The Third Session of Academic Forum of Excellence 2023 of the Business School for the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Establishment of the Business School and the MBA Education Center Successfully Organized

At 4:00 p.m. on May 10, 2023, the Business School held the Third Session of Academic Forum of Excellence 2023 of the Business School for the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Establishment of the Business School and the MBA Education Center in Conference Room 615 of the Main Teaching Building of the Xueyuan South Road Campus and online via Tencent Meeting. The forum was honored to have the distinguished management scholar, Professor Zhou Nan, as a speaker. Approximately fifty participants, including faculty members, doctoral students, master's students, and undergraduates from the School, attended the event both online and offline.

Professor Wang Yi, Head of the Marketing Department at the Business School hosted the forum and introduced Professor Zhou Nan's credentials. Professor Zhou Nan has held several prestigious academic positions, including Professor at the City University of Hong Kong, Adjunct Professor at Shenzhen University, and Dong Fureng Chair Professor at Wuhan University. In 2019, Professor Zhou Nan was awarded the Journal of International Business Studies 50 Years (1970-2019) Silver Medal and the First Outstanding Contribution Award from the Chinese Marketing Association of Universities. Professor Zhou is adept at interpreting modern brand marketing and the path of life using the "Tao Te Ching.” In recent years, he has published several essay collections through Peking University Press, including "Money or Life: The Revelations of the Tao Te Ching" (2012), "Starbucks at Fo Guang Shan: The Revelations of the Tao Te Ching" (2015), "Climbing Mountains and Watching the Sea: The Questing Hearts of 146 Management Scholars" (2016), "The Scholar's Life: The Revelations of the Tao Te Ching" (2018), Thousands Miles Of Arduous Journey: The Revelations of the Tao Te Ching" (2020).

The title of Professor Zhou Nan's lecture was "Graduate Student Development: Are Smart People the Ones Who Do the Hard Work?" Professor Zhou argues that the growth of graduate students is a challenge for both the students and their supervisors. For research, one needs to have a clear mind in order to write clearly. The Yin-yang diagram can be used to illustrate how to write a paper, which consists of four specific phases. As a student, one should strive to achieve two "good at": Being good at showcasing progress and timely reporting confusions; being good at communication, understanding the supervisor's style, scheduling regular meetings with the supervisor, and addressing any difficulties promptly. As a supervisor, one should also strive to achieve two "good at": Being good at managing time and being considerate; avoiding a "high and mighty" attitude and instead being supportive and understanding towards students. At critical moments, supervisors shall provide guidance and support to help students maintain confidence and motivation, thereby graduating as soon as possible. Therefore, being smart is the result of persevering through the mundane, and putting in "hard work" is the "hard truth."

Following the sharing session, the teachers and students who participated in the lecture actively discussed topics including how to assist students with career planning, managing the relationship between supervisors and students, and how to conduct more valuable research. This further enhanced the in-depth exchange on academic research and student development.

The “Academic Forum of Excellence” is an academic exchange platform established by the Business School to fulfill its mission of "contributing new knowledge to management.” It focuses on cutting-edge theoretical issues and organizational development challenges in the discipline of business administration and Chinese enterprise management practices. By aggregating cutting-edge thoughts and innovative viewpoints from both domestic and international sources, it seeks to explore Chinese solutions for the social and economic development of China.