In his speech, BEN Shenglin first extended a warm welcome to all the attendees. He mentioned that with the ever-changing world, we are facing unprecedented changes and challenges. We have to change and innovate to survive and thrive in the future. As a young business school with the motto “Connecting the world, shaping the future," ZIBS would like to play a leading role in shaping the future of business and society, and it is committed to nurturing individuals with innovative thinking, leadership capacity, and strengths for the future development of the business world.

ZIBS Assistant Professor CHEN Xiaohua kicked off the session with a presentation on "How Economics and Business Lead High-Tech Industry?" where she explored the crucial role of economics and business in advancing the development of high-tech industries. Through an analysis of factors such as capital investment, market demand, and business strategies, she highlighted the significance of economics and business in leading innovation, enhancing industrial competitiveness, and providing theoretical support and practical guidance for the sustainable development of high-tech industries. 

ZIBS Assistant Professor WEI Binru delved into the impact of infrastructure on economic growth using an agent-based model. By simulating different infrastructure investment strategies, she revealed potential mechanisms through which infrastructure promotes productivity, employment, and trade. The research results offer theoretical foundations for policymakers to optimize infrastructure investment for achieving sustainable economic growth.

ZIBS Haina Research Scientist LI Chao presented a pre-training-based model focusing on "TriD-MAE: A Generic Pre-Trained Model for Multivariate Time Series with Missing Values". Designed to handle multivariate time series data with missing information, the model demonstrated excellent performance in predicting and imputing missing values by considering the dynamic nature of time series data and the complexity of missing information, providing an effective tool for handling complex time series data with missing information, expanding the applicability of universal pre-training models.

In his lecture titled “Frugality, Regional Development, and Digital Innovations: Insights from China and India,” ZIBS Assistant Professor Fayaz Ahmad Sheikh shared key findings from his 15-year ethnographic study on frugal innovations in India and China. He challenged the conventional perspective of innovation as merely a tool for ‘capital valorization’ and the primary driver of economic growth and argued that the current hierarchical and elite-centric approach to innovation, coupled with inadequate incentives and an overreliance on established methods, has exacerbated global socioeconomic disparities.

ZIBS Assistant Professor Jomel Ng shared reflections on the topic of "Human Capital Effects in the Job Search Process for New Labor Market Entrants: A Double-Edged Sword?", emphasizing the need for balanced development of comprehensive qualities for job-seeking success. Her research reveals that while human capital investment can enhance a job seeker’s competitiveness in labor market, an excessive focus on human capital investment interferes with job search progress. Therefore, balancing academic commitments and job search activities are crucial for novice job seekers to succeed in job search.

Assistant Professor BAO Yangming from the International School of Economics and Management at Capital University of Economics and Business systematically evaluated the value of green innovation using global evidence and examples. Her evaluation elucidated the significant positive impact of green innovation on both businesses and society. Green innovation not only enhances the competitiveness and sustainability of enterprises but also plays a constructive role in environmental protection and resource efficiency. The research provides valuable insights into the value of green innovation, promoting sustainable development and environmental practices across various sectors.

Dr. Godofredo Ramizo Jr., a postdoctoral researcher at the Nanyang Business School of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, addressed the challenges digital platforms, such as financial technology, e-commerce, and other commercial platforms, may face when entering new overseas markets, including unfavorable regulatory challenges and policy isolation. Focusing on the question of "How can digital platform companies gain 'legitimacy' in new markets," he used Southeast Asian digital platform cases to illustrate how the characteristics of digital platforms enhance legitimacy strategies. His work expands platform strategic theory and provides clear management and policy insights for technology companies to survive in hostile environments.

"Internationalization Index of Chinese Private Multinationals" was jointly developed in collaboration with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and the Zhejiang Federation of Industry and Commerce. The research team is led by ZIBS Associate Professor WAN Feng. This index is based on four dimensions of the internationalization: Scale, Distribution, Innovation, and Influence. It accurately delineates the internationalization landscape of private enterprises, providing a comprehensive and scientifically assessed display of the level of internationalization development among private enterprises in Zhejiang Province.

Subsequently, ZIBS Assistant Professor LEI Linan provided a detailed interpretation of the "Report on the Innovation and Development of "Little Giants" Listed Enterprises 2023", written by the Joint Research Group on Specialized, Refined, Unique, New (SRUN) companies. This report conducted in-depth analyses of 1804 listed and quoted companies from five batches of SRUN companies, using a diverse data fusion approach. It studied the innovation, development trend, boom expectation, domestic substitution, and digitalization concerns of these enterprises, and summarized four typical issues. Meanwhile, on the basis of last year, the capital market distribution characteristics and related financial performance analysis of these companies and the data analysis of ESG hot topics have been added.

The FinTech Development Index (FDI) series has been released for seven consecutive years, this time, "Global FinTech Hub Report 2023", with the theme of divergence in the changing world, has been jointly released by Beijing Frontier Institute of Regulation and Supervision Technology (FIRST), Academy of Internet Finance (AIF), Zhejiang University, ZIBS, and Zhejiang Association of FinTech (ZAFT). Lecturer LUO Dan from Alibaba Business School, Hangzhou Normal University introduced the main contents of the report. This report presents both overall and metric-specific rankings (including Industry, Consumer Experience, Ecosystem) that offer insights into the changing landscape of global FinTech hubs, and three FinTech development models are further validated in the context of asymmetric development.

2023 ZIBS Academic Forum ended by the 3rd Global Deans' Forum, moderated by ZIBS Assistant Professor Jia Jia Lim. With the participation of ZIBS Dean BEN Shenglin, the forum has invited 10 deans and leaders from globally renowned business schools and institutions to discuss the future of sustainable education. Focusing on SDG, the participants explored innovative strategies for business schools to cultivate future business leaders and shared cutting-edge perspectives and best practices in social responsibility and global sustainable development. The insights shared during the Global Deans' Forum will be detailed in future posts. Stay tuned!