The PKU Guanghua "Future Leaders" international undergraduate program commenced its 2023 Capstone Project on October 13th with the first-ever offline Match-up Meeting. This event marks the beginning of an enriching learning journey for the program's participants. The Capstone Project, as an integral component of the “Future Leaders” Program, adopts the format of a “mini-consulting” project, where students are expected to apply the knowledge acquired during their studies to solve real-world business problems proposed by partner companies.
For this year’s Capstone Project, we are honored to collaborate with industry experts from four esteemed companies: Cathay Pacific, Deloitte China, Microsoft China, and Xiaomi. They will assume the role of company mentors, generously offering their first-hand industry expertise to guide our students. Four faculty members from PKU Guanghua will serve as academic supervisors, providing invaluable academic guidance throughout the research process.
The event was initiated by a warm welcome from Professor Shen Qiaowei, Director of Undergraduate and Graduate Programs. On behalf of the school, she expressed her profound gratitude to the partner companies for their strong support of the Capstone Project. She emphasized the uniqueness of this course as an extraordinary opportunity for students to explore the latest business trends. She is confident that students will leverage their outstanding skills to assist partner companies in resolving real-world business issues.
Assistant Professor Huang Peiyuan from the Department of Organization and Strategic Management, representing academic supervisors, believes that the Capstone Project will be an enriching and inspirational experience for the students. She highlighted the opportunity that it offers to apply theoretical knowledge to practical business settings, learn from invaluable company mentors and challenge conventional thinking.
In attendance as company mentors during the event were Kim Fong, Head of Business Insights & Analytics, and Annie Lam, Assistant to the General Manager from Cathay Pacific China; David Wu, Vice Chairman, and Cissy Li, Auditing Partner from Deloitte China; Beth Guo, Industry Executive in Education from Microsoft China; and Betty Li, Employer Branding Specialist from Xiaomi. This year's Capstone Project featured an extensive array of topics, encompassing consulting, aviation, artificial intelligence, and smart manufacturing. These esteemed company mentors delivered enlightening presentations on the research topics and outlined the expected outcomes from students' research.
A total of 40 "Future Leaders" program students from 17 different countries and regions participated in this year's Capstone Project, divided into eight research groups. Each group presented vibrant profiles, introducing the team's composition and the professional experiences of its members.
The event was also an opportunity for students to further interact with company representatives, express their research interests, and deepen mutual understanding. At the end of the event, company mentors and students formalized their cooperation intentions, setting the stage for the match-up between student groups and research topics.
Under the guidance of company and academic mentors, students will roll out their research projects through company visits, on-site research, interviews, industry analysis, group discussions, and more. We are confident that the Capstone Project will empower students to apply their academic knowledge, refine their skills, broaden their horizons, and enhance their overall academic and professional development. We wish them an exciting and rewarding research journey over the next three months!
