On Nov 1st, 15 international alumni and students from the BI-Fudan MBA programme gathered at a dinner in Jing’an district in Shanghai to listen to Fudan University professor Zhou Dunren’s reflections on the situation of the Chinese economical situation. Their aim for the evening was to network and listen to Fudan University professor Zhou's reflections on the Chinese economy. 

The BI-Fudan MBA has an alumni network with close to 1800 members. However, as a minority in a large group of mainlanders, international alumni have a lot in common as foreign professionals in China. The BI-Fudan MBA Programme would therefore like to create a platform where international students can meet to expand and nourish their network.

The special guest of the evening, Professor Zhou Dunren, had been invited to give an informal lecture. He talked about the coming Party Congress and the change from G4 to G5. He also shared his thoughts about what challenges the Chinese economy is facing and some issues that are critical in order for China to continue its growth over the next years. An interesting debate emerged after his introduction. Professor Zhou also talked about how the Chinese university system plays an important role in changing some of the traditional Chinese mentality, which he, somewhat humouristically, described with Alfred Lord Tennyson’s famous quote "Ours is not to reason why. Ours is but to do or die". It is therefore promising to see that Fudan is improving rapidly on international rankings. Most recently with three in the Financial Times Top 100 ranking of EMBA Programmes, one of which was ranked in the top 10.

The mood relaxed and the conversation went easily around the table throughout the evening. The event was a success and we look forward to hosting yet another event.

BI Liaison Office