From June 6 to 13, a delegation from the Business School of the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, led by Vice Dean Liu Weiwei, attended the 2026 EFMD Global Annual Conference and visited Politecnico di Milano in Italy. The delegation also included Zhou Yang, Deputy Head of the Department of Business Administration; Pan Fei, a faculty member from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering; and Nie Rui from the Office of Internationalization Development.
From June 7 to 9, the delegation attended the 2026 EFMD Global Annual Conference held in Seville, Spain. Hosted by San Telmo Business School, this year’s conference brought together representatives from leading business schools, renowned enterprises, and higher education institutions from around the world.
During the conference, the delegation held in-depth exchanges with EFMD and the EQUIS accreditation team. The delegation reported the School’s progress in preparing for EQUIS accreditation to Eric Cornuel, President of EFMD Global; Alfons Sauquet, Director of EQUIS Accreditation and Quality Services; Susan Hart, Deputy Director of EQUIS Accreditation; and Adriana Kudrnová Lovera, Senior Manager of EQUIS Accreditation. The delegation also held a dedicated working meeting with Professor Ding Yuan, Deputy Director of EQUIS Accreditation and EFMD’s Asia Director, during which they provided a detailed update on key tasks including the formation of the accreditation team, revision of the Datasheet, preparation of the Self-Assessment Report, and construction of the Base Room. EQUIS accreditation experts highly recognized the School’s progress and phased achievements, and offered specific guidance on improving the Datasheet and preparing for the peer review visit.
Exchange with Eric Cornuel, President of EFMD Global
Exchange with team members of the EQUIS Accreditation Asia Team
Exchange with representatives from Newcastle University Business School, UK
Scene of the EFMD Annual Conference
From June 10 to 12, the delegation visited Politecnico di Milano in Italy. The delegation was warmly received by Demartino Mariano, Business Development Director of POLIMI Graduate School of Management; Delia Olivetto, Director of Strategic Partnerships for Asia Pacific; Zanon Veronica and Ye Xinyi, Strategic Partnerships Specialist for Asia Pacific.
Discussion and Exchange
During the meeting, Liu Weiwei introduced the Business School’s disciplinary development, program structure, talent cultivation, and internationalization progress. Demartino Mariano and Delia Olivetto gave a comprehensive overview of POLIMI Graduate School of Management, including its educational characteristics and global cooperation network. The two sides conducted in-depth discussions on trends in higher management education and models of international collaboration, with a particular focus on joint student training, faculty visits and exchanges, and overseas study programs for faculty and students. Several preliminary cooperation intentions were reached, laying a solid foundation for future collaboration.
The delegation also held exchanges with student representatives of Politecnico di Milano to gain a deeper understanding of its educational model and student development features. In addition, the delegation visited the university’s campus, professional laboratories, and other teaching and research facilities.
Group Photo
The visits to Spain and Italy marked an important step for the Business School in advancing its EQUIS international accreditation work and further expanding its global influence. By engaging with leading international organizations in business education and visiting a top international university, the School broadened access to high-quality cooperation resources and laid a strong foundation for the upcoming EQUIS peer review visit, deeper multi-level international exchanges, and enhanced international brand influence.
[Related]
The 2026 EFMD Global Annual Conference was themed “What should management education stand for?” Against a backdrop of global uncertainty, the conference focused on the ethical responsibilities of management education institutions and explored issues such as the impact of artificial intelligence, pressures brought by globalization, and the need to align curricula with societal demands. The conference featured four keynote speeches and ten parallel sessions, covering frontier topics including creativity and leadership development in the AI era, low-carbon and smart business schools, industry collaboration and internationalization, emerging needs in postgraduate management education, and AI-enabled active learning. By participating in this leading international event for management education, the Business School further gained insights into the latest developments in international accreditation and educational innovation, expanded international cooperation channels, and continued to deepen its global collaboration network, contributing to its goal of building a world-class elite business school.
Politecnico di Milano, founded in 1863, is Italy’s largest and one of its most prestigious public research universities in science and engineering. It is a member of IDEA League, a leading alliance of European universities of science and technology. The university is globally recognized for its strengths in engineering, architecture, and industrial design. In the 2026 QS World University Rankings, Politecnico di Milano ranked 98th globally and first in Italy.
Reviewed by Liu Weiwei, Wei Xin
