Discussing the Future—in China

I have just returned from a trip to China, where I attended the biggest professional conference in my field. I am grateful to have helped found the International Conference on Information Systems more than 30 years ago.

In that time, I’ve missed the conference only once—an attendance record I am very proud of! It represents an important opportunity to connect with colleagues I’ve known for years, many of whom are now also in leadership positions (such as Al Merten, soon-to-be retired president of George Mason University and all-around great guy).

I was able to stay on for an extra few days, and traveled from the conference in Shanghai to Xi’an, where I spoke at a symposium on the future of research in the information systems field. I met with leaders from a major university there about the potential for joint programs with Kogod. As our students know, Kogod has regularly traveled to China for short-term global learning trips (at both the undergraduate and graduate levels), but this would represent an increase in our involvement in China.

My fellow riders and I snap pictures as the maglev train reaches 422 km/h - and kept climbing. (Taken with my trusty iPad).

I consider this to be an important step for the Kogod School and for our students. China will soon be the largest economy in the world, and has roughly four times as many people as we do here in the United States. This was my fifth time visiting the country, where I am continually amazed by the incredible contrasts present: extreme wealth and poverty; unbelievable technology amidst manual labor.

On the Maglev train, which is the only high-speed line of its kind in the world, I was impressed by the incredible speed at which we traveled. However, on the platform, Chinese workers manually opened the small metal railings that prevented us from falling onto the tracks. It was the equivalent of having three gas station attendants at each pump – more people than necessary to complete the task, and certainly something that could have been automated.

The other reason my trip to China was so important is to keep a close eye on our competition, which is global in every sense. Although at present, there are a very small number of Chinese universities ranked among the best in the world, in the next ten years I expect this to change, driven in part by the rapidly growing cadre of well-trained Chinese students.

What does all this mean for the U.S. economy, and for higher education? We need to be involved, to learn more about our Chinese counterparts, and to recognize that they are increasingly part of our world.