On July 15th, the visiting programme, Young Leaders to China – Innovation and Entrepreneurship, as part of the Confucius China Studies Program – Young Leaders was completed successfully with the closing ceremony held at the Business Space of DOBE Bund 8. The activity was organized by the USC-SJTU Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry (ICCI) under the guidance of the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban). There are 22 members participating in the visiting programme who came from multiple countries such as America, Canada, Australia, Italy, etc. with their entrepreneurship projects in areas of education and training, high-tech, health care, trade and retail, cultural and creative industry and so on. The ceremony was moderated by Ms. Xiaocui LOU,  Lecturer from Confucius Institute, University of Victoria, Australia.

Remarks of Hui ZHOU, Division Chief of the Sinology and China Studies Division, Confucius Institute Headquarters

Ms. Hui ZHOU mentioned that China has always held a high value on international exchange, and as an important platform for spreading Chinese culture, Confucius Institute plays a crucial role in enhancing good international relationships, improving multi-culture communication and establishing the mankind community with a shared future. The success of the visiting programme, Young Leaders to China – Innovation and Entrepreneurship, demonstrated the positive impact of Confucius Institute in the global stage and also further spread a good international image for China. China is a prosperous nation with booming technology development and deep cultural heritage. ICCI, University of International Business and Economics and Hangzhou Normal University had  all made great efforts in making the programme a wonderful success. She congratulated all the members for completing it.

Remarks of Jinzhang JIANG, Vice Dean of ICCI

Prof. JIANG spoke highly of the enthusiasm and intelligence of all members participated in the China’s visiting programme and shared with entrepreneurs his thoughts and suggestions on the topic of the thirtysomething’s success.

Remarks of Member Representative

The representative of members, Stephanie Woollard, made a speech reviewing the past fifteen days’ experience of visiting startups, having lectures, and immerging in the Chinese culture. She also shared her own takeaways from the programme. After the speech, she handed a thank note with signatures of all members to the organizers from ICCI and all staff that contributed to the organization of the programme.

At the end of the ceremony, Ms. Hui ZHOU, Division Chief of the Sinology and China Studies Division, Confucius Institute Headquarters, Prof. Junfang XI, Dean of Confucius Institute, UNSW, Australia, Prof. Zheng LI, Dean of Confucius Institute, Carleton University, Canada and Prof. Jinzhang JIANG, Vice Dean of ICCI awarded the certificate to each member and took the group photo together.

The visiting programme lasted 15 days, taking the forms of both traditional lectures and field trips. It aims at improving the young entrepreneurs’ understanding of the status quo of innovation and entrepreneurship in China, and building tighter bonds between China and international enterprises. During the visit, members paid visits to top universities and star enterprises in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, such as Baidu, Didi, Alibaba, etc. They also participated in the 3rd Think Youth-Shanghai International Digital Creation, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition organized by ICCI.

Moreover, during their stay in Shanghai, the members visited the SJTU students innovation centre and had thorough conversations with students from SJTU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Association, School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, etc. They also learned about the latest development of Chinese hospitals by visiting the Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The sharing of entrepreneurs from WeWork and DOBE stirred sparks of inspiration as well.

ICCI has always put great emphasis on the innovation and entrepreneurship in terms of students’ education and it enjoys certain advantages in promoting international communication and exchanges among younger entrepreneurs at home and abroad. Taking the opportunity of holding the visiting programme, ICCI will continue on facilitating international cooperation among different cultures and encourage student innovation and entrepreneurship.