Yang Mei

yangmei_szdaily@163.com

IN 2018, David Lander was recruited as an assistant professor of economics at the Peking University HSBC Business School (PHBS) in Shenzhen at a job fair held during the annual meeting of the American Economic Association (AEA).

Six years later, the Australian professor is set to embark on a new mission in 2025 一 expanding the U.K. Campus of PHBS (PHBS-U.K.) and replicating the success of the campus in Shenzhen, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in October.

Lander obtained his Ph.D. in economics from Pennsylvania State University, and his research interests include macroeconomics, household finance, labor economics, and international trade. Lander teaches mostly first- and second-year master’s students and also helps prepare economics students in their final year for thesis defense.

UK campus

PHBS-U.K., established in 2018 in Oxfordshire, represents a significant milestone in the school’s internationalization strategy.

In March, Lander and professor Hai Wen, the former vice president of Peking University and the founding dean of PHBS, visited PHBS-U.K. with the purpose of establishing key partnerships.

Recalling his first impressions of PHBS-U.K., Lander said that the environment is “almost the exact opposite of our modern business building in Shenzhen. It is an older, traditional campus located in a quiet, rural area near Oxford.” Lander believes that Chinese students visiting the U.K. campus will have a vastly different experience compared to studying in Shenzhen or any other university in China.

The U.K. campus — Foxcombe Hall at Boars Hill in Oxfordshire — was first constructed in the 1890s, with an extension added in 1965. The buildings were substantially refurbished by the Open University in 1976.

Lander said he will be performing various roles including teaching, research, and administration. His background positions him perfectly for this new challenge.

“I’m a dual citizen now. So, technically I’m Australian and British,” he said. This, combined with his experience in Shenzhen, makes him well-suited to navigate the U.K.’s educational landscape. “I think I can help contribute to the U.K. campus in several ways. One is in terms of the development of the campus. I think it will be quite useful to have some familiarity with the local culture and the local institutions,” Lander noted.

The campus also hopes to attract local U.K. students who are interested in China. “We would like to have some local U.K. students and have them see us as an opportunity to establish a connection to China,” Lander explained.

Internationalization

As the most internationalized business school in China, PHBS offers graduate-level business courses that are taught in English. According to PHBS, the university now has 79 full-time international and Chinese faculty members, over 95% of whom have earned their doctoral degrees from top institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University, the University of California, and the University of Oxford. Foreign professors from countries like the U.S., Canada, South Korea, Italy, and Australia account for 20% of the faculty.

At present, PHBS has 109 full-time international postgraduate students and its alumni network consists of more than 30,000 alumni that represent over 70 nationalities.

In addition to admitting international students to degree programs, the school has also established a cooperative exchange mechanism with 68 universities in 28 countries across five continents. Every year, hundreds of international students come to the school to pursue degrees and exchange learning.

At the same time, the school has created courses in Business Chinese, Chinese Economy, and China Studies in order to help international students better understand China.

In 2021, the school launched a Master’s Program in China Studies for Economics and Management that focuses on China’s economy and management.

The program is designed to produce graduates that possess both cross-cultural management skills and an understanding of China’s national conditions.

Enjoying life in SZ

Despite initial worries about the language barrier, Lander found PHBS to be a welcoming environment.

He suggested that first-time visitors or newcomers to Shenzhen should set up essential mobile phone apps to make life easier. He has noticed that China is rolling out an array of convenient services for the benefit of foreigners, which is already making a difference for him. “When I first arrived I brought lots of cash with me, and while I was waiting for my bank account to be set up I was unable to use WeChat Pay and Alipay. But actually, I’ve recently learned that this is no longer an issue,” he said.

He finds enjoyment in exploring the city and its natural beauty when he’s not working.