The Fifth International Advisory Board Meeting successfully concluded

Prominent scholars and business leaders around the globe came to Hangzhou on Oct. 21 for the Fifth International Advisory Board (IAB) Annual Meeting of School of Management, Zhejiang University. All the participants had gathered to learn and exchange views on the theme of “Building a world leading management school rooted in China”.

The morning plenary session featured three keynote speeches and a roundtable discussion involving more than 400 faculty members, students and alumni.

In his welcome address, Prof. WEI Jiang, dean of School of Management expressed gratitude to all the board members for their continuous support and contribution to the School. “Through the meeting, we hope to reflect on the School’s research and education from a multinational and multicultural point of view and hear from our IAB members on how to enhance the School’s global profile,” said Dean WEI.

As a new member of the Board, Prof. YANG Wei, member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, former director of National Natural Science Foundation of China and former president of Zhejiang University, was invited to deliver a keynote speech. He pointed out that we should think highly of academia, talented individuals, innovation, culture and internationalization in response to the “Double First-class” Initiative. Prof. YANG elaborated on the goals of the Initiative and the opportunities it translates into for Chinese Universities.

Prof. G. Anandalingam, Ralph J. Tyser Prof. of Management Science at Robert H. Smith School of Business, former dean of Imperial College Business School, expounded on the theme of the meeting through the 4P theory (of price, product, promotion and place), which is commonly used in marketing. He asked the audience to re-think the context and position of a business school and put forth a series of thought-provoking questions to stimulate discussion. “It is often more beneficial to focus on a handful of meaningful core partnerships. You have to be careful about getting into ‘partnership without purpose’.” He added.

“Future business schools call for innovations that are based on the actual demands of the students instead of fixed patterns,” emphasized Prof. Chris Earley, dean of Business School, University of Technology Sydney and former dean of Krannert School of Management Purdue University. Prof. Earley put forward the idea of issuing new types of certificate that complement the traditional diplomas. He further pointed out that these “micro-certificates” not only benefit students academically, but also help to improve their interpersonal skills and negotiating capabilities that could be tremendously critical for their future occupations.

In the following round table discussion, panelists shared thoughts on how the School of Management can stand out in the global setting and how the School can strike a balance between research and teaching.

The entire meeting engaged stakeholders in a multitude of topics and produced many suggestions for the School’s next round of development.

Edited by: Ian Chew

Source: School of Management