Dean's Message丨The Dream

The Dream  关于梦想

Dear students, scholars and staff,

Sorry for being late in this edition of Monthly Dean’s Message, as I have been travelling. I was in Thailand in March and just got back from Singapore, where we signed MOU with IORA (Institute of Operations Research & Analytics), National University of Singapore and held our debut ZIBS Singapore Forum on April 4, 2023. We also visited many of our partners from industry to academia. The following "Keep Dreaming" is based on my welcome remark at our ZIBS Singapore Forum. Let us keep dreaming, keep working!

Keep Dreaming

First of all, on behalf of ZIBS, I warmly welcome all of you to our signing ceremony with IORA, NUS and our inaugural ZIBS Singapore Forum. Today is an important day for ZIBS and for me personally.

My Dream in Yangtze River Delta, China

Dream

I grew up in a village in Taixing County, Jiangsu Province, in the relatively prosperous Yangtze River Delta region, which comprises Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui. When China announced the open door policy in 1978, I was 12 years old and was dreaming that one day I would be able to have plenty of rice as food, before going to school or going to bed. Today, hundreds of millions of Chinese have been lifted out of poverty, not just in the YRD but across the country. With a population of over 250 million people and "GDP" of nearly RMB 30 trillion, the Yangtze River Delta region, all connected within a 2-hour high-speed train network, is one of the largest and most economically dynamic regions in China and the world.

My Dream in America

Dream

In 1990, I went to study for my PhD in Purdue University, Indiana. With USD 225 that I borrowed from family and friends, I flew to Indianapolis with a stopover in San Francisco, the first time I had ever taken a flight, either domestic or international. On the way from San Francisco to Indianapolis, my fellow passengers, a couple from Indiana, were very friendly, and we started chatting with my rudimentary English. After learning that I came from China, they told me that they enjoyed their visit to Singapore, but had never been to China, and could not name a single Chinese city as China was "so far away" from America, not just geographically. I had the dream that Americans would pay more attention to China. Today, China is featured prominently in the media coverage, corporate board rooms, and political decisions in America and around the world. Sometime I wonder whether or not China is probably getting too much attention from Americans.

My Dream in Europe

Dream

In 2001, I spent 6 weeks attending the International Leadership Program at INSEAD’s Fontainebleau Campus, in France and Singapore before I started my posting in London. Either in France or in Britain, I noticed that very few of my fellow students and colleagues knew much about or showed much interest in China, or as a matter Asia in general, as the world was very much Western-centric. Then Eastern Asia was still called Far East, and Western Asia was (and is still today) known as Middle East. When would the West start recognizing (and respecting) China and Asia for their prominent or potential roles in the world? I was wondering and wishing the day. Today, Far East as a terminology is long gone and forgotten. Today, people talk about ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) – probably the fastest-growing region in the world. Today, people talk about RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), the largest free trade agreement in the world. Today, Asia is home to 4 of the top 10 economies in the world: China, Japan, India, and Republic of Korea. Australia and Indonesia are also in the top 20.

My Dream in London

Dream

In October 2014, just after I became a full-time professor at Zhejiang University, I was invited to speak in London Business School and the title of my speech was "My Dream: The Rise of Chinese Multinationals". At that time, quite a few Chinese companies, especially some state-owned enterprises, had been included in Fortune 500 companies or similar lists for their sheer size thanks to their dominant positions in their large home markets, but they were hardly competitive or known outside China. The best-known Chinese corporate brand then was probably Tsingtao Beer, which is generally available in Chinese restaurants outside China but hardly seen beyond Chinatown. I told the audience in LBS about my dream: the rise of Chinese multinationals, maybe one day Chinese corporations will become truly global champions. Today, the world knows a lot more about Chinese multinational companies: Alibaba, Ant Group, BYD, Geely, Huawei, Shein, TikTok, Tencent, and more are becoming globally competitive leaders in their respective fields.

My Dream in Singapore

Dream

Chinese universities have made a lot of progress in their internationalization efforts, but they are predominantly domestic and much less known or active outside China. In 2018, Zhejiang University embarked on a journey to set up a new business school in order to accelerate its internationalization. I was given the precious opportunity to lead the initiative and start from scratch what is now known as ZIBS: Zhejiang University International Business School. We have relentlessly followed our 5I philosophy: international, inclusive, innovative, interdisciplinary and integrative to build what we called a technology-focused premier global business school from China. Today, ZIBS has over 700 students, scholars, and staff from over 60 countries, making us one of the most international academic institutions from China.

Today in Singapore, I want to share with you my new dream: a dream that Chinese universities will be following the footsteps of their Chinese corporate counterparts to become global leaders in higher education and making more contributions to the world. Today is an important day for ZIBS as we further our journey to build a truly global institution. Signing the MOU with IORA and inaugurating our Singapore Centre are milestones for ZIBS, for Zhejiang University, and for Chinese universities as a whole.

Over the last decades, I have kept dreaming while travelling across the vast world and different stages of my life as a student, a banker, and an academic. Fortunately, all my dreams so far have come true. I am confident that my new dream will come true one day, and ZIBS will be pioneering that trend.

Keep Dreaming! Keep Working!

Warm regards,

Ben Shenglin

Editor｜LI Songjiao

Managing Editor｜CHENQI Lisha

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