On November 29th, “MEM World Famous University Study Tour Series" organized by Shanghai International School of Chief Technology Officer was successfully held at Southern University of Science and Technology. Qian Xuhong, president of East China Normal University and academician of the CAE Member, was invited by Liu Ke, （dean of the school of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and foreign academician of the Australian National Academy of Engineering）, to give a keynote speech "Impact of CTO Education on Building an Innovative Society in the Future", and had in-depth communication with everyone. He Jiaxun, Executive Dean of CTO School, led MEM program students to participate in this event.
Qian Xuhong，president of East China Normal University and academician of the CAE Member， analyzed the impact of CTO education on the future construction of an innovative society from three aspects: the development history, talent characteristics, and importance of CTO, the opportunities for cultivating and developing CTO in China, and the exploration of CTO education by East China Normal University. He pointed out that CTO plays an important role in the process of crossing the "Death Valley" of technological transformation. This is because the acceleration of the cycle of technology transforming productivity requires talents with innovative thinking to drive it, and CTO is the practitioner and promoter of the entire process. Innovation can be summarized as the foundation of innovative personality, which includes critical thinking, challenging authority, adventurous spirit, and independent experience - it is the primary quality that CTOs should possess.
Unlike technology brokers and chief engineers, the core functions of a CTO are resource allocation and technological innovation. As a technology leader, their responsibilities include planning, leadership, execution, and more. This requires CTO to possess both scientific traits and a background in business management, as well as translation ability, decomposition and integration ability, and creative ability.
Subsequently, he shared the educational philosophy and exploration approaches of East China Normal University in the CTO education system. He also gave explanations on the cultivation characteristics of the CTO School's excellent education-dual pyramid, dual "spirit" integration guidance, three mentor system, and interdisciplinary system. In the final discussion session, the present professors and students conducted in-depth discussions on how to grasp the commonalities of technology in the CTO training process and how Chinese traditional culture can be integrated into CTO education. Mr. Qian Xuhong and Mr. Xue Qikun, the president of Southern University of Science and Technology, had exchanges on the cooperation in higher education. To cultivate top-notch innovative talents and Chief Technology Officer talents, jointly serve the major strategic needs of the country, and contribute to the reform of higher education in China，both of the universities will establish a partnership to carry out practical cooperation in talent cultivation, scientific research, team building, and relevant aspects.
The visiting group visited the exhibition hall of Southern University of Science and Technology to learn about its founding process, talent cultivation characteristics, and scientific research achievements. Looking forward to further strengthening exchanges and mutual learning in the future.