4 May 2023 was the 125th Anniversary of Peking University and the 5th Anniversary of Peking University HSBC Business School – UK Campus (PHBS-UK). Nearly 200 participants, including scholars from top universities and institutions around the world, attended the Anniversary Forum on "New Challenges and New Requirements Facing Business Studies in Higher Education" held at PHBS-UK on Boars Hill Oxfordshire. The conference aimed to promote Sino-British exchanges and cooperation, cultivate international business talents, and explore how to improve business education to meet the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution.
In his welcome speech, Professor Wen Hai, Chair Professor of Economics, Vice-Chairman of Peking University Council, Former Vice-President of Peking University and the Founding Dean of HSBC Business School (PHBS), highlighted the 125-year history of Peking University (PKU) and its vision for internationalisation. A shining example of the internationalisation vision, is the founding of PHBS-UK. Professor Hai highlighted the achievements of PHBS-UK over the past 5 years and thanked the staff for all their support in making PKU and PHBS’ vision of internationalisation possible.
The forum’s opening speaker, Ms Rebecca Leung, is Director of Greater China Affairs and Group Public Affairs Director of HSBC. HSBC is a good friend of PKU and PHBS. The bank has always been supportive of PKU and PHBS, particularly the University’s vision of internationalisation. Ms Leung reflected this decades long support when she spoke about the history of cooperation between HSBC and Peking University and the importance of promoting Sino-British exchanges.
The keynote speaker of the Anniversary Forum is Mr Daniel Kahn, a senior consulting research expert from QS World University Rankings Education Consulting Research Institute. He presented a keynote report on the "Challenges of China's Development to International Business Education." In his speech, he used big data to demonstrate that Chinese students' demand for international business education is declining, which poses a challenge to both Chinese and Western business education. He called for the exploration of different approaches to improve business education.
After the keynote speech, the forum was open to discussants to express their thoughts and ideas on the topic. Scholars and guests at the forum discussed the challenges and opportunities facing business education from different perspectives. Professor Soumitra Dutta, Dean of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, emphasized the need for business education to adapt to the impact of artificial intelligence and big data science. Professor Neil Mclean, director of the Department of Language and Communication at the London School of Economics and Political Science, stressed the importance of understanding and mutual learning between different cultures in business education. Professor Alessandro Spano, director of the China Centre at University College London, emphasized the need for cross-cultural education in business education. Mr Yang Aimin, General Manager of China Construction Bank London Branch, emphasized the importance of cultivating compound business talents, and Professor Palie Smart, dean of the School of Management at the University of Bristol, emphasized the need for interdisciplinary education and cooperation.
Professor Wang Pengfei, deputy dean of Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School and dean of HSBC Business School, concluded the conference by highlighting the significance of discussing the challenges faced by business education at the dawn of the fourth industrial revolution. The discussion was chaired by Professor Guy Liu, Head of PHBS-UK.
The closing speech was by Professor Paolo Tasca, University College London and co-founder of the DLT Science Foundation. The highlight of the closing speech was the announcement of the foundation's grant support for PHBS-UK to carry out financial technology and blockchain research.
All in all, it was a very engaging and intellectual discussion on the challenges faced by business schools and how business schools can rise up to global demands and changing industrial needs. We thank all the learned scholars and guests who attended the forum to share with us their knowledge and expertise. We look forward to working together as one to ensure that we provide our future leaders and entrepreneurs with the best tools possible to lead the world and make our homes a better place.
