Initiated by the inauguralcohort of the “Future Leaders” Program students, “Guanghua After Hours”is an English-speaking event series aimed at connecting Guanghua faculty members with students outside the classroom. The first edition, “Future Leaders Christmas Reunion”, organized by the class committee of the “Future Leaders” Program was held online on December 23^rd.

—Sitting Down with the Professors
This first event featured three Guanghua professors, Prof. Zhou Li’an, Prof.Ma Li, and Prof. Liu Qi, who are also academic advisors of the program students. After an icebreaker game warming up all participants, students were put into smaller breakout rooms with each of the three professors. Everybody was engaged in the breadth of the topics discussed.

Professor Liu Qi recounted his transition from mathematics to Finance and shared his predictions for the future of the Chinese financial markets. Prof Ma Li talked about his education shift from engineering to management, shared his experience about managing the GK EMBA program and elaborated on the key aspects to be considered when doing business in China. Prof Zhou Li’an shared his own academic and research experience, gave advice on how to deal with various globalization challenges, and explained the innovation and significance of“Future Leaders”program. The conversations were conducted in an open and relaxing atmosphere, allowing studentsto gain a candid and realistic view into the minds of the professors, while also helping them build a closer connection with their respective faculty advisors.
— Getting to Know Us
To spark new conversations about the incredibly diverse and accomplished students in the “Future Leaders” program, a final Kahoot! game was crafted based on the students’ involvement and activitiesduringthe past several months, for example, Whose Chinese name includes an animal on the Chinese Zodiac? Who competes in synchronized swimming? Who is a professional tennis player? Which two of them have the same birthday? etc.With students passionate about such a variety of interests, this final game was an engaging way to learn more about classmates outside of academics.

The students of the ‘Future Leaders’ program have each braved global uncertainties to begin a new academic year, making new friends and learning of new faces. Guanghua faculty and staff have all made that process smooth and enjoyable, and facilitated these new friendships crafted solely online. Let’s look forward to the future editions of Guanghua After Hours!

Writer: Lauren Ho, Alexandre Loo, Ava Tian
Editor: Tracy Qian
Designer: Ava Tian