Ms Rita Pang, Founder of Sycamore Education, visited The Education University of Hong Kong in person, while Dr Shen Li, Lecturer at the School of Educational Management, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, joined via Zoom. Together, they delivered a guest lecture titled “The Present and Future of Chinese Leadership: From Educational Governance to the Cultivation of Future Leaders” on 9 December 2025. The lecture provided students of the Master of Arts in Chinese Values-Based Leadership Education programme with a cross-sector platform for academic and professional exchange, offering an in-depth analysis of the formation and evolution of Chinese leadership from traditional culture to modern management.
During the sharing, the two guest speakers explored the core characteristics of Chinese leadership from diverse perspectives. Ms Rita Pang, who holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor degree from Duke University, drew on her experience across finance, law, and educational entrepreneurship to discuss how young people’s critical thinking and leadership qualities can be nurtured in multicultural environments. Dr Shen Li creatively applied the traditional method of xungu, textual interpretation and exegesis, to explain the core values of Chinese leadership. By connecting this approach with concrete cases in school management, educational administration, and curriculum development, he illustrated how leaders can make effective decisions in diverse contexts.
The speakers emphasised that, in the context of globalisation and digitalisation, Chinese leadership should not remain only at the academic level, but must also adapt to the times and be implemented in practice. Against the backdrop of Chinese modernisation and global competition, integrating traditional value-based wisdom into modern educational governance can provide a solid foundation and forward-looking direction for the cultivation of future talents.
This guest lecture brought rich learning value and practical significance to students of the Master of Arts in Chinese Values-Based Leadership Education programme. It not only broadened students’ global perspectives and deepened their understanding of Chinese cultural heritage, but also concretely demonstrated how “Chinese values” can be transformed into “educational governance practice”. Through in-depth exchange with the speakers and case discussions, students gained strategic insights into educational administration and organisational management, as well as decision-making and leadership approaches in diverse environments. The lecture laid a solid foundation for their future development as outstanding educational leaders with deep cultural grounding and global competitiveness.
