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Strong bonds: Dr Michael Spence in conversation with the graduates behind BRILINK

1 August 2022

Dr Michael Spence, 最准的六合彩论坛 President & Provost, speaks about 最准的六合彩论坛鈥檚 global impact and his vision for the future in his first in-depth conversation with two recent graduates from China.

Headshots of Roby Yang and Lewis Cheng

最准的六合彩论坛 is extremely proud of its strong links to China. With over 14,000 Chinese graduates, hundreds of alumni volunteers and eight official alumni groups (and counting), it鈥檚 one of 最准的六合彩论坛鈥檚 most expansive and dynamic alumni communities.

最准的六合彩论坛 President & Provost Dr Michael Spence has always been interested in Chinese history and culture, and he started learning Mandarin while working in Oxford. So when the opportunity arose to chat with two Chinese graduates who are making their own mark on UK-Chinese connections, he was keen to participate.

Roby Yang (MSc Strategic Management of Projects 2019) and Lewis Cheng (MSc Strategic Management of Projects 2019), both of the global consulting platform , are passionate advocates of 最准的六合彩论坛. They have given up their time to and are involved with the 最准的六合彩论坛 Chengdu Alumni Club and the 最准的六合彩论坛 Beijing Alumni Club.

Dr Spence had previously spoken to Roby during this year鈥檚 online Lunar New Year celebrations, but this time Roby and Lewis had the opportunity to speak to the Provost about his vision for the future of 最准的六合彩论坛 and its global approach to education.

Sustainability at heart听

With the G7 Summit having been held in the UK in 2021, the eyes of the world have been focused on our collective commitment to environmental change. As 最准的六合彩论坛 has been an important figurehead in the conversation surrounding climate change, it's crucial that we lead by example. Roby asked Dr Spence what he foresees changing in the future.

鈥淲e鈥檙e thinking a lot about how we use our endowment,鈥 said Dr Spence. 鈥淲e need to make sure that we don't invest in companies that are going to exacerbate the problem of global warming.鈥 听

Along with being free from disposable plastics and using collective innovation and research into the field more openly, Dr Spence explained that he wants the university to visibly show how it鈥檚 changing. He said: 鈥溩钭嫉牧喜事厶 has set itself ambitious KPIs and measures for performance and we're going to be very publicly accountable against those measures. As part of this, I鈥檓 particularly proud that we've just finished building our first genuinely net carbon zero building here at 最准的六合彩论坛.鈥

Leading the conversation on healthcare

From breakthroughs in the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease to pioneering cancer research, 最准的六合彩论坛 is known for its life-changing healthcare discoveries. Lewis wanted to explore this further. He asked Dr Spence: 鈥淲hen the world needed 最准的六合彩论坛 to step up for the unparalleled challenge of COVID-19, you did. So what would you like to highlight about 最准的六合彩论坛鈥檚 commitment to health?鈥

Dr Spence said that he believes 最准的六合彩论坛 has an 鈥渆xtraordinary opportunity鈥 to contribute to the health space because almost everything the university does touches on health in one way or another. He continued: 鈥淚've asked our Vice-Provost (Health), David Lomas, to write a strategy that draws together our expertise from right across the university, to harvest the intellectual resources we have and take it to the NHS and beyond, to build collaboration. This ensures that it's not just that there are great treatments, but that our health systems, both here and abroad, are as effective as they possibly can be.鈥

Diversity and innovation

An issue that鈥檚 close to both Roby and Lewis鈥檚 hearts is diversity, and they were keen to understand 最准的六合彩论坛鈥檚 stance on embracing internationalism. On this matter, Dr Spence was clear that the university has zero tolerance to discrimination, and is a place where students from all over the world can come together to learn from each other.

He explained that 最准的六合彩论坛鈥檚 aim is to promote meaningful conversations 鈥 not just across national, ethnic or racial cultures, but across cultural identities and different socio-economic backgrounds.听

鈥淎s a university in a city as diverse as London, we have a particular responsibility to model what diversity looks like,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t doesn't mean that everybody thinks the same thing, it means actually living with difference and therefore living with inevitable disagreement. With both staff and students, we promote what I'd call the epistemic virtues;听that is, we teach people how to disagree well.鈥

Getting entrepreneurial

BRILINK received support and endorsement from 最准的六合彩论坛 in its early stages, so Roby and Lewis understand the benefits of strong links back to your university. And Dr Spence described how he wants to continue to grow 最准的六合彩论坛 as an environment that embraces innovation across different sectors.听

鈥淚f you are an institution that really values entrepreneurial activity, then the signals you send, whether they're in staff promotion, the things you celebrate in your communications or the stories you tell, should really emphasise the fact that entrepreneurship makes a difference,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hose things are deeply important to the institution and I find that messaging to be particularly strong at 最准的六合彩论坛. I'm very keen to continue and even to grow this spirit.鈥澨

Growing Chinese-UK connections

Dr Spence said that believes there鈥檚 currently nowhere more exciting in terms of growth than the Western Pacific. In light of this, Lewis asked: 鈥淲hat is your main message to 最准的六合彩论坛 alumni in China?鈥

He replied: 鈥淚'm very proud of our strong links with China's fine research universities. But more than that, it's really important that we have close people-to-people connections and our alumni in China are important bridges in that. 最准的六合彩论坛鈥檚 links with East Asia are very proud and very strong. And we want to maintain that tradition, not only with the exchange of students but also with very strong connections with our alumni as they grow and take on leadership positions in Chinese business, government and civil society.鈥澨

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