Peking University HSBC Business School Holds the 2019 Commencement

2019-06-03 10:42:00

June is a particularly stressful time for graduating students, and for those seeking master’s degrees the thesis defense is the final challenge. Yet the auditorium at Peking University HSBC Business School (PHBS) was filled with excited students who met that challenge and were awaiting the 2019 commencement ceremony on June 1.

Graduates at 2019 commencement ceremony

About 600 graduates, including 306 master students (30 international students), 123 MBA students and 107 EMBA students, 40 part-time students of MBA program, celebrated together with their friends and families.

Special guests and professors enter the PHBS auditorium

Special guests this year were Thomas J. Sargent, 2011 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics, professor of economics at New York University; Ming Gao, chief commander of the China Manned Space Program.

Students sing “Love for PKU”, the first song they learned here and the last song they sing before leaving.

MA graduates give remarks

2019 MA graduates Li Liu, XIngyu Lan, Yuqing Huang and Siming Wang delivered remarks on behalf of the graduates reflecting on their three years of study and campus life at PHBS. They described programs as full of “diversity, rigorousness, cooperation and challenges.” They said that even though they would face many challenges in their future careers, they would never forget their professors, bear in mind responsibility for the development of their motherland and society, as well as the global community.

MBA graduate David William Hall shares three lessons learned at PHBS

David William Hall, who has joined Walmart China as a manager and is former Goldman Sachs associate, presented on behalf of his MBA classmates. David shared his three most important lessons learned at PHBS. First, he encouraged students to have faith in themselves and believe that they can do difficult things.Second, he said that staying positive through thick and thin can help us to go the extra mile and win us many friends. Finally, David emphasized that helping fellow human beings and embracing their imperfections will never be forgotten by those in need. Therefore, we shouldn’t hesitate to offer a helping hand.

Professor Young Joon Park speaks on the importance of being a cooperative player

This year, the speech on behalf of the faculty was delivered by Professor Young Joon Park, who drew an analogy between the famous prisoner’s dilemma and real-life challenges. The prisoner's dilemma is a standard example of a game analyzed in game theory that shows why two completely rational individuals might not cooperate. He hold that all of us experience situations where we can either maximize our own profit or take an extra step and embrace a more cooperative strategy. Although the first strategy is often perceived as a rational choice, cooperation can take us further as a society. He hopes that as future leaders, graduates "can also think about how you can be a good cooperative player that can lead to building better society. "

Alumnus Zhengyu Tang gives a speech about career development

Zhengyu Tang, chairman of the largest private energy company in Pearl River Delta, spoke on behalf of the alumni his career path starting out as “an ordinary employee” to working his way to top management. Tang said that he believes that much of his success is owed to the three principles dreaming big, continuing to develop his talents, and being modest at all times. He also cited that his advancement was greatly boosted by the EMBA at PHBS in 2012.

Chief Commander of the China Manned Space Program Ming Gao delivers remarks

Ming Gao, chief commander of the China Manned Space Program, spoke about her more than-two decades China space industry. Gao elaborated on the importance of hard work, perseverance and love for the nation. She said that graduate students should adopt a pragmatic approach and aspire to achieve a great goal in their lives. She further remarked that no matter their courses of study here, all the PKU students should share the same spirit of progress.

Dean Hai delivers a speech

Wrapping up final remarks was PHBS Dean Wen Hai, who highlighted the importance of being flexible in every environment, especially during turbulent times as in recent years. Students should adhere to their ideals and beliefs and find the determination to pursue them. He further talked about his experience with overcoming temporary setbacks by focusing on long-term goals and urged students to always find the moral strength to do the right thing, regardless of the circumstances.

Dean Hai gives students a copy of his calligraphy work as a graduation gift

Dean Hai's graduation gift for students

Dean Hai presented students a copy of his original calligraphy work as a graduation gift, on which he wrote, “Be the doers of the word like water and hold onto the bottom line.” It was accompanied by the image of magnificent rolling mountains painted by him. He said to students that “with vision and grit, you will achieve success!”

Outstanding Graduates of 2019

At the end of this commencement, Professor Gang Fan honored ‘Outstanding Graduates of 2019’, and Dean Hai officiated at the commencement ceremony.

Dean Hai officiates at the commencement ceremony

Graduates don caps and gowns to celebrate their achievements

Picture Gallery and Comments from Graduates

Jana Hejdova (finance)

Jana :

“I feel happy, excited and I am looking forward to the next challenges. I would like to thank all the professors and students. You all have made my stay at PHBS so memorable!

Jiarong Lin (finance)

Jiarong:

“After all the hard work and difficult thesis defense, I feel excited that I have achieved this goal.

Xianyong Pang (Hill, EMBA)

Xiaoyong:

“I feel very excited and thankful to our school, professors and classmates. It was a great pleasure to get to know them.

Cheng Shi (management)

Cheng:

“After all the pressure from the defense, I feel excited. I have finally achieved my goal after studying for 6 years. I also feel a little bit nervous about the future.