On July 12th, the Inaugural Ceremony of Hubei Digital Economy College and the Digital Economy Forum were held at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL). During the event, the official unveiling of Hubei Digital Economy College took place, marking it as China’s first digital economy college established under the overall coordination of a provincial government.
It is reported that Hubei Digital Economy College was established under the leadership of the People’s Government of Hubei Province, with guidance from many supervisory authorities including the Hubei Provincial Department of Education and the Hubei Provincial Bureau of Data and led by ZUEL. This initiative represents a key measure to implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches during his inspection in Hubei and the relevant arrangements of the Hubei Provincial Government. Based on the four core disciplines of “economics, management, law, and information science” at ZUEL, the college aims to build a cluster of digital economy disciplines and specialties that are oriented to the times, aligned with industries, and forward-looking for the future. Its goal is to cultivate top-notch innovative talents in the digital economy who are “innovative, interdisciplinary, application-oriented, and international”, capable of meeting market demands in the digital economy field and leading industrial development.
Zhou Senfeng, Director of the Hubei Provincial Data Bureau; Dai Wei, Deputy Director of the Hubei Provincial
Department of Education; and Zhu Fangwei, President and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of ZUEL, unveiled the Hubei Digital Economy College.
Dai Wei, Deputy Director of the Hubei Provincial Department of Education
Dai Wei, Deputy Director of the Hubei Provincial Department of Education, pointed out that the establishment of Hubei Digital Economy College is an important measure to serve national strategies, drive regional development, and lead educational reform. We should take the construction of new liberal arts as the core, reshape the educational innovation paradigm, and promote the transformation of the discipline system, the talent cultivation model, and the research orientation; and build a highland for top-notch innovative talents, a hub for national strategic think tanks, and a demonstration platform for the integration of industry and education.
Zhu Fangwei, president and deputy secretary of the Party committee of ZUEL
Zhu Fangwei, president and deputy secretary of the Party committee of ZUEL, emphasized that Hubei Digital Economy College has gathered more than a hundred national-level talents and industry leaders, and is committed to cultivating leading talents in the digital economy who have a global perspective and the ability to apply cutting-edge technologies, excel in economics, are familiar with practical operations, and are adept at starting business.
Zhou Senfeng, Director General of the Hubei Provincial Bureau of Data Administration
Zhou Senfeng, Director General of the Hubei Provincial Bureau of Data Administration, highlighted that the establishment of the Hubei Digital Economy College holds significant strategic importance and practical value. The Bureau will fully support the College’s development, enabling it to emerge as a pacesetter in digital economy talent cultivation, industry-education integration, and scientific research innovation.
Professor Justin Yifu Lin, Director of Peking University’s Institute of New Structural Economics, Honorary Dean of both its National School of Development and Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development, Standing Committee Member of the CPPCC National Committee, and Vice Chair of its Economic Affairs Committee
Liu Shouying, Professor at Renmin University’s School of Economics and Secretary-General of China’s National Digital Economy Graduate Education Steering Committee
Professor Fang Jie, President of Hubei University of Economics, Director of the Ministry-Province Jointly Built Collaborative Innovation Center for Carbon Emissions Trading under the Ministry of Education, and Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)
At the conference, Professor Justin Yifu Lin from Peking University, Professor Liu Shouying from Renmin University of China, and President Fang Jie from Hubei University of Economics delivered addresses. They extended congratulations on the establishment of the Hubei Digital Economy College and proposed that the College should pioneer research in digital economy for Hubei and the nation, propel the transition toward digital industrialization and industry-specific digitalization in the digital era, and thus enhance new productive forces to advance high-quality development and Chinese modernization.
Liu Ren Shan, Vice President and a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Committee at ZUEL
Liu Ren Shan, Vice President and a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Committee at ZUEL, presided over the meeting. He stated that Hubei Digital Economy College will be developed into an innovation hub and talent incubator that leads the regional digital economy development, injecting robust digital impetus into accelerating the establishment of a crucial strategic pivot for the rise of central China.
After the ceremony, a digital economy forum was held, featuring keynote reports, round-table discussions, academic seminars, and sub-forums on production-academia integration. Over 60 national-level talents, deans of economics and management schools, and corporate representatives exchanged insights and shared expertise on digital economy talent cultivation and disciplinary development.
Correspondent: Zhu Zhangpeng, Zu Baolu, Yu Li, Dai Shiwei
Photographers: Peng Jia
Reviewer: Gao Nan