On 23 June 2020, a webinar organised by the Alibaba Business School and SCO SCOLAR youth platform with the support of the SCO Secretariat took place with the participation of more than 600 people representing 38 countries. The webinar as a logical follow-up to the Agora online conference held by the SCO Secretariat, Alibaba Global Initiatives and SCOLAR Network on 28 May 2020.
In his presentation, Zhou Yong, Secretary General of ABS and Global e-Commerce Talent (GET), spoke about the digital economy, explained why it was necessary to develop digital talents and described the Business School's programmes. Also taking part in the panel discussion were GET Programme Director Matthew Kung and Alibaba Global Initiatives Strategic Partnership Manager Dream Liu.
Ms Dream Liu spoke about how the Business School was established as part of Alibaba's ecosystem as well as its vision and mission and its goal of educating one million students by 2023. Matthew Kung spoke about pandemic-related measures. He noted that it wasn't the company's first crisis: back in 2003, Alibaba contributed to countering the epidemic of SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome.
This year the Business School held four online courses on e-commerce and the history of China for the school's students and entrepreneurs, with 34 percent of last year's graduates doing business during their studies, while their total annual income accounted for $30 million. He also noted that the key qualities that Alibaba looked for in its potential students, current and future businesspeople, were optimism and stamina.
Answering a question on the Business School's development prospects in the SCO space, Zhou Yong said that it was always open to cooperation with universities and education centres in the SCO countries so that more young people would be able to promote the digital transformation in their countries.
The participants in the discussion shared their views on the development of the Business School in the period up to 2030 and invited all young people who wanted to promote e-commerce and improve the world to take part in its events.
The Alibaba Business School was founded in 2008 together with Hangzhou Normal University (Alibaba founder Jack Ma's alma mater). To date, the Business School has focused on introducing a system of e-commerce teaching, which has educated millions of practitioners and entrepreneurs in China and abroad over the last decade. As of today, the Business School has a Bachelor programme in Hangzhou.
The Global e-Commerce Talent (GET) Network provides teachers, students and entrepreneurs with access to knowledge, skills and opportunities in the digital economy for their further use in the digital world, today and in the future. GET offers several different educational courses, contests and events for students and teachers as well as professional education for instructors and academic communities. It also organises conferences, startup contests and a digital educational camp for entrepreneurs, among other things.
The SCO SCOLAR youth platform is established for students from 18 SCO countries studying in Beijing. It focuses on promoting ties and contacts, encouraging dialogue and facilitating regional development.