Recently, the first Tongji SEM Beijing Alumni Forum themed on “Developing Together for a Better Future” has been successfully held in Beijing. The forum received high attention from Tongji University. Due to professional obligations, Professor Lei Xinghui, a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of Tongji University, could not attend the forum, but he sent a video message to support the forum. In his message, Vice President Lei extended his warm congratulations to the forum’s success, and stated that Tongji University’s alumni are always grateful to their alma mater and have been supporting and giving back to the university in various ways, helping each other and seeking mutual development. He emphasized the forum’s importance for fostering alumni ties and expressed the hope that the forum would evolve into a high-level platform for frequent communication between alumni and the university.

According to the speech delivered by Mr. Xu Jianwei, President of the Tongji University Beijing Alumni Association, the Beijing Alumni Association’s motto is “Serving Alumni and Finding Joy” and the Beijing Alumni Association has launched various activities over the years, including academic exchanges, social welfare initiatives and recreational and leisure activities, to unite Tongji alumni in Beijing, arouse their enthusiasm and reinforce their sense of belonging. He said that Tongji SEM alumni had been the most enthusiastic in recent years and expressed the hope that through cooperation with Tongji SEM, the forum would gather the strength of Tongji SEM alumni in Beijing to contribute to the development of Tongji SEM and Tongji University.

Professor Xie En, Associate Dean of Tongji SEM (the person-in-charge), provided a thorough overview of Tongji SEM’s achievements in discipline construction, talent cultivation, faculty building, international cooperation and industry-education integration from three perspectives, i.e. Tongji SEM’s overview, its development strategies and goals and its key accomplishments during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. He stressed that Tongji SEM was steadily moving toward its goal of becoming a world-class business school and hoped that alumni would actively make suggestions and contributions to support the vibrant development of Tongji SEM and Tongji University.

Subsequently, Professor Cheng Guoqiang, Professor Liu Xinghua and Mr. Li Zhongxian delivered keynote speeches. In his concluding remarks, Professor Xie En stated that Tongji University had been committed to the highest standards of science and art, and the exceptional fusion of these two facets had shaped the distinct temperament of Tongji people. He also noted that the forum had brought together many outstanding alumni and showcased their remarkable accomplishments. Tongji SEM and the alumni would grow together in the future, he believed, as they could meet more frequently to share ideas.