A Dialogue of What Success means for UNNC alumni at Forbes Under 30 Summit

18 January 2022


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The 2021 Forbes Under 30 (U30) Summit hosted by Forbes China Group was held between the 13 and 14 January and had a very positive reception. Professor Eugene Ch’ng, Director of NVIDIA Joint-Lab on Mixed Reality at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), along with Mr Cheng Chen, a UNNC alumnus who was awarded the U30 in 2017 was invited to share their experiences at the live-broadcasting studio of the Summit. The dialogue discussed various topics associated with the meaning of the spirit of innovative and entrepreneurship in UNNC, and received over 180,000 views. Cheng was one of five UNNC alumni who have been recognised by the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list within its 17-year history of establishment. 

Monster Guardians founded by Cheng is an emerging sports brand which have grown in popularity. The brand is committed to providing high-performance sports products and clothings for sports lovers.

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In 2017, Cheng was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. The brand progressed to being named as one of China’s most promising company by Forbes in 2018. In the live broadcast, Cheng expressed to the audience that his present achievements were inseparable from the international education he had received at UNNC. "The open and inclusive learning environment on campus was impressive. I studied with people of various nationalities, cultural backgrounds and a variety of languages. I’ve witnessed my peers communicating and analysing the same problem from very different perspectives. This gave me an impression that there was synergy in the dance between collision and integration of thinking in the highly international atmosphere of study."

"My biggest gains from my Master Degree of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management at UNNC are professional knowledge and systematic thinking. It has always been my dream to transform my hobby into a career, and UNNC have equipped me with that knowledge and the skillsets which have enabled me to realise my dream.”, he said.

Professor Ch’ng shared his experience from the perspective on the progression towards student successes in a highly competitive environment. He focused on education as a critical means to achieving success, education being the illumination for pathways that leads to a bright future. "We believe that each and every student has their own unique and untapped potentials. As educators, we support and encourage every individual to explore different aspects of their strengths, both discovering and igniting the spark in their hearts." Professor Ch’ng is an interdisciplinary scholar. He is not only a world-renowned scholar in the field of virtual and augmented reality, leading research in cutting-edge digital technologies in his field, he is also an artist and a martial arts instructor (3rd-Dan Aikido Black Belt).

"In addition to providing first-class international education, UNNC also provides platforms for a diverse set of extracurricular activities. I think that there are vast opportunities here for innovation and entrepreneurship", Professor Ch’ng adds. "The University is committed to unlocking the potentials of every single student through an international, research-oriented environment, and an excellent campus experience. We strive to create an environment that supports, inspires and empowers students so that they may achieve their potentials in life."

Forbes 30 Under 30 (U30) is a list of people under 30 years of age awarded annually by Forbes magazine in various countries. It has become a symbol of successful young talents. Every year, Forbes sought after influential young people under 30 years old emerging in the industry, that have demonstrated potentials to become leaders in their industry and the society at large in the future. They are either innovators, or entrepreneurs, those with the potentials to become future leaders, industry experts or business front-runners.