On 17 May, the "Cross border trade in the digital era" peers advisory group jointly organised by Nottingham University Business School China (NUBS China) and Amazon Global Selling was successfully held at the Library, the University Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC). Industry representatives from 30 cross-border e-commerce companies in Ningbo gathered on campus to discuss supply chain and branding development trends.

Professor Kok Wei Khong, Dean of NUBS China, delivered a welcome speech, stating that the event is an important opportunity for NUBS China to enhance business engagement and student industry experience. By bringing students to the peers advisory group, they can listen to the most authentic industry stories and enrich their business learning experience.

Ms Bin Fu, Director of Global Selling Expansion and Regional Marketing at Amazon, thanked NUBS China for providing such a good place for this event. She mentioned that cross-border e-commerce, as a new business form, currently does not have an established methodology. She expressed, "I am glad to see the industry representatives here writing the next textbook together with the three professors from NUBS China in an academic atmosphere on campus.”

Professor Hing Kai Chan, Associate Dean for Education and Student Experience at NUBS China, with the theme of "How supply chain digitalisation helps the development of enterprise", explained that the digital supply chain is based on the new generation of information technology and modern management concepts, driven by data, to promote information sharing, collaboration and automation in all aspects of the supply chain. These factors improve customer satisfaction and supply chain resilience, achieving cost reductions and increasing efficiency in the supply chain.

Professor Martin Liu, Associate Dean for Research and Knowledge Exchange at NUBS China, delivered a keynote speech titled "Customer value created by international brand strategy". He mentioned the importance of branding in cross-border e-commerce and Chinese brands going overseas. He also provided suggestions for optimising enterprises in terms of mindset, products and sales channels.

During the round table, industry representatives engaged in deep discussions on the two topics shared by Professor Hing Kai Chan and Professor Martin Liu. It is worth mentioning that NUBS China students were also invited to participate in the round table. Weisisi Wu, a Year 4 student studying International Business Economics, is about to study e-commerce at the University of Warwick after graduation. She said, "This event gave me the opportunity to get close to representatives of the enterprises in the cross-border e-commerce industry in Ningbo. Through their perspectives, I saw the opportunities and challenges currently faced by cross-border e-commerce, which gave me new ideas for future employment. In addition, this event made me realise that the theoretical knowledge learned during my time at university can be applied to real life, as well as how to apply it correctly in terms of tailoring it to actual situations."

NUBS China has built up strong links with companies and organisations. By engaging with some of the world's largest companies alongside dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises while studying with us, students are exposed to the business world, and may be inspired by great leaders, thereby gaining more exposure and understanding of the real business world. The development of this type of "second classroom" is not only a beneficial extension and supplement to classroom learning, but it also functions as a platform for students to get in touch with the industry, enhance their understanding of management practice and lay a solid foundation for their future career development.