Shanghai, May 16, 2018—The Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF), a leading educator in modern finance and management in China, today entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Wharton School (Wharton) of the University of Pennsylvania, a top business school in the United States, whereby the two schools will form a long-term strategic collaboration for the development of SAIF into a premier school of finance in China and in the world and for the expansion of Wharton in its presence and connections in China. The collaboration will cover broad and important areas ranging from strategic development to academic research, to societal impact and educational programs.
Professor Geoffrey Garrett, Dean of Wharton, and Professor Chun Chang, Executive Dean of SAIF, signed the MOU. Professor Zhong Zhang, Director of the Penn Wharton China Center, Professor Xinlei Chen and Professor Hong Yan, Deputy Deans of SAIF, attended the signing ceremony.
According to the MOU, Wharton will become a strategic partner of SAIF to advise on the latter’s long-term development plan. The partnership between the two institutions, each considered among the most prestigious business schools in the US and China, respectively, also extends to academic research, as the two sides will conduct collaborative research in areas such as finance, macroeconomic policies, and corporate and institutional management, with a focus on China and other emerging markets.
In terms of educational programs, the two sides will jointly develop and deliver the Advanced Finance Program targeting business executives in China in addition to annual exchanges of study tours by students of various programs. Moreover, to strengthen the impact of their academic research on businesses and the society, SAIF and Wharton will co-organize a number of high-level activities on the theme of China’s economic and financial development, including the Shanghai Finance Forum.
Executive Dean Professor Chun Chang said that SAIF is committed to becoming a world class institution focusing on finance education and research, and that through the strategic partnership with Wharton, SAIF will benefit from the advanced educational concepts, curriculum design and managerial expertise of a world-leading business school, and thus accelerate its pace towards building a global-minded, China-grounded, market-oriented, and professionally managed educational institution. The joint research programs composed of the faculty from both schools will not only strengthen the research capabilities of SAIF, but will also enhance its role as a think tank for China’s economic and financial development.
The Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) was established by the Shanghai Municipal Government at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in April 2009. Its mission is to become a world class institution of research and advanced learning in finance and management. SAIF is committed to developing top talent and cutting-edge knowledge, with a focus on Chinese markets and their global connections. SAIF earned international accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) in February, 2016. SAIF is among the youngest AACSB-accredited business schools in the world.
The Wharton School was founded as the world's first collegiate business school at the University of Pennsylvania in 1881. Wharton’s pioneering vision was to produce graduates who would become "pillars of the state, whether in private or in public life." The Wharton School maintains a long tradition of educating visionary business leaders in academia, business, government, and not-for-profit organizations.
