On December 5, Beijing time (December 4, EST time), the 2022 Huazhong University of Science and Technology -University of Maryland(HUST-UMD) International Academic Conference on Management Science, hosted by the School of Management of HUST and co-organized by the Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland, was successfully held on Zoom. The conference invited scholars from Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland, the School of Management of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Peking University, City University of Hong Kong and Wuhan University to give academic presentations on the theme of "Innovation in Management Theory and Practice in the Era of Digital Intelligence".
At the opening ceremony, Jianbin Li, Vice Dean of the School of Management of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, introduced the guests attending the conference and extended a warm welcome to the online participants.
Jianguo Chen, Vice President of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), delivered a speech for the opening ceremony. Chen said that HUST is a comprehensive research university and in the list of first "double first-class" initiative in China, with significant advantages in engineering and medicine, rapid development in science and outstanding characteristics in arts. The 2nd Huazhong University of Science and Technology-University of Maryland Management Academic Conference is based on the "One School, One University" comprehensive strategic cooperation program between the School of Management of Huazhong University of Science and Technology and the Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland, focusing on "Supply Chain Resilience and Security", "Organizational Change", "Smart Healthcare", and "Climate Change and Economic Development", aiming to promote the high-level development of management disciplines and further strengthen the academic cooperation between HUST and UMD.
Gilad Chen, Associate Dean of the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, thanked the organizers for hosting the conference. The two schools have already had some outstanding scholars who have joined together to collaborate on research projects that help advance the field of management together. He was also pleased to see a University of Maryland doctoral graduate attend the conference and give an academic presentation as an alumna, reminding him of the time when the student was studying in Maryland. Despite the epidemic hindrance, he felt joy and anticipation that everyone could meet online through this conference to exchange ideas and thoughts.
On behalf of School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Dean Zhi Yang welcomed the guests and audience to the conference, and introduced the disciplinary settings, faculty, international accreditation, professional rankings, international academic exchange and cooperation achievements of the school. In his speech, he said that scholars in the field of management will focus on the theme of "Innovation in Management Theory and Practice in the Era of Digital Intelligence" and discuss the frontiers issues of management discipline in this conference. He wished the conference a great success and looked forward to a broader and deeper cooperation between the two institutions.
Afterwards, the scholars presented their recent research results in the field of management to the participants. Professor Zhi-long Chen, Associate Professor Sean Cao, Assistant Professor Alex He from University of Maryland Smith School of Business, Professor Tina(Ru) Gao from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Associate Professor Zheng Wang from City University of Hong Kong, Associate Professor Yuntao Dong from Peking University and Professor Bin Li from Wuhan University shared their research, and discussed and exchanged with the participants and moderators during the Q&A session.
At the closing ceremony, Yanhua Hu, Chairman of Board of the School of Management, delivered a concluding speech. She recommended the School of Management of Huazhong University of Science and Technology to the participants again, and expressed her heartfelt thanks to the keynote speakers, and welcomed them to visit the School in future. She hoped that such international conference would be held continuously every year to build an excellent brand of academic events of the School of Management, further deepen the cooperation between the School of Management and Smith School of Business, and therefore promote the development of management.
More than 430 students and faculty members have attended this annual academic conference online, a significant rise in the number of participants from last year. In addition to students and faculty of HUST and UMD, the conference was also attracted students, alumni and industry professionals from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Northeastern University, University of Alberta, Free University of Amsterdam, University of Bath, Singapore Management University, Macau University of Science and Technology, Lingnan University and 50 other universities in China, including Peking University, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. The conference had a strong academic atmosphere and lively exchanges between faculty and students, which promoted the development of management in the post-epidemic era and had a certain impact in the world.
The 2022 HUST-UMD International Academic Conference is one of the key projects of the "One School, One University" comprehensive strategic cooperation plan between the School of Management of HUST and the Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland approved since 2019, which aims to promote the development of management in the post-epidemic era and to promote further cooperation and exchange between faculty and students of the two universities in the field of management.
