to use innovative spirit to implement the empowerment of artificial intelligence in discipline development. He especially emphasized the combination with application scenarios, allowing the students to learn and experience in practice.

 

Mr. LIU Xinyi congratulated the school on its achievements over the past 40 years. He suggested improving the innovativeness and practicality of course design, and aligning it more closely with the needs of enterprises. He encouraged students to strengthen practical case studies in their thesis topic selection to enhance the pertinence and effectiveness of research.

 

Mr. XIE Wei said that the application scenarios of artificial intelligence in various industries are complex and pose enormous challenges. Innovation in university courses must align with this major development trend, enhance students’ interdisciplinary and multi-skill cultivation, and attach importance to “green” areas such as sustainability and climate change in education.

 

Mr. SUN Jian stated that in the era of artificial intelligence, students should be trained with a forward-looking vision of digitization, to provide them with the ability to master artificial intelligence. Regardless of the major, students should be equipped with AI capabilities, which will become a unique competitive advantage for SEM.

 

Prof. Amir REZA stated that artificial intelligence is disrupting traditional educational methods, and universities should pay attention to teachers’ ability to master AI technology, train teachers on how to use AI to better enhance teaching and research, and assist students in coping with the future.

 

Prof. Frank BOURNOIS also emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence for the entire teaching and administrative system. Teachers are crucial for addressing the challenges of the era of artificial intelligence. It is important to pay close attention to the connections between teachers, enterprises, and industries to provide students with more opportunities for practical experience in the industry.

 

Mr. LIN Bin stated that each industry faces different challenges in digitalization, and the methods, approaches, and paths adopted are also different. In reality, there is a lack of focus on empowering artificial intelligence at the enterprise level, and universities should pay attention on how to implement digital- intelligentization based on specific industry cases and scenarios.

 

Mr. SHEN Xuejun stated that given the revolutionary impact of artificial intelligence, it is recommended to allocate more course practice to the analysis and practice of complex cases, and use artificial intelligence to assist in personalized teaching for students, giving full play to each person’s characteristics and enabling them to integrate into society faster and have lifelong learning abilities.

 

Prof. Clas NEUMANN proposed that as Chinese companies expand their international presence and scale up, there is a need for more management talents who are familiar with cross-cultural operations. SEM can work with the industry via its German-Sino Center, to strengthen practical training and cultivate more talents needed for local development.

 

Mrs. LEE Hiu Hung also agreed that it is a great opportunity that Chinese companies go global, which create a great demand for overseas talents. She suggested that schools take the initiative to deeply understand the talents needs of enterprises and build a dual channel for domestic and international employment for students.

 

Prof. Kenneth MCPHAIL emphasized in his speech the importance of cultivating students’ entrepreneurial spirit. He suggested promoting educational innovation and reform, strengthening cross integration and interaction with enterprises, creating a good environment, and enabling students to have better practices in the industry.

 

In addition, Chinese and foreign committee members from industry also mentioned the urgent demand for ESG talents within industry, and hoped to strengthen cooperation and talent sharing with universities.

 

The management team of SEM, chairs of departments, teacher representatives, heads of administrative departments, student representatives, etc. attended the meeting. Pierre EXPERT, a double degree master’s student from Grenoble School of Management in France, expressed his opinion that close connections with the industry are particularly important for students, as they can understand the operational models and working methods of enterprises, and better apply the knowledge they have learned to business practice.

 

Established in 2008, the International Advisory Committee Meeting of the School of Economics and Management of Tongji University is an important part of the school’s governance structure. It is composed of domestic and foreign experts with rich experience in education and management practice and important influence in the field of economics and management. So far, 16 meetings have been held. The Advisory Committee provides advice and guidance on major issues related to the long-term development of SEM’s strategic development, personnel training, academic research, etc., and promotes exchanges and cooperation between SEM and domestic and foreign government agencies, well-known enterprises and top business schools.