On October 14th, as East China Normal University is about to celebrate its 72nd birthday, the 3rd（2023）Sci&Tech Driven Business Discipline and Preeminent Sci&Tech Innovation Education Forum （hosted by East China Normal University and organized by Shanghai International School of Chief Technology Officer in collaboration with the Asia Europe Business School and the Joint Research Institute of Translation Science and Technology, was held in the Yifu Building of Putuo Campus. With the theme of excellent thinking and innovative leadership in the AI era, the forum invited seven well-known experts, including Qian Xuhong, the academician of the CAE Member, president of East China Normal University, and Xu Fei, executive vice president of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, to deliver keynote speeches. Wang Zhenghuan, Vice Dean of CTO School, presided over the forum. Nearly 200-persons academic and faculty team and administrative cadres, technology managers and executives of science and technology innovation enterprises, as well as students studying for a master's degree in engineering management attended the conference. Nearly 20000 people watched the online live broadcast.
At the forum, Academician Qian Xuhong, the president of East China Normal University, told the story behind the eight years of research and writing on the book Laozi Thought, explaining the theoretical origins of outstanding thinking. He introduced that this book is different from the traditional interpretation of Laozi and his Tao Te Ching text, but is based on the global scope and historical process, with a focus on revealing the profound value of Laozi's thoughts and thinking from a multidisciplinary perspective, especially in cutting-edge fields such as modern science, technology, and engineering. He particularly pointed out that Laozi's thoughts on Taoism and morality are almost important bridges between China and the West, connecting the East and the West, secular and religious, material and spiritual, and non-existence and existence. In addition, Laozi's thinking and quantum thinking have the similarities, such as many descriptions of duality, superposition, entanglement, uncertainty, and indivisibility, which are different from the classical way of thinking characterized by Newton. Instead, they enter the microscopic quantum world, which is the world of nothing. Finally, he encouraged that we can study and research on traditional culture in-depth and continue to develop the innovative and critical thinking.
Professor Xu Fei, Executive Vice President of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, delivered a keynote speech titled Empowering Strategic Leadership in the AGI Era. He stated that in the knowledge and abilities of the AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) era, metacognition is truly transferable knowledge, which could cross disciplines, (that is the cognition of cognition). Unlike the underlying logic that AGI can encode, the unique non-coding ability of humans is difficult for machines. He cites the discourse of renowned futurist and trendsetter Daniel Pink to propose the six non-coding abilities that determine the future: design, entertainment, meaning, storytelling, symphony, and empathy. In addition, he recommended everyone to read the Spring and Autumn Annals of the University (education volume, economic management volume) and called for the cultivation of one's periodic thinking, systematic concepts, the transformation of traditional thinking patterns, and the holistic view of problems from diverse perspectives in order to create new values more effectively.
Professor He Jiaxun, Executive Dean of the Shanghai International School of Chief Technology Officer (East China Normal University) and Chinese Dean of the Asia Europe Business School, delivered a keynote speech titled Innovative Leadership: Scientific Evidence and Educational Practice. He combined three empirical studies on the professional knowledge structure of executive teams in science and technology innovation enterprises recently conducted by his research group, and used data from listed companies to demonstrate the cross structure between the professional backgrounds of science and engineering and management (business), as well as the technical and management positions of executives in science and technology innovation enterprises, and how to play a key role in active innovation leadership in executive teams. These scientific evidences have laid a solid scientific foundation for the school's core task of cultivating a future-oriented Chief Technology Officer, with the goal of innovation and innovative leadership. CTO School continues to increase efforts to promote the construction of an innovative curriculum structure and training system. Finally, he encouraged everyone to shift from listeners to questioners, from learners to explorers, from defenders to challengers, so as to have the courage to change and face new turning points in future career development, and transform into innovators.
Based on the perspective of academic research in education, Professor Ke Zheng, Deputy Director of the faculty of Education(East China Normal University) and Executive Dean of the National Institutes of Educational Policy Research, shared his thoughts on several key issues related to the construction of Higher Education Platform.
Zhu Min, Vice President of Shanghai STVC Group, explained to everyone the development direction and investment opportunities of the future industry from the perspective of industrial practice.
Professor Dong Jielin, a visiting professor at Shanghai International School of Chief Technology Officer and a Ph.D. in Physics from Carnegie Mellon University in his early years, is currently focusing on research on technological innovation and innovation history. He delivered a keynote speech titled From Science to Industry: Opportunities and Traps, which based on the academic research perspective of science and innovation,
From the perspective of combining scientific research with industrial practice, Professor Shi Yanling from the School of Communication and Electronic Engineering at East China Normal University delivered a keynote speech titled "The cornerstone of the development of the intelligent era - integrated circuits and industrial practice".
