Tsinghua SEM Students Dialogue with Facebook’s Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg — Zuckerberg Conducts Dialogue in Mandarin for the First Time in Public
On the evening of October 22, the new member of the Advisory Board of Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook, was invited to have a dialogue with Tsinghua x-lab’s students. During the session, Zuckerberg spoke entirely in mandarin, which thrilled the audience. He remarked that this is his first time public speech in Chinese, which made the session more special and unforgettable for the students present. Professor QIAN Yingyi, Dean of Tsinghua SEM, hosted the dialogue session and Professor CHEN Jining, President of Tsinghua University, concluded the session with remarks. “Tsinghua Students Dialogue with Board Members” is one of the series of activities prior to the Tsinghua SEM Advisory Board meeting; the aim is to create an intimate environment for students to have an up-close and in-depth interaction with board members.
The session began with a 10th year anniversary video on Facebook, detailing the many milestones since its inception in 2004. The video ended with an uplifting message, exhorting views to “get ready for the next 10 years”. Following which, Dean QIAN made opening remarks, where he peppered his introduction of Zuckerberg and Facebook with much humor. In particular, he pointed out the affinity that Zuckerberg shares with Tsinghua SEM. As the youngest member in the Advisory Board, Zuckerberg was born in the same year when Tsinghua SEM was founded and his birthday is just 5 days before the school’s founding date. The dialogue session was moderated by David Wei, Engineering Director of Facebook’s Growth Department and a former Tsinghua Computer Science student (Class of 2001).
Zuckerberg was first asked about his reasons to learn Chinese. To which he replied that there were three main reasons. Firstly, his wife is a Chinese, so he wanted to communicate with her grandmother who could only speak Chinese. Secondly, he wanted to learn the language to understand China’s rich history and culture. Lastly, learning Chinese is difficult, so he wanted to challenge himself. Zuckerberg mentioned that this is his fourth time in China, and the main purpose of this trip is to attend Tsinghua SEM Advisory Board meeting. He felt that he was very privileged to be a member of the Board, and hoped to use this opportunity to support China’s education. He remarked that there are now more than 140 Tsinghua graduates working in Facebook and he welcomed Tsinghua students to join Facebook when they graduate.
Since many audience members are also aspiring entrepreneurs from Tsinghua x-lab, Zuckerberg shared his feelings and experience when he first started out. His belief is that a good company is founded because the founder wants to change the world, and not simply because of his desire to have a company. When probed about his secret for success, he noted that it is very challenging to manage a company, because as a boss, you have to make many difficult and tough decisions, such as deciding whether to lay off some staff. He said that without faith in your mission, it will be very tempting to give up. This is why only the best will never give up, while the majority chooses to give up along the way. He said, “It is important to believe in your mission and never give up.”
President Chen concluded the question and answer session by discussing with Zuckerberg regarding Tsinghua’s recently announced education reforms and the things that the school can do to promote entrepreneurship and leadership among Tsinghua students.
As the event drew to an end, Dean QIAN presented a figurine of Zuckerberg as a souvenir to Zuckerberg. The figurine was printed using a 3D printer that was invented by a startup from Tsinghua x-lab. President Chen, Zuckerberg and Dean QIANalso took pictures with the winners of the inaugural “President Cup” of Tsinghua x-lab.
Prior to the Dialogue event with students, Zuckerberg visited Tsinghua SEM and had an in-depth conversation with Dean QIAN. Dean QIAN introduced the history and current development of the School and welcomed Zuckerberg to join the Advisory Board. Zuckerberg expressed his gratitude to be invited to join the Board and hoped to be able to make contributions to the School’s development. Zuckerberg also presented a photo of Tsinghua graduates who are now working at Facebook as a gift to Dean QIAN.
(From School of Economics and Management)
