Meeting Overview
On the morning of March 24, 2026, Professor Ma Yugang, President of ECNU and Academician of CAS, and other members visited the Shanghai AI-Finance School (SAIFS) for a special research visit. Professor Lei Qili, Vice President of ECNU, and Professor Tang Yuguang, Secretary-General of the Academic Committee, accompanied the visit.Heads of functional departments including the Development Planning Department, Graduate School, Science and Technology Department, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, International Cooperation and Exchange Office, Human Resources Department, and Finance Department attended.The meetingwas held at the Science Building of the Zhongbei Campus and was hosted by Professor Tang Aocheng, Assistant to the Dean at SAIFS.
Prof. Yue Hua delivered a speech
During the event, Professor Shao Yilei, Dean of SAIFS, presented a report “Recent Work and the School’s 15th Five-Year Plan(2026-2030)”, providing a comprehensive account of the school's development journey and key achievements since its establishment in May 2024. The report highlighted landmark accomplishments including: the construction of an independent knowledge system around “Silicon Economy” ; the advancement of industry-academia-research collaborations with partners such as the Shanghai Branch of Agricultural Bank of China; the release of the Global FinTech Center Development Index (GFTCI) and the Global AI FinTech Center Index (GAIFC); and deep participation in the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC). The report also outlined plans for the upcoming period, focusing on high-level international cooperation, deepening theoretical research in Silicon Economy, and innovating talent development. Professor Yue Hua, Chair of the Council of the School of Economics and Management (SEM), and members of the school’s leadership team participated in the exchange. During the interactive session, visiting leaders also reviewed an entrepreneurial project by SAIFS students —— the “Agent Coffee” initiative —— and experienced the school’s culture of innovation and entrepreneurship firsthand.
Prof. Shao Yilei delivered the report
Prof. Ma Yugang delivered the speech in the final session
After hearing the report, Professor Ma Yugang affirmed the achievements made by SAIFS in under two years since its founding. Looking ahead, he expressed hope that the school would further concentrate on frontier scientific questions and national strategic needs at the intersection of AI and finance, continuously strengthening its unique identity, deepening organized research, and integrating both internal and external resources. He encouraged faculty and students to remain united and strive to produce a series of high-impact, landmark outputs —— in areas such as the construction of economic theory systems, high-level international cooperation projects, majorindustry-academia-research projects, and the cultivation of top innovative talent —— so as to play an active role in serving the development of China’s new quality productive forces and the building of Shanghai as an international financial center.
“Agent Coffee” created by the SAIFS student entrepreneurship team
Source：Shanghai AI-Finance School, ECNU
