On the afternoon of April 23, a delegation from the ESDES School of Business in France, led by Dean William Hurst, Director of International Relations Caroline Duval, and Dai Shen, President of the Sino-French Alliance for Higher Education and Vocational Education, visited our university. Wang Yonggui, President of Zhejiang Gongshang University, met with the delegation, and the two sides formally signed a framework cooperation agreement.

During the seminar, Wang Yonggui extended a warm welcome to the visitors and introduced the university’s development history, disciplinary strengths and educational achievements. He noted that Zhejiang Gongshang University adheres to the talent cultivation philosophy of “focusing on economics and management, integrating engineering and business, promoting interdisciplinary development and coordinated progress”. Boasting strong disciplines in economics and management, the university shares high disciplinary compatibility with ESDES. The two parties enjoy a solid foundation for cooperation and broad development prospects. He expressed the hope that the visit and agreement signing would serve as an opportunity to deepen collaboration in cutting-edge fields such as AI plus finance, facilitate regular faculty and student exchanges as well as academic interactions, and achieve mutual learning, winwin cooperation and coordinated development.

William Hurst thanked the university for the warm reception and gave a comprehensive introduction to ESDES. As a member of France’s elite university network, ESDES holds internationally recognized accreditations including AACSB and EFMD. It features outstanding strengths in finance, with distinct advantages in fintech and impact finance, and is committed to cultivating business leaders with global vision and a strong sense of social responsibility.

On behalf of their respective institutions, Wang Yonggui and William Hurst signed the framework cooperation agreement. Both sides agreed to deepen collaboration in talent cultivation, scientific research and innovation, academic exchanges and resource sharing, jointly cultivate interdisciplinary business talents adaptable to global development, and contribute to SinoFrench exchanges in higher education, economy and culture.

At the meeting, the two sides also conducted in-depth discussions on Sinoforeign cooperative education in finance and related interdisciplinary subjects, joint scientific research on AI plus finance and green finance, international academic conferences, faculty and student exchange programmes, and the joint construction of internship and practical training bases. Relevant officials from International Office and the School of Finance attended the forum.