SUSTech Signs Strategic Partnership Agreement with Baoneng Group

University Affairs

| 03/21/2016

On March 18, 2016, SUSTech, SUSTech Education Foundation and Baoneng Investment Group Co.,Ltd. signed agreements on strategic partnership and donations to SUSTech Education Foundation in Shenzhen Wuzhou Guesthouse. The signing ceremony was attended by Vice Mayor Wu Yihuan of Shenzhen, Director-General Guo Yurong of Shenzhen Education Bureau, SUSTech Chairman Li Ming, president of SUSTech Education Foundation, SUSTech President Chen Shiyi, Chairman Yao Zhenhua of Baoneng Group, and top management of both SUSTech and Baoneng Group.

To promote industry-education-research integration, facilitate application of research results and steer industrial growth, Baoneng and SUSTech went into strategic partnership and established SUSTech & Baoneng Industrial Investment Fund. Besides, in the following 10 years since 2016, Baoneng will donate 10 million Yuan each year to SUSTech Education Foundation. The total donation of 100 million Yuan will be used to upgrade and develop the level of teaching and research in the university. It is also the largest cash donation ever received by SUSTech since its inception.

SUSTech President Chen Shiyi and Chairman Yao Zhenhua of Baoneng Group and FORESEA Life Insurance were present at the signing ceremony. According to the agreement, Baoneng will get into partnership with SUSTech in high-tech development, application of research results, co-building R&D platform and application for R&D projects while sharing resources. The 2 parties will also co-establish base of applying research results, technical R&D center and promote application of research results. Even more, they will work together to set up SUSTech & Baoneng Industrial Investment Fund to support SUSTech development.

SUSTech Chairman and President Li Ming of SUSTech Education Foundation and Chairman Yao Zhenhua of Baoneng Group and FORESEA Life Insurance signed the agreement on donations. President Li Ming accepted the check of 100 million Yuan donated by Baoneng before granting the certificate of honor to Mr. Yao. As specified in the agreement, in the following 10 years since 2016, Baoneng will donate 10 million Yuan each year to SUSTech Education Foundation. In other words, total donations will amount to 100 million Yuan. At the same time, Shenzhen SUSTech Education Foundation – Baoneng Education Development Fund was established to reward and aid teachers and students, in particular those faculty members and students who make contributions to teaching, R&D and high-tech development, thus upgrading level of SUSTech teaching and R&D and pushing forward continuous development of SUSTech education.

At the signing ceremony, SUSTech Chairman Li Ming said the strategic partnership between Baoneng Group and SUSTech will robustly push forward their respective development. After 5-year growth, SUSTech has presented dynamics and vitality of institution and mechanism, and taken the leading position in China in terms of enrollment reform, talent cultivation, R&D, international collaboration and industry-education-research integration. Rooted in Shenzhen, Baoneng is the large corporate group featuring reform, innovation and great strength. By showing exceptional vision, Baoneng goes into strategic partnership with SUSTech, which will support SUSTech to develop into the world-class university. As the pool of talents and high techs, SUSTech will definitely support rapid growth of Baoneng.

At the signing ceremony, President Chen Shiyi said that, Baoneng Group, as the famous local enterprise in Shenzhen, will carry on the corporate culture of “integrating, creating and sharing”. Till today, it has successfully developed into a large corporate group driven by finance & industry, and finance & sci-tech. Baoneng has been working hard in the many fields of strategic emerging industries such as intelligent manufacturing, precise medical service, new energies and innovative high-tech parks, etc. Innovation stimulus is now the new growth dynamics of the company. According to President Chen, “More valuable thing is that Baoneng Group always holds gratitude towards the nation, takes an active part in charity activities, and supports education development. The bosom and good deeds are really admiring.” “We can find in Chairman Yao Zhenhua the exceptional vision and responsibility of Shenzhen entrepreneurs. The most valuable wealth of Shenzhen lies in the excellent enterprises represented by Baoneng, which have strong comprehensive competitiveness and long-term strategic vision.”

According to President Chen, the ambition of building SUSTech into the Chinese Stanford University is originated from the fact that Shenzhen has the same urban innovation environment and industrial development layout as seen in Stanford. The strategic partnership between SUSTech and Baoneng Group has established the close interaction between university and industry, enhanced the positioning of SUSTech featuring “knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship”, pursued new business type for excellent enterprises in Shenzhen to engage in strategic layout, restructuring and upgrading, and made explorations for building urban innovation system. At the same time, President Chen said the donations from Baoneng Group have helped SUSTech make another step towards building the open, international and world-class university because it is the common practice of world-class universities to establish diverse channels of funding, which is also an important part in SUSTech institutional and mechanism innovations.

Chairman Yao Zhenhua said at the signing ceremony that Baoneng Group is implementing the strategy of development driven by innovations. It will develop the core business focusing on finance, sci-tech and livelihood. “The innovative development thinking of SUSTech completely complies with the strategy of innovation driving proposed by CPC General Secretary Xi. The pioneering spirit of SUSTech people represents what CPC General Secretary Xi stated about China needing talents who want and able to do things”. Innovation is the orientation of education reform in China. It is also the important measure of Shenzhen to develop the dynamics in the next 3 decades. The partnership between Baoneng Group and SUSTech perfectly matches their respective strategies. In 10 years, Baoneng will donate 100 million Yuan to SUSTech Education Foundation, helping boost R&D and teaching in the university. In the future, it will support SUSTech development in diverse channels.

According to Yao Zhenhua, Baoneng Group supports education development because it intends to reward the reform & opening up policy, Shenzhen, China and communities. “We hope Shenzhen has stronger and more sustainable creativity in sci-tech and industries. This is our common goal.”

2016, 03-21