Lingnan Presented the 2nd Lingnan Global Forum – A Gathering across 4 Continents and 13 Time Zones
Under the auspices of the Lingnan Foundation, Lingnan (University) College successfully presented the 2nd Lingnan Global Forum at midnight Beijing time on Jan. 22nd, gathering a prominent international panel of deans from the US, the UK, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, South Africa and China, to share invaluable experiences on online learning and engage in insightful discussion over the development of higher education in a post-pandemic era. This highly anticipated event – a special three-session series synthesized into a Global Forum on the theme of The Road Ahead after Covid at the AAC&U (American Association of Universities and Colleges) Annul Meeting – has drawn over 100 online registrants, mainly presidents, deans and senior management leaders in the higher education community.
The Forum began with a warm welcome address by Lynn Pasquerella, president of AAC&U, who expressed her deep appreciation for organizing a Forum to discuss the most pressing issues facing higher education amid incomparable challenges unleased the global pandemic. Moderated by Professor Gang CHEN, Associate Dean of Lingnan (University) College, the first session focused on introducing mitigation measures at universities and colleges around the world as they took cautious steps to reopen, with the best interests of all stakeholders in mind. Due to socio-economic and cultural differences, implemented practices differed from one institution to another and sharing lessons learned would be invaluable for identifying best practices. Speakers shared practices and discussed approaches to cope with the health crisis, which had shut down schools and workplaces and put millions of people at health and financial risk. This session was joined by distinguished panelists including:
- Professor Josep FRANCH, Dean of ESADE Business School, Spain
- Professor Saonee SARKER, Senior Associate Dean of McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia, the US
- Professor Bart CAMBRÉ, Vice Dean of Antwerp Management School, University of Antwerp, Belgium
The next session, moderated by Professor Jun LU, Dean of Lingnan (University) College, drew our attention to an issue that concerned most institutions – new approaches for higher education collaboration in a post-COVID world – where panelists discussed innovative new methods and models, such as video-conferencing platforms, online meetings and forums, and webinars to continue their institutional mandates to explore, develop, and nourish international collaborations. It was a common consensus among all the panelist that through all the turbulence, one thing was certain – international collaborations among higher education institutions would not be the same as institutions braced for a brand-new world after the pandemic. The rich presentations and discussion in this session were contributed by:
- Professor Bodo SCHLEGELMILCH, Chair of Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association; Head of the Institute for International Marketing Management, WU: Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria
- Professor Delphine MANCEAU, Dean of NEOMA Business School, France
- Professor Catherine DUGGAN, Dean of Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa
- Dr. XiaoXiao WANG, Associate Director of Undergraduate Academic Affairs Office and Associate Director of Lifelong Learning, Tsinghua University, China
In the last session, which was moderated by Professor Xiaodong LU, Professor of Economics of Lingnan (University) College, experts from America, Europe, and China presented a comparative review of the economic impacts of COVID-19, drew conclusions based on facts and figures, and made associated economic forecasts. The impact of COVID spared no country, and its detrimental effects on economies and politics would continue to linger at a global level. As three of the largest economies in the world, how America, Europe, and China survived and pulled their respective regions out of economic recession generaged much interest and discussion among all online audiences. The great success of this session were also attributed to:
- Professor Sri ZAHEER, Dean of Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, the US
- Professor David DICKINSON, Former Dean of Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, the UK
- Professor Ying ZHANG, Associate Dean of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, the Netherlands
Inaugurated in 2020 in Washington DC as the Pre-meeting Forum for the AAC&U Annual Meeting (for more information about the first Lingnan Global Forum, pleace click: http://lingnan.sysu.edu.cn/en/article/1053 ) , the virtual Lingnan Global Forum this year, which was originally due to be held in Seattle, continued to attract attention and generated impact in the global higher education community for its excellent presentations and profound insights from a remarkable international lineup of panelists – coming from 9 different countries in 4 continents across 13 time zones. Attended institutions at the Forum ranged from comprehensive universities to private ones to independent business schools, representing a high level of diversity and internationalization in terms of region, culture and social systems. Riding on the achievements of the Forums, Lingnan will spare no efforts to build the brand of Lingnan Global Forum into an international event with far-reaching impact in the global education community.
