On the afternoon of December 20^th, 2019, Mr. Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Former French Prime Minister, French Government’s Special Representative to China, President of French Foundation Prospective and Innovation, and President of French Leaders for Peace Non-government Organization visited Tongji University. Prof. WU Jiang, Executive Vice President of Tongji University met with him and awarded Mr. Raffarin with the Letter of Appointment of Tongji SEM’s International Advisory Committee Member. Prof. LI Yuan, Dean of SEM presented at the meeting on behalf of SEM.

Prof. WU Jiang extended warm welcome to the distinguished guest and wish that with the support from Mr. Raffarin, the cooperation with French partner schools could be further developed in terms of depth and width, and would contribute to the talents cultivation, scientific research, and university-enterprise cooperation. Mr. Raffarin said that he was very pleased to be appointed as an international advisory committee member of our college. He thought that some universities in China have ranked among the top universities in the world, and there are many high-quality higher education in China, including in the field of economics and management. Mr. Raffarin said, “The cooperation between China and France in the economic field is very important. There are many French enterprises in China, as well as many Chinese enterprises in France, and there will be more in the future. We all need a large number of capable and well-trained collaborators who understand each other’s culture well.” He continues,“Both Chinese culture and French culture represent the oldest civilization. In history, we didn’t have much contact with each other. But today, in order to share a better life and promote world harmony, we should respect and appreciate each other. For this reason, I think management is a very important function in the cooperation between China and France. Because of this, Tongji University will play a very significant role to help cultivate more young management talents who seek cooperation and take promoting world peace as their own responsibility! ”

Tongji SEM’s cooperation with French institutions began in 1999. Currently SEM has exchange agreements with 15 top French institutions such as ESCP Europe,ESSEC, EM Lyonand UNIVERSITÉ PARIS DAUPHINE, etc. Under such umbrella, all-round, multi-field, and in-depth cooperation is being carried out, training more than 300 Chinese and French graduates so far.

Established in 2008, the International Advisory Committee of Tongji SEM is an important part of the school’s governance structure. It is composed of experts who boast rich experience in education and management home and abroad and who also have important influence in the field of economy and management. So far, it has been held for 11 sessions.It is believed that the participation of former French Prime Minister Mr. Raffarin will help bring greater opportunities for deepening the international cooperation between the school and French institutions.