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Studious and Aspiring | Dean Hai Wen's Remarks on 2020 New Year Party
2019-12-20 15:41:32
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Studious & Aspiring

 
Distinguished guests, students, faculty and alumni,
 
Good evening, everyone. Time stops for no one, and the seasons keep changing. In an instant, we have come to the end of the year. Today, we gather together to look back on 2019 and welcome the coming 2020.
 

First of all, on behalf of PHBS, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and sincere new year wishes to more than 170 hard-working faculty and staff members, more than 1,000 full-time students who studied and researched diligently, and more than 400 part-time degree students, to the alumni all over the world, working hard in different positions and to friends from all walks of life who have always been concerned about and have supported the development of our school.
 
As a school we have strived for a long time and now it is the time to begin a new stage. In 2019, we reviewed PHBS’ 15-year development history, celebrated our achievements, summarized the learned lessons and laid a solid foundation for future development. Looking back on the past year, we can say that we have continued to make progress in the journey of building a world-class business school.
 
This year, we further deepened international cooperation and built up our educational brand. Our UK campus is on track, with the number of applicants and the number of enrolled students increasing. The first group of UK Cross-Border students have come to Shenzhen and the 2nd group has already enrolled at the UK campus. At the same time, a total of 51 students from our Shenzhen campus went to the UK campus to study for a module to improve their international exposure and broaden their horizons. We have officially launched the dual degree program and cooperative training program with Cambridge Judge Business School, and the MOU, including the education cooperation program in Shenzhen Qianhai, between PKU and Cambridge University, pushed for by PHBS, was signed. This year we also improved our international reputation with the acquisition of AMBA accreditation. We know have EPAS, AACSB and AMBA accreditations, further improving our international ranking and standing.
 
This year, we improved our teaching and research capabilities and successfully hosted several top international academic conferences. In an environment that prioritizes instant results and is full of anxiety and impulsiveness, we have strove to get rid of distractions and be resilient to pressure. We have maintained our high standards for students’ academics, moral character and integrity. In our assurance of the quality of our graduates, we have followed the example of top international universities and instigated a minimum GPA for graduation, ensuring that graduates must work hard to get their degree. Toward academic dishonesty we have adopted a zero tolerance policy. In the past year we have had 5 students receive either academic warning notices, academic probation notices or be expelled for academic dishonesty. Our standards have upheld the standards of Peking University and seen support from staff, faculty and students.  
 
More importantly, we have encourage students to set high standards for themselves, work and study hard, care for others, and unite together in spirt and mind. Our students made concerted efforts and worked hard to achieve great results in various team competitions: EMBA students won the Excellent Award, Best Public Popularity Award, Third Place in A+ Teams of "Xuan Zang Road Gobi Challenge." EDP students successfully defended their title in the Gobi Expedition. MBA students won the Sand Gull Award for the fourth time. Finally, the MA students won first place in total scores in the Freshmen's Cup and the Fun Games of Shenzhen Graduate School and received great attention in "Recitation Art Competition in Memory of December 9th Movement". No matter which projects the students participate, we fight no battle unless victory is sure.
 
This year, we improved our teaching and research capabilities and successfully hosted several top international academic conferences. At this year’s faculty strategy meeting, improving research output was set as our top 5 year goal. This year, 13 new professors joined our team of faculty, and most of them have already established strong research reputations. As our tenure and promotion standards remain strict, we have made additional policies to encourage publications in top ranked journals. Our faculty have devoted themselves to researching and publishing fruitful scientific research. Many papers have been published in the world-class academic journals such as Journal of Development Economics and Journal of Finance. This year the PKU Financial Review was launched to build an open financial research platform. Various academic activities were successfully held including “The 4th PKU-NUS Annual International Conference on Quantitative Finance and Economics”, “2019 China International Conference in Macroeconomics”, “2019 Asia Tri-lateral Seminar”, and “The Second PHBS Workshop in Macroeconomics and Finance”. As well, faculty stretched themselves beyond their own research fields, and actively integrated into various academic seminars and brownbag sharing sessions to learn from each other and gain something new.
 
Students, Faculty, Friends,
 
2019 has been a very memorable year in Chinese history. In May, we remembered the 100th anniversary of the May 4th movement. In October we celebrated the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. During the past 100 years of striving and the 70 years of trials and hardships, the Chinese nation has made a great leap and achieved a tremendous transformation. Looking back over the past 100 years of revolution and development, China has continually come through hardship and created new successes, and PKUers have made great contributions to our nation and our people. Today, in the face of a changing world and as China enters a new era, there is an urgent demand for executives to be more professional, more innovative and more ethical, and our goal to build a world-class business school now has more practical significance and more urgency. As a PKUer in China’s premier university, we have a have social responsibility and obligation to the world, to stand taller, look farther, study harder, and think deeper, without being shaken by society’s impulsiveness or swayed by temporary gains. In the past, we have progressed because of our vision, and developed because of our strength. In the future, we need to be studious from our heart, and we must aspire to go far. Therefore, the key word of our party this year is "Studious & Aspiring".
 
"Studious" means "diligent in learning and quick in thinking". In order to be “studious” it is necessary to acquire knowledge that is “wide in caliber and thick in foundation”, this is a tradition passed on between PKU students. The purpose of “wide in caliber and thick in foundation” is to lay a strong academic and theoretical foundation in order to prepare you for the future by studying diligently, delving into knowledge, maintaining focus, and removing distractions. Only through today’s hardship and struggle can you achieve tomorrow’s success.
 
 
"Aspiring" is to set for yourself a higher goal, a goal that is not self-serving but one that benefits the development of society. This the quality of a PKU grad, the motivation behind the drive to be studious. Our hope is that from early on our students would be aspiring, that they would let go of their self-interest and think of their homeland, that no matter how many pressures they face, no matter what the people around them do, that they would continue to be authentic, that they would be respected by the world not just because they are a PKU grad, and that they would not use the PKU brand for their own gain or cause disgrace to the name “PKUer”.   
 
Students, professors and friends,
 
We should not only summarize our achievements and celebrate them, but also clearly see our own shortcomings. We must look seriously at these shortcomings and examine how to improve ourselves, this is the reason for our success and continued development over the past 15 years. In the coming 2020, we will focus on the following aspects:
 
2020 is the year we will continue to lead theoretical and practical research to enhance our academic influence at home and abroad.
We will constantly improve the requirements for academic research, attract and recruit elite professors and researchers, constantly encourage academic innovation, and vigorously improve the overall level of scientific research, setting for ourselves a goal to be the best Chinese research business school within the next five years.
 
We should use modern technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence to complete the construction of the "Chinese Enterprise Information database" as soon as possible, so as to build a platform and lay a foundation for strengthening the research on Chinese enterprises, promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, and leading the future business education.
We should further develop our research centers such as the “Macroeconomics and Finance Research Center” and the “Research Center for Maritime Silk Road” so that they will be become important centers for research and policy formulation.
 
2020 is the year we will raise the bar for academic instruction and responsibility, providing the next generation of dynamic business leaders to guide economic development and social progress for China and the world.
 
In terms of educating students, we will continue to adhere to high standards, strict requirements, wide caliber and thick foundation, emphasizing not only profound and broad theoretical foundation, but also practical and effective implementation ability. We must encourage students to hold to their ideals, maintain their vision and develop wisdom. We must pay close attention to developing their character, their academic training and their sense of responsibility. While we continue to strengthen our standards, at the same time we will open a “Student Placement Center” to support our students in their internship and job placement goals. We should not only train the next business executives for the purpose of economic prosperity, but should train the next societal leaders to lead the country's development and progress. As a school we will support student associations, student academic discussions, community service projects, and domestic and international volunteer activities.
 
2020 is the year we will further develop our internationalization efforts and showcase to the world the significance of an elite Chinese Business education.
 
On the foundation of the certifications of EPAS, AACSB and AMBA, we will continue to improve our international popularity and strive to attract more and better international students to study in PHBS. At the same time, we will pay more attention to the integration and development of international students and Chinese students, and create a more open, diversified and integrated campus culture.
 
We will vigorously promote the development of our UK campus, constantly improve its teaching and management service, and complete the construction and expansion of dormitory, catering, teaching and activity facilities.
 
At the beginning of next year, we will start the dual master program and joint training project with Cambridge University Judge Business School. We will soon start a joint degree program to train senior economic, managerial and financial executives in countries and regions along the "One Belt and One Road" area. We will continue our preparations to begin an undergraduate program for international students and students from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.
 
Professors, students and friends,
 
Looking back on the past, we have gone through another year's flurry of activity. We still need to persevere and pursue excellence in order to forge ahead in the future. As the New Year approaches, let's embrace it with the fullest enthusiasm, and work hard and zealously strive for brilliance!
 
Lastly, we wish everyone health, success and happiness in 2020. Happy New Year! Thank you!