From September 13th to September 15th, the 2021 MF Opening Ceremony was held at the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF). This year's orientation week was held in a combined online and on-site format, which enabled students from all over the world to attend.
MF2021 has 71 students from China and overseas. Due to the pandemic, international students in Italy, France, Germany, and Malaysia attended the ceremony virtually.
During the ceremony, Professor Chun Chang (Huifu Chair Professor, Executive Dean at SAIF) delivered a welcome speech. In his speech, he encouraged students to balance the following four aspects in their future life at SAIF: the balance between long-term and short-term goals, between the expectation from your parents and your own pursuits, between personal values and social responsibilities, and between study and enjoying life.
Professor Tan Wang (MF Academic Director, Professor of Finance at SAIF), Professor Xianglin Li (MF Academic Co-Director, Associate Director of CAFR, Professor of Practice at SAIF), Hongjun An (Founder and Chairman of Genharmony), Professor Chao Zi (Assistant Professor at SAIF), Lin Yang (Director of MF Program) and all MF Program staff attended the opening ceremony. Hongjun An, Professor Wang, and the MF Program Head Ms. Lin Yang shared their life experiences and conveyed their best wishes to the 2021 class.
As freshmen at SAIF, MF-General21 student Xiaoshuang Chen (graduate from Peking University with a Bachelor's degree in Economics) and MF-Fintech21 student Junming Chen (graduate from Tsinghua University with a Bachelor's degree in Automation) expressed their excitement and expectation for their new start at SAIF.
Taoran Wang from MF-General20 and Yufang Peng from MF-FinTech20 also shared their learning and living experiences at SAIF as senior representatives.
Professor Wenjun Qiu (Guest Professor of Practice at SAIF) encouraged students to integrate theory with practice in their study and to actively participate in the CFA Research Challenge.
In order to help students better adapt to their upcoming new life at SAIF, the staff from various departments gave an in-depth overview of SAIF MF's curriculum design and comprehensive services.
Professor Jie Hu, Professor of Practice at SAIF and former CEO of the Financial Division at Xunlei Group, brought an impressive first class to the students, entitled "A New Face of the Old Financial Kingdom". Professor Hu guided the students in a review of the past, present and future of the financial world, inspiring an industry-oriented macro perspective and deepening their understanding of the industry.
Mr. Zhang, who had worked at JP Morgan in London, brought a wonderful practical course to the students, giving them a glance at the financial workplace and training their networking skills.
Standing at the starting point of a meaningful new journey, the students wrote down small objectives for the next two years and their wishes for the future. The program team then sealed these "time capsules" for them to open in person when they graduate two years later.
