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On May 11, 2022, Times Higher Education (THE) released the third edition of its China Subject Ratings. SJTU performed well in this year's ratings, with a total of 41 disciplines being awarded an A+ ranking. Three disciplines co-constructed by SAIF (Industry & Business Administration, Management Science and Engineering, and Applied Economics) regained A+ designation. Based on the discipline classification system by Chinese Ministry of Education, the THE China Subject Ratings provide universities in mainland China with opportunities to compare and demonstrate academic strengths with universities worldwide. This year’s ratings include 1,543 universities worldwide, 91 of which are in mainland China. Using the subject classification system by the Chinese Ministry of Education, they measure performance in 82 subjects on a scale of A+ to C-. The results show that in the vast majority of disciplines, mainland Chinese universities outperformed universities overseas. Overall, mainland China scores an average grade of B+ in the ratings, above the global average of B. The data for the 2022 THE China Subject Ratings come from the 2022 THE World University Rankings, the THE China Reputation Survey for 2021 and 2022, the THE Academic Reputation Survey for 2020 and 2021, and Elsevier bibliometrics. The Times Higher Education China Subject Ratings are the only performance tables that judge Chinese institutions against their global peers based upon the Chinese Ministry of Education's classification of subjects. The ratings measure research-intensive universities' subject performance across five key areas: teaching (the learning environment); research (volume, income, and reputation); citations (research influence); international outlook (staff, students, and research); and industry income (knowledge transfer).

Recently, Zhe Geng, a 2022 PhD graduate from SAIF, received a teaching offer from the School of Management of Fudan University. Two other PhD graduates, Xiaoming Li and Mingmei Liu, also received offers from the University of International Business and Economics and Jinan University, respectively. They all joined the tenure track. In fact, since Chinese universities have tried to implement the tenure track faculty system, most of the newly recruited professors are PhD graduates in relevant fields from famous overseas universities. So, what makes PhD students from SAIF stand out among so many Finance PhD returnees ? Zhe Geng said, “Thanks to the academic training and encouragement from my supervisors, Professors Jun Pan and Tan Wang, during my PhD, as well as the guidance from Professors Jiang Wang and Darrell Duffie, I was able to get the offer from Fudan University. I also want to express my gratitude to SAIF’s international cultivation model and the whole faculty team.” As for the three PhD graduates entering the tenure track of top universities in China this year, Nengjiu Ju (Professor of Finance, PhD Program Academic Director atSAIF) said, “It shows that SAIF PhD graduates basically have the strength to compete with PhD students from famous overseas universities at the same level. It also shows that SAIF PhD program has been recognized by peers.”

On April 6th, 2022, QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) released its 12th World University Rankings by Subject. Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) ranked among the top 50 in the world in 6 disciplines. Three of these six disciplines were co-constructed by SAIF, including: Accounting and Finance, ranked 48th globally; Business and Management Studies, ranked 50th globally; and Economics and Econometrics, ranked 63rd globally — with all 3 disciplines ranked in the top 3 in mainland China. In addition, Statistics and Operations Research ranked 51st-100th in the world, and 4th in mainland China. The ranking conducted an independent comparative analysis of the performance across 51 disciplines and 5 academic fields of 15,200 universities globally. In QS Rankings by Subject 2021, a total of 93 universities from mainland China were listed, ranking 3rd in the world after the U.S. and the U.K in terms of the number of disciplines. One hundred disciplines of 22 universities in mainland China were ranked in the top 50 globally. QS World University Rankings by Subject is one of the four most authoritative global university rankings, along with Times High Education, U.S. News & World Report, and ShanghaiRanking. Unlike the Times and U.S. News rankings, which focus on comprehensive indicators (including academic conditions and funding), the QS and ShanghaiRanking emphasize academic reputation, research output, and impact. In the 2021 ShanghaiRanking’s Academic Ranking of World Universities released last year, in Finance, SJTU ranked 1st in mainland China and 55th in the world.

On February 25th, the Faculty and Staff Spring Semester Meeting was held at SAIF. Professor Shijun Cheng (Executive Dean), Professor Qigui Zhu (Secretary of the CPC SAIF Committee), Professor Jiang Wang (Executive Director, Chair of Academic Council at SAIF), and Professor Guangshao Tu (Adjunct Professor of SJTU, Executive Director of SAIF Board) delivered speeches. Nearly 200 SAIF professors and staff attended the meeting. Professor Shijun Cheng said that in 2022, SAIF needs to further develop and innovate with talent training, faculty training, think tank construction, resource expansion, internal management, and party construction. SAIF also needs to strive for breakthroughs in teaching and research, optimize resource allocation and management structure, and give full play to synergy efforts to enhance SAIF's core competitiveness. Professor Qigui Zhu said that in order to ensure the successful completion of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the key tasks of SAIF, we should continuously emphasize both quality and quantity in 2022. We must focus on key and difficult points, so as to comprehensively promote SAIF's agenda. Professor Jiang Wang pointed out that SAIF has entered version 2.0 of its development since the start of the Phase III Strategic Plan, which requires more effort to achieve higher standards and goals. SAIF will innovate, strengthen sustainable development, and enhance the functions of the Shanghai Municipal Government. In his concluding speech, Professor Guangshao Tu said that all faculty should further build upon their strengths and transform existing resources into developmental momentum for Shanghai, SJTU, and SAIF itself.

On February 14th, 2022, China issued a list of eligible universities for the second stage of its initiative to build top-class universities and assemble academic disciplines. Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) has been listed in 18 of the disciplines, including Industry & Business Administration which was co-constructed by SAIF. In this stage of the "Double First-Class"initiative of Industry & Business Administration, SJTU took Industry & Business Administration as the main construct, and three first-level disciplines as supporting elements, including Management Science & Engineering, Applied Economics, and Public Management. It was co-constructed by SAIF and its main research fields included: Enterprise Management, Data Science & Management Optimization, Accounting & Finance, Technological Innovation & Industrial Development, and Business Environment & Policy Innovation. In the first stage of "Double First-Class"initiative (2016-2020), SJTU achieved expected results in the construction of "Business and Management"(which will change into "Industry & Business Administration"in the second stage), with some of the tasks having been completed beyond expectations. It ranked A+ in the 4th round of discipline assessment by the Ministry of Education, and, of its five directions, ranked in the top 100 in the QS World University Rankings. Accounting & Finance, which was constructed mainly by SAIF, ranked in the top 50 globally and in the top three among mainland universities.

On January 12th, 2022, the Professional Master's Thesis Supervision Meeting was held at SAIF by the Thesis Supervision Committee (TSC). The meeting allowed supervisors to exchange ideas and deepen their understanding of quality standards and requirements for thesis writing in each SAIF program. Nearly 40 professors who would be supervising the master's theses in the 2021-2022 academic year attended the lunch, meeting either onsite or online. Professor Qigui Zhu (Secretary of the CPC SAIF Committee, Chairman of TSC) chaired the meeting and delivered a speech. He thanked thesis supervisors from SAIF and beyond for their contributions to the quality improvement of these in the past year. He pointed out that through the whole process of a master's student's cultivation, all the supervisors must attach importance to moral education, and take care of students both in academic matters and in also in life. He also emphasized the importance of academic integrity. In the meeting, Professor Tan Wang (Academic Director of the MF Program), Professor Jie Chang (Academic Director of the MBA Program), and Professor Fei Wu (Academic Co-Director of the EED Program) introduced each aspect of thesis work for the MF, MBA, and EMBA programs respectively, and summarized the overall development in 2021. Professor Xianglin Li (Academic Co-Director of the MF program) made an additional explanation. Professor Tzukuan Chiu was also invited to share her experience in teaching thesis writing courses. Professor Nengjiu Ju (Co-Chairman of TSC) introduced the basic process of thesis guiding work for the MF, MBA, and EMBA programs and shared a speech on "how to ensure thesis quality". In the discussion session, supervisors shared their views on: "the topic of the thesis", "the form of the thesis", "the requirements and responsibilities of supervisors", "the kind of guidance that should be given to different types of students of MF, MBA, and EMBA programs", and "how to effectively improve the standardization of thesis and improve students'enthusiasm for thesis writing".

On January 27th, 2022, SAIF announced that the Institute Council decided to approve the request of Professor Chun Chang (Professor of Finance, Huifu Chair Professor) to step down as Executive Dean. Professor Shijun Cheng was then designated as the new Executive Dean. SAIF recognized the major and extensive contributions to the construction and development of SAIF made by Professor Chang Chun since he became Executive Dean in 2010. He played a crucial role in the development of SAIF, including the establishment of the international model of research and education, innovative institutional building, the development of our education and research programs, as well as branding and outreach initiatives. Meanwhile, as a distinguished scholar, Professor Chang has obtained major achievements in a number of research areas (Winner of the Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Award in 2016).His pioneering efforts and dedication in teaching/educational activities have also contributed to the development of finance education and research both at SAIF and in China.SAIF looks forward to his continuing contribution to the school’s development in his role as a senior faculty and a leading finance scholar. Professor Shijun Cheng is a senior Professor of Accounting at SAIF and has been a Special-Term Professor since the inception of SAIF. Prior to joining SAIF as a full-time professor in 2018, he accumulated rich expertise and experience from his service as Dean of School of Management, Jinan University (Guangzhou). After joining SAIF in 2018, Shijun acted as Deputy Dean, overseeing our MBA and MF programs and several major administrative functions, including finance and HR. In 2020, he started to serve on the Institute Council as a member in 2020 and participated in the Institute's planning and operation process, demonstrating a strong sense of mission, responsibility and implementation. His character and work have received wide recognition.In addition, as an alumnus of SJTU (1993, Ph.D. in Industrial Management Engineering), Professor Cheng is full of passion and confidence in serving the Institute and contributing to the development of the University. Professor Shijun Cheng said that he would work closely with the leadership team to implement development strategies and decisions made by the Institute Council to serve the construction of Shanghai International Finance Center, and to promote the construction of SJTU as a world-class university. He also hoped to work with all faculty, staff, students, alumni, colleagues, and other concerned stakeholders to build SAIF into a top-class financial school in China as swiftly as possible. Profile Dr. Shijun Cheng is theExecutive Dean and Professor of Accounting at the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He earned his D.Eng. in Industrial Management Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and his Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Pittsburgh. Previously he was on the faculty of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, and the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland (with tenure). He was also the Dean of the School of Management at Jinan University in Guangzhou. His research is focused upon corporate governance, compensation and incentives, and managerial accounting. Prof. Cheng has published in top academic journals such asThe Accounting Review,Contemporary Accounting Research,Review of Financial Studies, andthe Journal of Financial Economics. He serves (or has served) on the editorial boards ofContemporary Accounting Researchandthe China Journal of Accounting Research, and was on the first academic committee forChina Industrial Economics. Prof. Cheng has taught Managerial Accounting, Financial Accounting, Essentials of Accounting for Decision Makers, Performance Measurement and Compensation Design, and Corporate Governance for doctoral, masters, and undergraduate programs (as well as non-degree programs).

In the international academic community, the top five journals in economics are: the American Economic Review (AER), Econometrica (ECA), the Journal of Political Economy (JPE), the Quarterly Journal of Economics (QJE), and the Review of Economic Studies (RES). The top three journals in finance are: the Journal of Finance (JF), the Journal of Financial Economics (JFE), and the Review of Financial Studies (RFS). In 2021, a total of 6 papers by SAIF finance professors were published or accepted by the above-mentioned top international academic journals. According to statistics, 52 papers (including accepted and to be published, the same below) were published by SAIF Full Professors in 2021, of which 34 were published in international academic journals. By the end of 2021, SAIF professors published a total of 738 papers, of which 215 were published in top international academic journals, maintaining a leading position among similar institutions. The research results not only reflected the strong intellectual drive at SAIF, but also the academic rigor of the various teaching programs as well. The 6 papers published or accepted by the top international academic journals were: Air Pollution, Affect, and Forecasting Bias: Evidence from Chinese Financial Analysts(JFE) co-authored by Professor Yongxiang Wang (Professor of Finance at SAIF), Rui Dong (Renmin Business School), Raymond Fisman (Department of Economics, Boston University), and Nianhang Xu (Renmin Business School); Under-Diversification and Idiosyncratic Risk Externalities (JFE) co-authored by Professor Chao Zi (Assistant Professor of Finance at SAIF), Felipe S. Iachan (EPGE School of Finance, Brazil), and Dejanir Silva (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); Property Rights, Land Misallocation, and Agricultural Efficiency in China (RES) co-authored by Professor Yongxiang Wang (Professor of Finance at SAIF), Amalavoyal Chari (University of Sussex, UK), Elaine M. Liu (University of Houston, National Bureau of Economic Research), and Shing-Yi Wang (University of Pennsylvania, National Bureau of Economic Research); Air Pollution, Behavioral Bias, and the Disposition Effect in China (JFE) co-authored by Professor Jie Li (Assistant Professor of Finance at SAIF), Massimo Massa (Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires), Zhang Hong (Wudaokou School of Finance, Tsinghua University), and Jian Zhang (School of Business and Economics, the University of Hong Kong); Premium for Heightened Uncertainty: Explaining Pre-Announcement Market Returns (JFE) co-authored by Professor Jun Pan (Professor of Finance, Chair Professor at SAIF), Professor Jiang Wang (Mizuho Financial Group Professor at Sloan School of Management, MIT, Chair of Academic Council, Senior Advisory Visiting Professor at SAIF), Xing Hu (Wudaokou School of Finance, Tsinghua University), and Haoxiang Zhu (MIT Sloan School of Management); Extrapolative Bubbles and Trading Volume (RFS) co-authored by Professor Ning Zhu (Deputy Dean, Professor of Finance at SAIF), Jingchi Liao (Shenzhen Stock Exchange), and Cameron Peng (London School of Economics and Political Science).

On January 26th, SAIF held its 2022 Annual Board Meeting. Qing Wu (Member of the Shanghai Municipal Standing Committee, Executive Vice Mayor of Shanghai, Chairman of the SAIF Board) presided over the meeting and delivered a speech. Yuan Hua (Deputy Secretary General of Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Director of Development & Reform Commission, Vice Chairman of SAIF Board), Ping Wang (Director of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Director of SAIF Board), Jizhen Cao (Director of Shanghai Municipal Financial Bureau, Director of SAIF Board), Changsheng Tao (Chief Economic Manager of Shanghai Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau), Zhenbin Yang (Secretary of the CPC SJTU Committee, Vice Chairman of SAIF Board), Zhongqin Lin (President of SJTU, Director of SAIF Board), Guangshao Tu (Adjunct Professor of SJTU, Executive Director of SAIF Board), Kuiling Ding (Executive Vice President of SJTU, Director of SAIF Board), Xuemin Xu (Vice President of SJTU, Director of SAIF Board), Jiang Wang (Mizuho Financial Group Professor at Sloan School of Management, MIT, Executive Director of SAIF Board), and other esteemed leaders and professors attended the meeting. During the meeting, Professor Chun Chang (Executive Dean) presented the annual work report for 2021 on behalf of SAIF. The directors reviewed the achievements of SAIF in the past year and discussed various aspects for further work and development. Chairman Qing Wu put forward four suggestions for the new phase of SAIF in his concluding speech. First, we must innovate in order to improve our professional talent training system in line with the zeitgeist of modern Shanghai. Second, we must strengthen the construction of our international top-tier faculty. Third, we should enhance our standing with a high-end think tank. Fourth, we should keep moving forward towards the construction of a world-class Finance College.

Recently, SAIF released the Employment Report of the Full-time Financial MBA (FMBA) Graduates in 2021. The report showed that, the "Finance +"multidisciplinary FMBA graduates have been recognized and favored by the market. Nearly 80% of the graduates chose to work in the finance industry, and another 20% chose to join real enterprises or government/regulatory institutions. Their salaries and positions have significantly increased compared against those before enrollment. About 64% of the graduates have an annual starting salary of RMB 300,000 or more. As China's first financial MBA program, the SAIF FMBA Program has been highly recognized by the industry for its world-leading financial education system and outstanding teaching. Graduates have continued to gain great favor from financial institutions and enterprises. This year, 36 FMBA graduates had an average starting salary of RMB 362,000 (up 25.8% and 49.9% over figures from 2020, and before enrollment, respectively), with the median being RMB 300,000 (an increase of 7.1% and 50% over figures from 2020, and before enrollment, respectively). Aimed at fostering industry leaders with modern financial expertise, the SAIF FMBA Program is committed to training a community of financial talent with local influence and international competitiveness. Entrepreneurs and professional managers with an industry background, a financial mindset, and an innovative spirit are also welcomed to join. Statistics show that in this intake, before joining SAIF, 67.6% of the FMBA graduates came from the financial sector and 32.4% came from non-financial industries. After two years of systematic education and training through the SAIF FMBA Program and guidance from the Career Development Center (CDC), their professionalism, skills, and global outlook have been strengthened. They have a clearer understanding of their ability and have the wherewithal to combine their interests and personal characteristics to find a more suitable career path for themselves. According to the recent statistics, 79.4% of this year’s FMBA graduates preferred the finance industry and 14.7% were engaged in the technology and medical industries. Compared to past years, this year's graduates chose to enter more diversified industries, with asset management and securities being the two main industries that attracted them — 38.2% of the students entered asset management institutions and 29.4% were engaged in brokerage firms. The employers included leading brokerage firms and well-known institutions in China, such as: China International Capital Corporation, Huatai United Securities, Guotai Junan Securities, China Renaissance, Yunqi Partners, and China Asset Management. Many graduates joined government-guided funds, industrial funds, and emerging technology enterprises, such as: Shanghai Pudong Technology Investment, Shanghai Semiconductor Equipment & Material Investment Management, Beijing Yuanxin Technology Group, and Kingstar. The Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Securities Association of China, and other regulatory bodies have also attracted MBA graduates. In terms of functions, investment and research positions are the most popular categories among this year's SAIF FMBA graduates, accounting for 32.4% and 20.6% respectively. In addition, strategic investment/planning and sales/trading both represent 11.8%. Another 5.9% of graduates chose to be management trainees. In 2008, SAIF launched the first FMBA Program (Finance Track). The program integrates top educational resources globally, comparable to the finance curriculum of the MIT Sloan Business School, the Wharton Business School, and other top international business schools. It also focuses on Chinese economic and financial development, covering basic finance, professional finance, and management courses.