On September 19, 2013, Professor Dongmin Chen gave the first lecture on Entrepreneurial Foundation. Entrepreneurial Foundation is a lecture series co-hosted by Guanghua School of Management, the Alumni’s Office, the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship; it hopes to create a unique brand of entrepreneur education at Peking University for both its undergraduate and graduate students.
Professor Dongmin Chen, a “Thousand Scholar” is the Dean of the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Director at the Office of Science and Technological Development at Peking University. PKU Alumni, representatives, a Karaoke Internet Company Liaison Officer and PKU Science Park representatives all attended the first lecture and expressed their support to for initiative.
Director Li Yuning introduced to the students the important components of PKU’s policy on supporting student entrepreneurship. The PKU Alumni Society will arrange private meetings between successful student entrepreneurs and experienced PKU Alumni for real-life business opportunities. Some of the funding for these meetings will come from the Entrepreneurs Club at PKU.
Regarding the center topic of entrepreneurship, Professor Chen used the example of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to illustrate the essence of entrepreneurship – the fundamental force in entrepreneurship is the motivation to change the world. Other important components of entrepreneurship included optimism, courage, team and leadership skills. Professor Chen used 3 “I”s – Inspiration, Imagination and Innovation” to further explain the essence of entrepreneurship.
Professor Chen was a Research Associate at the Rowland Research Institute at Harvard University before joining a start-up company in the Silicon Valley, Mirandia Inc. His personal experience serves as a first-hand experience for many students in the class. Other exciting topics covered in the class included global warming, biodiversity decline, renewable energy, environmental degradation, sustainability and food safety. These discussions fueled the imaginations of the students. Professor Chen concluded the lecture using Steve Jobs quote: “stay hungry, stay foolish.” The first lecture was well received amongst the students. Entrepreneurial Foundation consists of a total of 15 lectures, with experts coming from all over the world and multiple disciplines.
