The fourth meeting of the Univeristy of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (UM-SJTU JI) Development Advisory Board (DAB) was held at SJTUon September 23, attended by distinguished board members from various professions, SJTU Vice President Lifeng Xi, JI leaders and key faculty and staff members. Special guests from the University of Michigan were also invited to the meeting including Bin Zhao, Assistant Director of International Giving and Engagement, Steve Ceccio, Associate Dean for Research, and Christine Muchanic, Director of International Relations.
Dean Peisen Huang briefed on JI’s recent development in faculty buildings, domestic and foreign student enrollments, scholarship distribution, international collaboration, graduate placement and financial sustainability. The new Global Degree Pathway Program will be a strategic collaboration between SJTU and the University of Michigan in the next decade, to provide students with a more diversified international education platform. To strengthen the research cooperation, the two schools will build new research centers on smart-connected systems, and energy materials and systems.
Jun Ni, JI Honorary Dean, talked about taking the educational advantages of China and the United States to cultivate the talents who meet the needs of the times and JI’s future development. He pointed out that, while developing steadily, JI is facing many challenges, such as graduate student training and educational resource support, which still lag behind.
Representing UM, Associate Dean Steven Ceccio reported on UM’s recent strategic research programs and the collaboration with SJTU. Among them, the research centers with JI will be joining the government and enterprises to develop research in a smart-connected system involving urban life, medicine, environment, energy, manufacturing, etc., aiming to become an international joint research laboratory for faculty buildings and innovative talent training.
Richard Rogel, DAB Co-chair, suggesting strengthening management and raising endowment funds.
John Wu, DAB Co-chairman, suggesting connecting with the government and the society, and forming a diversified investment and support scheme.
While fully affirming JI’s recent achievements, the DAB members offered advice on the institute’s international research cooperation and financial sustainability. They discussed ways to attract funds from all sectors of the society, the main directions and facility construction of the new research centers, ways to combine research activities to stimulate students’ innovative and entrepreneurial awareness and other issues.
SJTU Vice President Lifeng Xi offered advice on JI’s research development. He suggested that JI should spend efforts to build up a growing-up mechanism for faculty members, and a communication platform for them to exchange ideas and improve their research capacity, so as to propelling the mutual development of teaching and research of the Joint Institute.
Some of the JI DAB board members
（from the left：Guanxin Li, Jun Ni, Ping Hua, Qiang Cheng, Richard Rogel,
John Wu, Peisen Huang, Liming Yu, Lin Zhang, Chunhe Gong）
ul alumni of UM and SJTU. They usually meet once or twice a year. As the Institute’s development consultancy, the DAB provides guidance and support for the strategies and resources for JI’s future development. It has played an important role in promoting JI’s international exchanges and cooperation.
