“Erudition · Spring” Forum Week, organized by the Faculty of Economics and Management of East China Normal University (ECNU), was held last week. This activity, which consists of three lectures and a theme forum, focuses on the challenges and changes brought about by the pandemic.
Organized by Prof. Lan Faqin, Vice director of the Faculty of Economics and Management, the Forum Week invited seven guests to give lectures online, including Prof. Wang Linfa, a famous virologist and academician of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, Prof. Yu Nanping from ECNU’s School of Advanced International and Area Studies, and Dr. Shao Yu, chief economist at Orient Securities. Nearly a thousand students, teachers and alumni attended the lectures.
In his lecture “The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the counter measures”, Prof. Wang Linfa analyzed the possible origin of the virus, the outbreak symptoms, the experience in responding to COVID-19, the measures to be taken, etc. He also discussed the relationship between bats and virus spread.
In his lecture “The pandemic and new issues in international politics and economy”, Prof. Yu Nanping pointed out that, judging from the socio-economic perspective, the coronavirus pandemic had exerted a huge impact on the supply chain, domestic and foreign demands, enterprise development, consumption psychology, and employment. In response to this situation, governments need to adopt more precise and well-targeted fiscal policies to stimulate domestic demands, boost social consumption and investment needs, develop new industries and create job opportunities.
Dr. Shao Yu gave a lecture named “Poison bat = black swan + grey rhino: a panoramic analysis of the economic and financial impacts of the novel coronavirus pandemic, in which he presented the severe impacts the novel coronavirus pandemic is producing on the national economy and financial market. He held that due to the assault of the pandemic as a combination of the “Black Swan” and “Grey Rhino”, a global economic recession is inevitable.
A forum on the recruitment market and career development during the pandemic was specifically staged. Four guests were invited to discuss employment issues online and answer questions from this year’s graduates about job-seeking. They were Prof. Yi Lingfeng, Director of ECNU’s Department of Enterprise Management, Mr. Liu Dawei, a chair professor of Minjiang Scholars, Ms. Tang Yuewen, supervisor of Human Resources of U.S. MetLife Insurance Company, and Ms. Qi Fang, senior supervisor of Zhilian Recruitment Group.
Copy editor: Philp Nash
Editor：Xiao Qiyu