张付强院长在复旦大学-BI(挪威)国际合作MBA项目毕业典礼的致辞全文

Dear H.E. Zhou Jingxing, the Chinese Ambassador to Norway,

President Egil Matsen,

Distinguished colleagues and friends from BI and IFP,

Graduating students and your families,

Good afternoon!

It is a great pleasure and privilege to be here with you today on this beautiful campus. On behalf of Fudan University and the School of Management, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the graduating students of Class 41 of the BI-Fudan MBA Program.

Congratulations—you made it!

Two years ago, in October 2024, you began this journey at Fudan in Shanghai. Since then, you have balanced demanding careers, family responsibilities, and rigorous coursework across two continents. Today, here in Oslo, you complete your final module and cross the finish line. This is a wonderful achievement and a true testament to your perseverance, commitment, and passion for growth. And, of course, this is not quite the end. I look forward to welcoming you back to Shanghai next summer for your Fudan graduation ceremony.

On a personal note, this is my first visit to BI and my first graduation ceremony abroad since becoming Dean of Fudan School of Management this summer. I could not have imagined a more meaningful occasion.

Many years ago, my own connection with Fudan School of Management began in the classroom of another international partnership, when I taught in the Washington University–Fudan  EMBA Program in Shanghai. Today, my first overseas trip as Dean brings me to the graduation ceremony of our School’s longest-standing international partnership. In some ways, I feel I have come full circle.

I would also like to extend a very special welcome to President Egil Matsen. President Matsen, it is a great pleasure that our first meeting takes place on such a joyful occasion. Our conversations this morning, together with last evening’s wonderful dinner, have already given me a strong sense of your vision and your commitment to international cooperation. I very much look forward to working with you to take the partnership between BI and Fudan to new heights.

Dear friends,

This ceremony is especially meaningful because this year marks the 30th anniversary of the BI-Fudan MBA Program. In 1996, our two schools joined hands to launch one of the very first Sino-foreign joint master programs in China. Over the past three decades, the world has changed enormously. Yet through all these changes, the partnership between BI and Fudan has remained stable and strong. Today, the program is ranked 21st worldwide in the Financial Times EMBA Ranking and stands as a powerful example of Sino-Norwegian educational cooperation.

When Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre visited Fudan in 2024, he commented that bringing people and experiences from different cultures together can foster bold new ideas for the benefit of both Norway and China. I couldn’t agree more.

Dear graduates, 

You are perhaps the best testament to what this 30-year partnership can achieve. As you begin your next chapter, I would like to share briefly the direction in which we are taking Fudan School of Management. Our strategy is built around three priorities: artificial intelligence, science and technology innovation, and internationalization. Artificial intelligence is resetting the starting line for every business school. At Fudan, we want to prepare leaders who do not simply know how to use AI, but who understand it, question it, and know how to lead in an AI-powered world. Science and technology innovation will be another major engine of global growth. We aspire to make Fudan a global benchmark for management education and research in science and technology innovation. And internationalization remains fundamental to who we are. After decades of bringing the world to Fudan, we also want Fudan to engage more deeply with the world—educating talent not only for China, but for the global economy. The BI-Fudan MBA Program, as our longest-standing international partnership, will continue to play an important role in this journey.

But beyond all strategies and priorities, there is one conviction I would like to leave with you today: business is not only about profit and efficiency — it is also about people, about society, and about the future. The leaders needed in the AI era must understand technology and management. But that is not enough. They must also possess human understanding, cross-cultural empathy, sound judgment, and a sense of responsibility for the world we share.

As graduates of a Chinese-Norwegian program, you are especially well prepared for this challenge. You have studied across cultures. You have learned from different perspectives. And you have experienced firsthand the value of connecting people, ideas, and institutions across borders.

So, dear graduates of Class 41, I encourage you to be ambassadors—ambassadors for this remarkable program, for the friendship between our two schools, and for greater understanding between our two countries. Wherever your careers take you, remember that you carry with you a 30-year legacy of openness, trust, and shared purpose.

Once again, congratulations to all of you. I wish you every success in the journey ahead, and I look forward to seeing you again in Shanghai next summer!

Thank you very much!

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