The First Board Council of the SAIFS
On April 3, the meeting of the first Board Council of Shanghai AI-Finance School at ECNU was successfully held in conference room A508 of the Science Building at the Putuo Campus. Prof. Xuhong Qian, President of ECNU and Chair of the SAIFS Board Council, and Prof. Zhongjie Meng, Vice Chair of the University Council and Vice Chair of the SAIFS Board Council attended the meeting and delivered speeches. Prof. Yilei Shao, Dean of SAIFS and Executive Chair of the Board Council, presented the recent work progress of SAIFS, with Prof. Hua Yue, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Economics and Management and a member of the SAIFS Board Council, hosted the meeting.
Prof. Hua Yue hosted the council meeting.
Prof. Desheng Yin, Dean of the School of Economics and Management gave a comprehensive report on the establishment process and functional positioning of the SAIFS, emphasizing the importance of developing the discipline of artificial intelligence finance in the wave of AI and the new technological revolution to enhance financial services and support the new development of the Shanghai city’s international financial center. Prof. Yin proposed specific plans for building a highland of interdisciplinary AI and finance, including the establishment of AI-finance graduate-level programs, deepening cooperation with governmental departments and industrial giants in the AI-finance field, and focusing on the construction of the FinLLM lab and the release of a series of vertical large language model products. We are aiming to contribute to the university's "Digital Intelligence Leap" plan by integrating faculty from quantitative finance, intelligent finance, AI applications, big data management, and business analysis, bringing in global AI-finance talents, and supporting the SAIFS in developing big data-driven AI financial decision-making systems.
Prof. Desheng Yin introduced the development of the SAIFS.
Prof. Yilei Shao provided a detailed update on the recent work of the school, including enhancing the role of the council in decision-making and advisory capacities, establishing an academic committee composed of experts and scholars from around the world to provide guidance and support for academic development, and setting up a special fund to promote future construction and innovation in the AI-finance field. She outlined the work plans and recent progress in interdisciplinary research and talent training projects, aiming to explore how AI can drive innovative development in finance, with a focus on AI-finance master-level and doctoral programs, and the AI-finance MBA program to cultivate future leaders with deep financial knowledge and advanced AI technology.
Prof. Shao also introduced the upcoming 2024 SAIFS Academic Conference to be held from May 31 to June 1 at the Putuo Campus. The theme of this year's conference is "Newborn: Dialogue between AI and the Financial World," featuring 18 distinguished scholars and experts from 4 continents, 13 keynote speeches, and 3 roundtable forums. The closing ceremony and After-party of the conference will present an "AIGC Night," showcasing "The 10th Art: The Interaction between Human and AI", representing the beginning of a symbiotic moment between humans and AI.
Prof. Yilei Shao introduced the recent detailed planning of the SAIFS.
During the discussion, the council members exchanged ideas on various topics, including the expansion of AI-finance degree programs, talent recruitment, laboratory construction, and the organization of the academic annual conference. They actively contributed suggestions for the development of the SAIFS.
Prof. Fuyi Yang, Deputy Dean of the Graduate School, expressed support for the establishment of interdisciplinary secondary degree programs and acknowledged the unique aspects of the AI-finance MBA program. He suggested leveraging the existing faculty resources of the School of Economics and Management, especially professors with computer science backgrounds, to jointly promote the construction of interdisciplinary AI-finance secondary degree programs. He also proposed further work on compliance management of AI technology in finance and collaboration with the university's compliance research center.
Prof. Chungang Duan, Director of the Development Planning Department, affirmed the planning direction of the SAIFS, emphasizing the importance of AI applications in finance and the need to further enhance talent support for innovation. He suggested focusing on "proficiency and compatibility" as the core of future development planning, linking AI and finance employment scenarios to increase job value in the AI finance field.
Prof. Xiaolong Pu, the former Director of the Personnel Department, proposed planning for future key talent, teaching talent, research talent, and dual-role talent, with support for the dual employment of professors.
Prof. Fuyi Yang, Prof. Chungang Duan, and Prof. Xiaolong Pu
Prof. Yong Zhou, Deputy Director of the International Exchange Office, suggested applying for high-level foreign expert projects and utilizing AI advantages for establishing relevant work bases. Prof. Haibo Yang, Director of the Science and Technology Department, recommended considering the establishment of new research institutions with flexible personnel mechanisms. Prof. Zhifeng Lu, Dean of the Academic of Humanities and Social Sciences, provided valuable insights on building provincial and ministerial-level "AI + Humanities" laboratories. Prof. Guanjun Wu, Dean of the School of Political Science and International Relations, expressed strong support for collaboration and resource interaction between internal schools within ECNU.
Prof. Yong Zhou, Prof. Haibo Yang, Prof. Zhifeng Lu, Prof. Guanjun Wu
In the summary session, Prof. Zhongjie Meng, the Vice Chair of the University Council, praised the innovative management brought by Prof. Yilei Shao and emphasized the importance of coordination and support from various university departments for the construction and operation of the SAIFS. He highlighted the council's purpose of problem-oriented and innovation-based approaches to address practical issues and promote reform through specific platforms and mechanisms.
Prof. Zhongjie Meng delivered the speech.
Finally, the President of ECNU Prof. Xuhong Qian highly praised the construction plan of the SAIFS and the support from the School of Economics and Management. He emphasized the urgent need to update the talent evaluation system in the rapidly changing AI era, advocating for the "1+X" model, where "1" represents key personnel and "X" represents various affiliated researchers and postdoctoral fellows. He stressed the importance of talent reserves and social services, urging further integration of the School of Economics and Management's strengths to support the SAIFS in establishing external research institutions to serve the government, industry, academia, and research.
Prof. Xuhong Qian delivered the speech in the final session.
The establishment of the SAIFS, approved by ECNU in 2023, marks a significant step in enhancing cross-disciplinary development in economic management and other fields. The successful council meeting further deepens measures to promote the construction of the SAIFS.
Sources:
Shanghai AI-Finance School,
School of Economics and Management, ECNU
