The forum seemed like AIM Day, quipped Mr. PC Chen, AIM Alumni Association of Taiwan President and one of the roundtable forum participants.
Called “New Southbound Policy: Opportunities, Challenges and Human Capacity Building,” the forum was organized by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research under the guidance of Mr. Chen-Chung Deng, currently Taiwan’s Minister without Portfolio and formerly Minister of Economic Affairs.
The event was attended by about 300 participants, including journalists and scholars from top universities. AIM President and Dean Dr. Jikyeong Kang and Mr. Stan Shih, Acer Founder and Chairman and a member of AIM’s Board of Governors, gave keynote speeches for the two sessions of the forum.
Mr. Shih talked about Southeast Asian Economic Opportunities, while Dr. Kang discussed the Prospects and Challenges of the ASEAN Economic Community.
Dr. Kang opened her speech with the saying that it is neither the strongest nor the most intelligent of a species that survives, but rather those most responsive to change ― certainly true for business, where ever-changing landscapes and markets put constant pressure on organizations to adopt or die.
She talked about ASEAN, at present the world’s sixth largest economy, and its current and potential economic relationship with Taiwan, particularly in the area of SMEs. Dr. Kang also noted the technological trends that will pave the way for the region’s great transformation via a digital revolution, from which opportunities in technology, financing, human resource, and infrastructure will arise.
In anticipation of ASEAN’s demand for regional integration, AIM is well positioned to produce leaders to grow the region’s cities and realize the potential of its community through new and future programs: Master in Entrepreneurship (ME), Master of Science in Innovation and Business (MIB), Master in Data Science (MDS), and Executive Education Programs on SMEs, Family Businesses, Digital Transformation, among others.
Underpinning all these initiatives is AIM’s strong portfolio on global value chains; from corporate social responsibility, globalizing MSMEs, and ASEAN Leaderspeak fora to identifying ASEAN champions of regional integration.
Dr. Kang’s and Mr. Shih’s speeches were very well received, translating into lots of prestige and goodwill for AIM. The alumni present felt very proud of their alma mater. They expressed optimism that the event would prove useful in AIM’s recruitment of Taiwanese candidates.
