Governing Board Meeting of CLGO Program held, attended by representatives of MIT, partner companiess and alumni

 On November 29, the Governing Board Meeting 2020 of the China Leaders for Global Operations (CLGO) program was held at Antai College of Economics & Management (ACEM). 

The representatives who maintain exchange and cooperation with CLGO program in all aspects in 2020, the faculty representatives from ACEM, the School of Mechanical Engineering (ME), the School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering (EE) and the Sino-US Global Logistics Institute, and the alumni representatives of CLGO program, were invited to this meeting. The meeting was held in an offline + online hybrid manner, and was hosted by John Van Fleet, Director of Corporate Globalization at Antai College of Economics & Management.

Members of the CLGO Governing Board attending the meeting included: Chen Fangruo, Dean of Antai College of Economics and Management, SJTU; Thomas Roemer, Executive Director of the Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) Program, MIT; Huang Dan, Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Office, SJTU; Zhang Wenguang, Director of the MEM Program, School of Mechanical Engineering, SJTU; Qi Kaiyue, Director of the MEM Program, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, SJTU; and Luo Jun, Director of the CLGO Program, ACEM, SJTU. Representatives of partner companies attending the meeting included: Chen Xin, Human Resources Recruiting Manager, Apple China; Mao Yi, Assistant President, CIMC Vehicles (Group) Co., Ltd.; and Wang Zhen, Recruitment Director, Panasonic China & Northeast Asia Company. The meeting also invited representatives of companies that have partnered with the CLGO program for the I-Plus projects and the Dragon Team, including: Unilever China, Shanghai Hongsheng Special Valve Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Shanghai Tiandi Hui Supply Chain Technology Co., Ltd., and Mondelez Food Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. The meeting was also attended by faculty representatives including Dong Ming, Vice Dean of SJTU Asia-Pacific Graduate Institute; Jiang Wei, Antai School of Economics and Management, SJTU; Li Ning, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, SJTU; and Pan Ershun, School of Mechanical Engineering, SJTU.

The meeting began with a speech by Dean Chen Fangruo. He first reviewed the origins of cooperation between ACEM’s CLGO program and MIT’s LGO program, saying that the CLGO program is a continuation and extension of the LGO program in two aspects, i.e., interdisciplinary synergy and industry-university cooperation, which also echoes ACEM’s vision of “cultivating interdisciplinary talents proficient in theory and practice” proposed in recent years. Dean Chen emphasized, “We at Antai remain committed to our development strategy, from university to school to program.” Dean Chen also mentioned that despite the Covid-19 challenge, CLGO students enrolled in the past three years are facing a favorable situation thanks to the efforts of the CLGO team, the cooperation with all stakeholders, and the high quality of the students themselves. It is believed that the CLGO program will embrace a better future after this meeting where opinions of all participants are heard.

Next, Thomas Roemer, Executive Director of MIT LGO program, delivered a speech online, in which he fully recognized the results of cooperation on the CLGO program between ACEM and MIT, and also emphasized and appreciated the important role played by global corporate partners. He looked forward to working with ACEM to explore a more effective approach to cooperation.

Luo Jun, Director of the CLGO Program, made an annual summary of the program. He introduced the development history, status quo and future development of the CLGO Program. In introducing the status quo, Luo shared the situation of students and graduates, the Dragon Team and the I-Plus projects in cooperation with companies, the collaboration with fellow schools of SJTU, and the cooperation with MIT. It is particularly worth noting that: 1. Against the general background of this year, the average salary of the 2020 graduates still sees an increase compared with last year; 2. Through efforts, the Dragon Team and the I-Plus projects of 2020 are advancing smoothly, most of which have been implemented with satisfactory results. In addition to the I-Plus practice projects provided by the existing partner companies, Antai has also built up new partnerships with more companies; 3. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Antai launched a week-long virtual MIT study tour that included 5 training sessions.

Mao Yi, Assistant President of CIMC Vehicles (Group) Co., Ltd., a partner company of the CLGO program, shared her views through the video conference system. Her presentation included an overview of CIMC, the development history of CIMC’s cooperation with the CLGO program, CLGO graduates’ practice at CIMC, and new expectations for cooperation and development. Ms. Mao said that CIMC has several expectations for future cooperation: 1. The CLGO program will incorporate more partners to the cooperation platform; 2. CIMC will recruit more CLGO graduates and provide more practice projects to strengthen its Precision Production System; 3. CIMC will customize the CIMC Leadership Module together with the CLGO program. Her speech was followed by Wang Zhen, Recruitment Director of Panasonic China & Northeast Asia Company, a new partner company of the CLGO program in 2020. Ms. Wang introduced Panasonic and mentioned a basic business concept of her company in terms of talents: putting people first, focusing on the growth of each employee, and providing them with appropriate training and support. It is based on this concept that Panasonic began to cooperate with ACEM. The cooperation started with the Dragon Team projects of the CLGO program. By carrying out those projects, the company is able to refresh its thinking from the perspective of students, and also help young students unleash their potential. School-enterprise cooperation has generated a multiplying effect. In the future, more exchanges and cooperation at different levels will be carried out in addition to the Dragon Team.

It was followed by a lively discussion of the participants. They analyzed school-enterprise cooperation on students’ practice from the perspective of business operations in reality, which has brought substantial help to the practical problems and forward thinking of companies. At the same time, companies hope that the courses and skills for students will keep pace with the times and technology. In terms of partner institutions, SJTU, MIT and various schools at SJTU have never stopped in talent training and scientific research exchanges. After the meeting, ACEM will listen to the industry voices more widely and combine Chinese business characteristics and management practices to cultivate talents proficient in engineering management theory and practice.

The success of this CLGO Governing Board Meeting has played a positive role in promoting the in-depth cooperation among MIT, SJTU and partner companies. It is believed that the review and summary of this meeting and the participants’ discussion on the prospect of the CLGO program under the new situation will provide a clear direction for the future development of the program. ACEM and CLGO program will also continue to deepen cooperation with industry leaders, with an aim to jointly promote the integration of industry and education, and build a platform and ecosystem that can deliver value to all stakeholders.