(Singapore 4 April 2023) Zhejiang University International Business School (ZIBS) announced today the inauguration of Singapore Center, its first overseas branch, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Institute of Operations Research and Analytics (IORA).
According to the MOU, the two sides will conduct joint degree programmes and Executive Development Programmes (EDP), as well as establish a joint laboratory of supply chain management and supply chain finance.
Prof Teo Chung Piaw, Executive Director of IORA, said in his remarks: “I am looking forward to working with ZIBS… and the amazing future when operational research meets finance.”
He said the MOU will create more opportunities and resources for both ZIBS and IORA. It will not only lift IORA’s research capabilities but also support the development of enterprises in ASEAN. Collaboration with Chinese enterprises will help IORA better understand their demands and concerns, which will enable us to optimize our research work and improve the applicability and practicability of our research outcomes.
The ZIBS Singapore Center has a professional faculty team that comprises entrepreneurs and bankers from the world’s leading businesses as well as experts and professors from top-ranking universities from all over the world, officials said.
In the presence of Dr. Han Jun, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, Prof. Ben Shenglin, Dean of ZIBS, signed an MOU with Prof Teo Chung Piaw, Executive Director of IORA. Dr. Han Jun said that the collaboration in business studies between the two well-known universities is another iconic achievement of educational cooperation between Singapore and China.
Prof Ben Shenglin, Dean of ZIBS, said: “Today’s center is going to be the new beginning of our dreams… I want t to learn sth from Operational Research.”
He said Singapore Center is a forefront of ZIBS’s international strategy, with its commitment to staying relevant in talent growth and scientific research projects. Hopefully, the Center will become a bridge between China, Singapore, and ASEAN to promote their economic, industrial, and research exchanges. We are devoted to tapping into the full potential of cooperation and exchanges in any form in ASEAN.
ZIBS and IORA also agreed to work together to conduct research and teaching programmes and promote advanced business analysis and operational technology. In principle, they aim to further facilitate academic studies and industrial cooperation, with the eventual purpose of pushing ahead the cooperation and development between Singapore and China in the ASEAN market.
Rodney Sin, Head of Great China & Japan & North Asia, Bank of Singapore, said: “By combining the strength of both schools, this platform is to share their insights… and to have cross-cultural exchanges.”
After the MOU signing ceremony, ZIBS and IORA co-hosted their first Singapore Forum with its theme of “Singapore in a Divided World – The Future of Finance, Supply Chain & More”. Moderated by Prof Alvin Shen, Director of ZIBS, Singapore Centre, the Forum was attended by Prof Teo of IORA, Prof Ben of ZIBS, Dr. Robert Yap, Executive Chairman of YCH Group, Tan Kah Chye, Founder of CCR Partner, Ms. Jean Chia, CIO, Bank of Singapore, and Ouyang Xiuzhang, Founder and CEO of Cove Investment.
Against the backdrop of multiple geopolitical crises, the participants of the Forum recognize that countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific must enhance their ties and exchanges, particularly in areas of trade and supply chain, to leverage each other’s strengths and foster win-win cooperation. Participants emphasized the importance of close collaboration among not only governments but enterprises, organizations and educational institutes, so as to navigate the turbulence in the financial world and achieve success in a post-COVID environment.
