On August 30, the opening ceremony for the Class of 2026 at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, along with the first ideological and political lesson delivered by the Party Secretary, was held at the comprehensive gymnasium on the Guoding Road campus. More than 6,300 new students officially enrolled, while tens of thousands of faculty, parents, and alumni participated both on-site and online. Against the backdrop of artificial intelligence reshaping economic operations and finance education, the university has made "digital-intelligent new finance" and aligning professional study with national development needs the key themes of this first lesson for incoming students.
During the ceremony, SUFE President Liu Yuanchun noted that artificial intelligence has moved beyond being a mere tool and is now entering a phase where it is reconstructing the foundational logic of economics itself. He acknowledged that this shift brings anxiety for young people regarding major selection, career prospects, and personal growth. He emphasized that technological iteration has never impeded the progress of the times; rather, the critical factor is whether young people can build new capability structures amidst change. Guided by the university motto of "Virtue and Learning, Serving the Nation with Economic Expertise," he urged new students to firmly establish the character of "virtue" while also enhancing their "ability to serve the times," applying professional knowledge to address real-world problems.
In recent years, SUFE has established a range of new platforms centered on "digital-intelligent new finance," including the Dishui Lake Advanced Institute of Finance, the School of Digital Economics, the School of Computer and Artificial Intelligence, the Kuangshi College, and the Frontier Interdisciplinary College. The university has also rolled out achievements such as the "AI Finance Large Model" and the "AI Finance Education Large Model." For new students just arriving, this means finance education is no longer confined to traditional classrooms. Data, algorithms, AI tools, and real economic scenarios will all be part of university learning.
Senior Professor Yao Lan spoke to new students about the nature of university study, reminding them that there are no standard answers. She advised them to first clarify what is worth pursuing and to allow themselves to adjust direction during exploration. "The road ahead can be flexible, but every step you take must be solid," she said. "Seemingly scattered attempts may eventually connect to form your own growth trajectory."
Alumnus representative Xie Hong, founder and executive director of Shanghai Jinde Private Fund Management Co., Ltd., returned to her alma mater. Drawing on her experience in quantitative finance and fintech, she discussed how finance professionals need sound professional judgment alongside long-term refinement of technical and research capabilities. She encouraged new students to build their foundation on integrity and learning, and to place personal choices within the context of the era's demands.
Graduate student representative Wang Jinwen shared her undergraduate experiences participating in the "Thousand Villages Survey," teaching support, and volunteer services. She said it was in villages in southern Anhui, watching villagers review their income and expenditure ledgers, that she truly understood that behind data lie real people and real lives. Now returning to SUFE for graduate studies, she hopes to transform from a knowledge receiver into a problem solver. Undergraduate representative Fang Changxiao noted that from the abacus to artificial intelligence, what changes is the technological medium, but what remains constant is the responsibility of finance students to serve the real economy.
Following the opening ceremony, SUFE Party Secretary Huang Xiangfeng delivered the first ideological and political lesson to new students, titled "Striving for the 15th Five-Year Plan, Youth Shoulders Responsibility." He summarized the relationship between youth development and national growth in a single sentence: "Build yourself the way you would build a new China; plan yourself the way you would plan a five-year plan." The lesson unfolded across three dimensions: aspiration, capability, and responsibility. A stage drama titled "Sparks of Fire" reenacted the 1945 founding of the first Party branch at Shanghai College of Commerce in a small building on Yuyuan Road. In a faculty-student dialogue segment, teachers and students from the School of Computer and Artificial Intelligence discussed how finance education in the AI era can remain rooted in professional fundamentals while integrating multiple disciplines. Representatives from the "Thousand Villages Survey" and "Thousand Enterprises Survey" shared their research and practice experiences in places such as Guangshan in Henan, Jingdezhen, Zhangjiang in Shanghai, Bozhou in Anhui, Xinjiang, and Hangzhou.
In his lesson, Huang Xiangfeng stressed that new students must quickly complete their identity transition, enhance their capacity for proactive learning, and translate digital-intelligent capabilities into core finance competencies. At the same time, they should step beyond the classroom to understand how China's economy operates in villages, enterprises, and urban development sites. At the conclusion of the ceremony, all new students wore their university badges and took a collective oath, officially beginning their academic life at SUFE.
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