On the afternoon of July 7, 2019, Antai College of Economics and Management held a grand graduation ceremony for 2019 undergraduate, master and doctoral students and conferred academic degrees on them in Wenzhi Hall on Xuhui Campus. Dean of Antai College Fangruo Chen, Party Committee Secretary Jie Yang, Associate Dean Shaoxuan Liu, Deputy Party Committee Secretary Donghong Zhang, Chairman of the Council of Professors Chongfeng Wu, Director of the MIB (Master of International Business) Program Lin Lu, Director of Business Management Undergraduate Program Xingshan Zheng, famous alumni representatives, teachers, 2019 graduates and some of their parents attended the ceremony. The graduation ceremony was presided over by Associate Dean Runtian Jing.

Professor Fangruo Chen, Dean of the College, gave the speech first. He said that he would like to talk about study when it was time to say goodbye. “Graduation is not the end, but the beginning -- the beginning of lifelong learning. The purpose of higher education is not to stuff students with random knowledge, but to develop students into lifelong scholars with strong curiosity and independent thinking ability".

Mr. Jun Qian, COO of NBA China and a well-known Antai alumnus, recalled his teachers in Antai more than 20 years ago, and addressed the students. “There is no way to make strict plans in life, but the future is very worth looking forward to.”  He said that in an era of intense competition and change, students might not predict exactly which wave they would be involved in, but they were fortunate enough to make a wide range of choices to achieve their ambitions.

The faculty representative, Dr. Zhiwei Xu, introduced in his speech the concept of “distribution” from his course Macroeconomics in a very academic and humorous way, expressing his expectations for the graduating students. Xu said that the students' study time in Antai was a dynamic process of human capital accumulation. Antai's education had increased the average human capital of all students and fostered many outstanding students. He hoped that students would make good use of the comparative advantages Antai had granted them to contribute to the progress of the country and the nation.

Later, four excellent student representatives from the undergraduate, master and doctoral programs shared their gratitude and nostalgia for their Alma mater and their expectations for the future. Shiting Yang, a master in Finance, said that the elite education of Antai had given students a broad vision of China and the world, the character of combining knowledge with practice, and the mind of helping the needed. Students should strive to be leaders and promoters of the social trends and developments, and defenders of the bottom line and conscience of the society. The doctoral representative Shan Wang shared her experiences after 6 years in Antai to study for a successive master-doctoral degree. She reminded the graduating students to remain true to their original aspirations and learn endlessly. Olivier Stamm, a MIB student from Switzerland, looked back on passing the two years. He said that “as we came together from different worlds two years ago, today we yet again part to new shores - but something has changed. For now and forever, we are all part of the MIB family, act as permanent representatives of the Antai College of Economics and Management  and serve as proud ambassadors of SJTU.”

Party Committee Secretary Jie Yang made a summary speech. He commented that “getting a degree from Antai was a tough process, which makes it all the more valuable”. Yang encouraged the students to seize opportunities in the face of the trend of big data and artificial intelligence, keep a pure heart in the face of difficulties and challenges, and never forget where they were going.

In order to keep close contact with the students, the College appointed 11 students as class representatives to work at alumni liaison after graduation. Wish all the graduating students all the best!