On September 12, 2026, the New Student Orientation and Dean's Opening Lecture for the 2026 Master of International Business (MIB) cohort was held at Antai College of Economics and Management (ACEM), Shanghai Jiao Tong University. More than 50 new MIB students from 24 countries across five continents gathered to embark on their academic journey at ACEM. The event was hosted by Associate Professor Jiang Ming, Academic Director of the MIB Program.

The session opened with welcome remarks delivered by Prof. Qu Xi, Associate Dean of ACEM. Prof. Qu extended a warm welcome to the incoming MIB students for joining the Antai family, and gave an overview of the college’s development history, academic strengths and talent cultivation system.

Professor Chen Fangruo, Dean of ACEM, then delivered the Dean's Opening Lecture and warmly welcomed the new MIB students. He introduced the rich heritage of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the development of ACEM, shared the origin of the name "Antai", and elaborated on the college strategy of "two types of scholarship, horizontal (academic) and vertical (industry), reinforcing each other and connecting theory with practice".

Professor Chen shared his personal journey — studying at SJTU, pursuing further education overseas, teaching at Columbia University, and returning to his alma mater. He then set out his expectations for the new MIB students. In academics, they should stay curious, open-minded and critical, pursue broad learning both inside and beyond the classroom, and cultivate core human competencies in the AI era. In career development, he encouraged students to seize the opportunities presented by Chinese enterprises going global and to leverage their cross-cultural advantages as MIB graduates. In life, he advised students to learn to live a happy life — maintaining a positive attitude and cultivating healthy habits.

In the New Student Orientation session, Associate Professor Jiang Ming briefed students on the curriculum design, academic requirements and administrative arrangements of the MIB program, and answered questions on the spot to help students adapt quickly and plan their postgraduate studies.

This orientation gave the new MIB students a holistic understanding of ACEM and the MIB program, as well as of the mission of international business talent in the current era. The cohort will build expertise in international business at ACEM and grow into business professionals with global vision and local insights.