The famous German beer, soft and delicious Stollen bread, various kinds of German sausages and apple pies, “mix and match” with German Technical University of Munich (TUM) exchange programme introduction and sharing …… A few days ago, the “TUM Day” was joyfully held at Tongji SEM as part of the 4^th “Go Global Go Beyond” series of activities. This special exchange activity combines the resources of Germany’s top university as Guest of Honor University with the local gastronomic culture, and brought to the faculty and students of Tongji University a feast of knowledge and cuisine!

Prof. Gunther FRIEDL, Dean of the Faculty of Management of the TUM, Prof. YIN Wen, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Tongji University, Prof. XIE En, Acting Dean of Tongji SEM, Prof. WANG Hongwei, Deputy Dean of Tongji SEM, Mr. HAN Zheng, Associate Professor of the Department of Innovation and Strategy, and Ms. SHOU Yuexian, Director of the Marketing and Promotions Office and Associate Director of the MBA/EMBA Centre, unveiled the special session of the “TUM DAY”.

International cooperation and exchange has always been an important feature and advantage of Tongji SEM. At present, the school has established 30+ double-degree exchange programmes and 70+ non-degree exchange programmes with over 100 international cooperation institutions, among which 24 are German institutions, with a ratio as high as 20%. Mr. WANG Hongwei said that Tongji has an excellent tradition of cooperation with Germany, and Germany has always been an important window and bridge for the school to strengthen cooperation with Europe, and he hoped that both sides would take this “TUM Day” as an opportunity to deepen high-quality cooperation.

On the day of the event, there were also lectures on the theme of TUM, an online introduction to the programme, session of sharing study and life experiences, session of tasting German cuisine, etc. Professor Gunther FRIEDL gave a lecture on “Why international cooperation is so important today?”. During the lecture, he insisted that internationalization is not only a tool for overcoming geographical and cultural boundaries, but also a key driver for innovation and growth.

The “Go Global Go Beyond” is the flagship event of Tongji SEM to promote the internationalization of talent cultivation, to help students know the school’s platform and resources for studying abroad in a comprehensive way, while creating an international atmosphere. Since 2020, four editions have been successfully held. This year’s “Go Global Go Beyond” has detailed contents, ingenious ideas and resources from world-renowned universities. The subjects covered scientific research, internships in international organizations and international conferences, overseas study programmes, CSC scholarships, etc. with more than 20 events, attracting nearly 1,000 participants. The guests of the event were leading figures in the academic, business and political sectors, including business executives and elites having studied abroad, as well as overseas scholars and UN staff. They shared their own experiences with the students, showing them the beauty of living and working abroad.

The Foreign Affairs Office of Tongji University, the International Students Office and other colleges, such as the College of Freshmen and the Sino-German College, paid great attention to and supported the series of “Go Global Go Beyond” activities of Tongji SEM. Mr. CHEN Yili, Director of International Students Office, Mr. QU Chen, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Office and Professor of Foreign Languages College, Mr. DING Ruiting, Vice Dean of Tongxin Academy of College of Freshmen, Mr. CAI Liming, Vice Dean of Sino-German College and Professor of College of Automobile, and Ms. LI Shasha from Foreign Affairs Office of Tongji University attended these series of activities and shared their valuable experiences of studying in Germany, France, Asia and other preferred countries and regions.

On the day of the “Study in France” activity, Professor Simon MERCADO, Executive Vice President of the ESCP, and his delegation visited Tongji SEM and experienced the international education concept and atmosphere of the school on the spot. In addition, Mr. Olivier PEREZ, Head of Shanghai Centre of Campus France and Ms. XUN Jing, Marketing and Events Officer of the Centre, Mr. Amir REZA, Dean of Babson Academy for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurial Learning (Babson Academy) and Prof. Andreas HERRMANN from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland and other guests were present in the “Go Global Go Beyond” activities and brought unique international lectures to faculty and students of Tongji University.

LI Ziwei, a PhD student at the School of Politics and International Relations in the class of 2023, is very grateful for such a high-quality international exchange platform: “The ‘TUM Day’ has given me a deeper understanding and experience of German universities and German cuisine, which reinforces my decision to go to Germany to study. This has reinforced my idea of studying in Germany in the future!” Aidana NURJIAN, an undergraduate student majoring in International Economics and Trade in the class of 2022, said, “The Go Global Go Beyond activities opened a window to the world for us.”

After more than 60 years of development, the School of Economics and Management of Tongji University has formed distinctive interdisciplinary characteristics of economics and management. Among them, “Management” has entered the world’s top 100 in soft science ranking for the first time in recent years, “Economics and Business” has successfully entered the top 1% of the ESI global ranking, and the discipline of Management Science and Engineering continues to be ranked in the country’s top echelon; and the discipline of Business Administration has made a great breakthrough, leaping to the forefront of similar disciplines. Tongji SEM has received five-year accreditation from AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA, making it one of the few business schools and colleges of management and administration in mainland China to receive such accreditation. In the latest Financial Times rankings, Tongji SEM was ranked 10th in Asia Pacific Business Schools and among the top three in Mainland China; the Master of Management (MiM) was ranked 22nd globally; the Master of Science in Real Estate jumped to 2nd place globally in the world’s best master’s rankings published by the authoritative European ranking agency Eduniversal and the Master of Science in Supply Chain and Logistics was ranked 13th globally: both specializations were ranked No. 1 in Asia.