On 14 November 2017, the Alumni Affairs Office and the Department of History hosted a distinguished lecture entitled “A Chinese Century? Infrastructure, Entrepreneurship and Education in the 21st Century” delivered by Prof. William C Kirby, T.M. Chang Professor of China Studies, Harvard University, Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School as well as one of the recipients of HKBU Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humanities 2017. In the lecture, Professor Kirby explored the prospects of Chinese leadership in the 21st Century and shared his insight into China’s transformation through economic development, infrastructure investment and the advancement in higher education.
The lecture was unfolded by an exploration of the building of contemporary China in the 21st Century – what was being called “the Chinese Century” by Professor Kirby. Professor Kirby introduced the development of China’s civilization from the last dynasty. China is transforming itself on an unprecedented scale in history through economic and infrastructure development. Yet it is also a country that built on the bedrock of a great and ancient civilization from a historian point of view.
Drawing on a set of Harvard Business School cases, Professor Kirby focused on exploring China’s growing capacities in three aspects: infrastructure, entrepreneurship and education in the 21st Century. Concerning infrastructure, he cited a number of examples including the development of high-speed railway, showing China’s prowess in investing in infrastructure and how China started to take a leading role in the world. He then moved on sharing a series of cases on entrepreneurship to illustrate how some entrepreneurs started their business in the agricultural sector.
As for education, according to Professor Kirby, China had one of the fastest-growing systems, in terms of quality as well as quantity, of higher education in the world as demonstrated by the impressive improvement in the performance of Chinese universities’ in the world university rankings. He also gave credit to China’s growing global appeal by making many new partnerships with internationally renowned universities in recent years. In the meantime, a number of world leading universities such as Harvard and Duke were establishing their off-shore campuses in China. To Professor Kirby, academic autonomy which was the cornerstone of any great university around the world was found in the higher education institutions in Hong Kong. Despite its remarkable economic growth recently, Professor Kirby also pointed out the potential political challenges China was facing in the lecture. In conclusion, Professor Kirby was of the view that China had the capacity to lead the world in the 21st century if China worked with the rest of the world in a cooperative manner.
The lecture was concluded by a panel discussion moderated by Professor Clayton MacKenzie, Provost of HKBU. Panel members included Professor John Carroll, Associate Dean (Outreach) of Faculty of Arts, the University of Hong Kong, and Professor Ting Wai, Professor of Department of Government and International Studies. During the discussion session, in response to Professor Ting’s concern about the issues of corruption and counterfeit products that might affect the development of China, Professor Kirby asserted that the formation of a fair system would be a way out. He opined that China, as a great world civilization, was in the best strategic position internationally to advance further, with the longest period of peace in its modern history which was considered a prerequisite for prosperity. Exemplified in China’s “One-Belt and One-Road” initiative as its strategic physical integration of new Asia, Professor Kirby was optimistic about China’s global leadership and economic growth in the long run.
The Lecture was a great success which attracted a full house of over 400 audiences from different universities and professional bodies.
Please click here for the biography of Professor William C. Kirby. |
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| Prof. William C. Kirby focuses on exploring China’s growing capacities in infrastructure, entrepreneurship and education in the 21st Century. |
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| The lecture is concluded by a panel discussion moderated by Prof. Clayton MacKenzie, Provost of HKBU (first from left). Panel members include Prof. John Carroll, Associate Dean (Outreach) of Faculty of Arts (second from left), the University of Hong Kong, and Prof. Ting Wai, Professor of Department of Government and International Studies (first from right). |
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| Prof. William C. Kirby reaffirms China’s capacity to lead the world in the 21st century |
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| The lecture is a great success attracting a full house of over 400 audiences |
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