"Resource asymmetry and geographical asymmetry will cause pressure, pressure will cause rapid flow, if the state of rapid flow can be made into a business model, it can bring great benefits and help enterprises go global. ”
Such an analogy comes from physicist Elizabeth Xu, Ph., Ph., chairman of the Board of Trustees of the California Institute of Technologyd), in the roundtable discussion of the Forbes China Most Influential Chinese Elite Awards Ceremony held on October 27, she used her knowledge of physics to vividly illustrate the current global changes and the core opportunities in them.
Xu Ling interprets the successful example of Chinese college students studying in the United States in the 90s and working and living in the United States: due to the guidance and teachings of her parents and mentors, she has been "lucky" to grow up all the way and become one of the few female executives of American high-tech companies in the Chinese communityPassionate about education and philanthropy, she founded California Science and Technology University, which provides educational opportunities for students who want to enter high-tech companies in Silicon ValleyShe also founded the Shenghua Academy and the Shenghua Association, which are committed to helping Silicon Valley practitioners improve their cross-cultural leadership and guide the confidence of the next generation of Chinese to start their own businesses based on globalization.
When it comes to her growth, Xu Ling describes it as "lucky".
Girls can wear floral dresses and do all the things that boys can do. Her father's words have benefited her for the rest of her life.
Her father is a university professor who graduated from the English Department of Peking University, which gave her a "very free heart" since she was a child, she can play with mud like a boy, and she can also do all kinds of things because of her interests, without too many self-restraints. As a result of the full love and security she received from her parents, she was able to "move forward with great focus, regardless of personal gain or loss." ”
Xu Ling'Xi s early experience of learning English also influenced her work and life throughout her life, and she was able to appreciate the differences between Eastern and Western cultures and ways of thinking from an early age, which allowed her to avoid many cross-cultural barriers in her later studies and work in the United States.
Like her father, Xu Ling was admitted to Peking University, where she Xi majored in space physics and atmospheric physics. After graduating with a master's degree, she studied in the United States, received a master's degree in computer science and a doctorate degree in atmospheric physics from the University of Nevada, and then joined IBM as an engineer.
Ling Xu then focused her career on software development and big data – first at IBM where she was responsible for content management software and DB2 databases, then at Vitria Technology and then at Rearden Commerce served as Senior Vice President of Global Software Product Development and Senior Vice President of Global Software Development, and then served as Group Vice President of Big Data Product Development at ACXIOM, a big data company in the United States, and served as CTO of BMC Software, an IT management software company, and CP Group, a leading international conglomerate in the global agricultural, retail, pharmaceutical and communications industries. In 2014, Xu Ling was invited to participate in Alibaba's second data conference.
In the process, Xu Ling has also won many honors, including the Silicon Valley Women's Impact Award in 2013, the WITI Hall of Fame Award in 2017, the Global Leadership Award in 2018, the U.S. ** Award in 2019, the U.S. Top 50 Diversity Leader Award in 2020, and the "Forbes China Top 100 Most Influential Chinese Elites" in 2023.
Xu Ling was selected into the 2023 Forbes China Top 100 Most Influential Chinese Elites.
As for her achievements, Xu Ling attributed them to meeting her mentor Pat Zimmerman. As a Jefferson Award and Kennedy Award winner, Pat Zimmerman retired early at the age of 43 because of his successful career, and after meeting Xu Ling, he not only helped Xu Ling Xi English, took her into American culture, but also became her career mentor.
In addition to the guidance of her mentor, Xu Ling's journey to the top is inseparable from her volunteer experience in Silicon Valley. The selfless dedication that once did not care about personal gains and losses, and the leadership talent displayed during this period, to some extent, formed a positive cycle of "good luck". Just like her mentor helped her, Xu Ling has been volunteering since she was at IBM, such as organizing the IBM Asian American Network with friends, and even applying for IBM financial support to help Asian American colleagues and establishing free English Xi classes for Chinese colleagues.
What my mentor taught me was that in addition to working and earning money, people should also contribute to society. Xu Ling said.
Education is a way of giving back that can help a very large number of people. The influence from her parents and American mentors gave Xu Ling the idea of pursuing education early on.
Since 2005, Xu Ling has embarked on two parallel lines of her career – as a corporate executive, as well as in education and philanthropy. She began teaching at Stanford University in 2011 and developed a vision for a university.
In September of the same year, Xu Ling and Qin Zhigang hit it off and co-founded the California Science and Technology University (www.).cstu.Edu), with Xu Ling as the chairman and Qin Zhigang as the president, and the latter's identity is not simple: he was admitted to Tsinghua University at the age of 15, stayed on to teach after obtaining a bachelor's and master's degree in automation, and then went to the University of California, Berkeley to obtain a doctorate in EECS (Ph.D.** research direction is computer networking). He then worked on computer networks at Bell Labs and AT&T Labs, where he gained extensive experience in cybersecurity, big data, and artificial intelligence, and joined a network equipment startup in Silicon Valley as a senior product director. At the same time, he is also engaged in scientific research and teaching in universities, and has accumulated rich experience in entrepreneurship, research and development, and teaching.
Caltech is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, close to the world's top technology companies such as Google, Apple, Intel, and a large number of startups. Unlike many universities, which focus on academics and research, Cal focuses on computer engineering and business administration, and tends to make teaching relevant to the job market and enhance students' employability through more practical, cutting-edge curriculum design and more innovative teaching methods. In 2023, the university launched new courses in computer fields such as generative artificial intelligence, AI product design, large language models, computer vision and design, as well as business administration courses such as nursing management, construction management, financial technology, and business applications of artificial intelligence.
The University of Science and Technology (CalUS) is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, surrounded by high-tech companies.
Xu Ling said that compared with other universities, there are three differences between UCUST:
First, with a high employment rate, UCUST students have close proximity to Silicon Valley high-tech companies, resulting in many more potential Xi and job opportunities than students from other schools. Cal also partners with consulting firms in Silicon Valley to help talented students find jobs. To date, the employment rate of Cal University of Science and Technology graduates has been above average, and student satisfaction is among the highest among American universities. International students majoring in Computer Engineering, Science, Management, and Data Science at the University of Science and Technology of California can obtain a three-year work permit (OPT) after graduation, and a one-year work permit for liberal arts and business management majors. All majors come with a one-year Xi Permit (CPT), as well as internal Xi and employment opportunities in Silicon Valley companies.
Second, the teaching content combines theoretical and practical application knowledge. Many of the professors at the University of Science and Technology are graduates of Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and other prestigious universities, and the professors must have at least four years of corporate work experience to teach students the latest knowledge and most practical techniques in the industry, and help students get more employment opportunities through a combination of practical skills and career coaching. In addition, the Board of Trustees of Cal University of Science and Technology are all CEOs and CTO of Silicon Valley high-tech companies, which gives the Board of Trustees a thorough understanding of the needs of high-tech talents in Silicon Valley, and the Board of Trustees and Academic Steering Committee provide key recommendations for the design of professional courses at Cal UST.
Thirdly, to provide private schools with high-quality teaching at the tuition fee of 1 4 for private schools. California University of Science and Technology (UCUST) offers a tuition fee of about $10,000-$20,000 a year, which is cheaper than public and private universities in the United States, and the school adopts a small class size of no more than 30 students per class, as well as a six-semester short semester system a year, in order to provide students with more courses and admission opportunities. In addition, the total number of credits for graduate programs at the school is 20% less than that of the average school, and students can Xi learn more practical content in less time and with less tuition.
Xu Ling pointed out that instead of relying on expensive tuition fees to stay afloat, CAUST is committed to improving efficiency and devoting its main resources to teaching. A vivid example is that while other institutions are still discussing how to prevent students from cheating with ChatGPT, the University of Science and Technology of California has launched three ChatGPT application courses.
It's not easy to run a university, and it's even harder in the United States, and it took five years for Calust to get a license to run a school. "Although we already have a foundation for teaching and training, we were surprised by the strict process of establishing a university in the United States, and the difficulty of application materials and approval. Xu Ling said.
California University of Science and Technology is a university founded by Chinese mainland students and accredited by the U.S. and Chinese Ministries of Education. California University of Science and Technology has also been accredited by other authoritative education departments in the United States, including the U.S. Department of Veterans Education, the California Department of Reemployment**, etc., for which the accreditation from the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), the accrediting agency of the U.S. Department of Education, is a great test. As one of the most well-known educational accreditation agencies in the United States, ACCSC focuses on the accreditation of degree education such as technical and vocational education. With the ACCSC accreditation, the University of Science and Technology has greater authority and recognition, and the interests of students can be better protected, and the university has also obtained a U.S. federal** license to recruit international students worldwide. At present, CAUST has students from China, India, Canada, Europe, and Africa, and has been officially certified by the Chinese and American Ministries of Education, which is due to teamwork, strategic considerations of management, and the booming talent training needs of Silicon Valley.
Graduates of the University of Science and Technology of California are employed in well-known companies in Silicon Valley and have a strong alumni network.
The University of Science and Technology is also working with the Yangtze River Delta Research Institute of Tsinghua University to establish a Silicon Valley R&D center and collaborate with Hong Kong companies to conduct research on the integration of artificial intelligence with medical and pharmaceutical services. In terms of institutional cooperation, UCUST is planning to establish strategic partnerships with 10 universities in Chinese mainland and 5 Taiwan universities to jointly promote education developmentCultivate more innovative talents with an international perspective. Located in Silicon Valley, the University of Science and Technology of California has a special geographical advantage, which can build a convenient and reliable platform for international exchanges between world-renowned enterprises, scholars, and universities.
Today, Xu Ling's work has become a line, that is, to concentrate on education and charity, and the previous parallel between enterprise and education has become parallel to education and charity. In her opinion, education and philanthropy is not about retirement, but about initiating another challenge in life, which is much more difficult than being an executive in a large company.
Of course, there is also fun to this kind of work. "Meeting different people every day, giving presentations at universities like Stanford, the University of California, Berkeley, Peking University, Google, Apple, Walmart, Uber, watching students take notes and answer their questions at work and Xi, is more satisfying than making a lot of money." Xu Ling said.
Ling Xu was invited to speak for the Walmart Silicon Valley team
Xu Ling said frankly that from the perspective of money, education is not the best solution, but from the perspective of life value, education is the best thing, because it can help more people. "It sounds a bit false, but it's really what I really think. She said.
There are many people who think that there is a natural contradiction between the need for business to pursue profit and the need for pure education, but Xu Ling cannot completely oppose the two, because education is an important social responsibility, and business is the means to achieve this mission, and it is preferable to grasp the balance between business and education and ensure that business activities do not compromise the quality of education.
Xu Ling has her own "4L" life principle: live to your fullest potential, give full play to your potential;love people around you;learn from people around you, humbly learn from the people around you Xi;Le**e a legacy, helping others as much as possible, so that your influence can be passed on.
Whether it is education or charity, Xu Ling hopes to leave some inheritance to her children, especially at the spiritual level, just like her father's inheritance to her, "You can wear a floral dress to do all the things that boys do."
After many years of working in Silicon Valley, Xu Ling felt that the exploration of leadership skills in traditional Chinese education needs to be improved. Many Silicon Valley Chinese will encounter the best promotion in their career growth;Although Chinese students have always been the best students in American schools and are also players in the American workplace, focusing on finding standard answers, it is difficult to rise to the top of management.
From 2011 to 2016, Xu taught a course on global operations and leadership at Stanford University, but a single course could not systematically improve the cross-cultural leadership of Chinese people. So, she founded A2C Academy (www.).a2cacademy.org), the core idea is to help Chinese people change from "a players" to "c-suites".
She explained that the Shenghua College has two meanings: one is the sublimation of the concept and pattern, and the other is the sublimation of the status of Chinese in the United States. "There is no standard answer in life, the workplace is changing rapidly, and only by following the right mentor can you quickly sublimate and break through the ceiling. “
Graduation photos of some students of the ninth phase of Shenghua College.
Under the name of "Shenghua", Xu Ling also founded the Shenghua ** Association (be the change foundation, www.).bethechange.foundation)。At present, large American companies such as Apple and Google have cooperated with Shenghua Academy, which is helpful for establishing a Chinese workplace ecology and helping Chinese people grow. In the process of cultivating the next generation, the Sublimation Academy and the Sublimation Association will also provide strong support. Through this platform, the descendants of Chinese immigrants or international students are able to participate in volunteer activities, learn Xi ways to make an impact, and demonstrate leadership that will help them stand out when applying to top universities in the United States.
There is a field of atmospheric physics called cloud physics, which deals with the growth mechanism of ice crystals. Xu Ling said that if a person keeps demanding perfect marks on exams and perfection everywhere, he is likely to be a slow-growing fuzzy ball rather than a fast-growing, angular star. "Ice crystals grow at sharp corners, because only in sharp corners can they collect water vapor and grow quickly, and the same is true for people. ”
The article was written by the organizing committee of the "2023 Forbes China's Most Influential Chinese Elite Selection".
Disclaimer: Forbes Insights is a commercial cooperation content, part of the research All data from partners and third parties, relevant views and conclusions are based on the above data research, not as any investment guidance and reference.
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