Hugh Thomas was born and raised in western Canada, living in Edmonton and Winnipeg. He received his bachelor of arts, with honors, in history from the University of Alberta, postgraduate diplomas in Chinese language from the Beijing Language and Culture University and history from Nanjing University, an MBA from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a PhD in International Business and Finance from the Stern School of Business, New York University. He participated in founding China's first business school, the National Center for Industrial Science and Technology Management at Dalian in 1980, and subsequently worked in banking and consulting in Hong Kong for seven years. He was tenured at CUHK from 2003 to 2013 and has been at CUHK-Shenzhen since 2015.  

On the 10th anniversary of CHUK-Shenzhen, we explore the significance of the University in cultivating students with a global horizon from his unique perspective.

Unplanned Path

In his own words, Hugh Thomas was "on an unplanned path" from his early studies in history to his involvement in the founding of China's first business school. His early education began in Canada, where a deep interest in history led him to the Faculty of Arts and history studies at the University of Alberta. And, it was his passion for history that eventually led him to the wider world of China and international business.

In the 1970s, influenced by "the counter culture", Thomas chose to discontinue his studies and to embark on traveling around world. This experience not only broadened his horizons, but also deepened his understanding of different cultures and political philosophies. Upon returning to university, he continued with history studies. However, an opportunity to study at the Beijing Language Institute changed the course of his career.  

He showed profound interest in China's history, culture, and economic development while working and living in China.

"I've also always been interested in China. China is personally a part of my background. My mother was born in China, so she was Chinese born American. She was American by nationality, and in terms of ethnicity, she is Caucasian. She has a Scottish, German, and English background, but she was born in Canton (Guangzhou), and so her Cantonese was excellent, but she didn’t understand Mandarin. I grew up in Alberta in western Canada. I found it fascinating that nothing made her happier than listening to and talking with Chinese people. That was a very alive part of my background. "

After completing an MBA program at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Thomas entered the business and finance field. Since then, Thomas has demonstrated his dual roles as a scholar and practitioner, both in his work in the banking industry, and in helping to establish a business school.

"When I graduated from CUHK with an MBA, I was able to help in the joint project of the Chinese government and the U.S. Department of Commerce  to set up a business school in Northeast China. I really enjoyed that experience. We started China's first business school in Dalian in 1980. That gave me a background in teaching business. Later I worked in Hong Kong as an investment and commercial banker for seven years. But in my heart I was basically an academic, not a banker. So I dropped banking and became a scholar again, pursuing a doctoral degree at New York University. That is what got me back into academics. "

After he returned to academia he taught finance courses first in Canada, then in Hong Kong and now at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, passing on his extensive experience and knowledge to the next generation.

"I think CUHK-Shenzhen is a great university built on the tradition of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, so it's been fun to be part of it."

Unexpected development

Professor Hugh Thomas shared his views on the rapid development of the School of Economics and Management (SME) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. He said he felt honored to be part of this transformation. Initially, he did not anticipate that the school would grow so rapidly and make significant progress—not only in terms of hardware, but also in terms of software, the talents. 

"When I first came here, we were in the startup area. We just had the old administration building and those other converted factory buildings."

"I didn't think that the University would grow so quickly, both in hardware and software and talents. Because when I started, as I said, there weren't enough people that were keen on and really able to teach the introductory course in corporate finance.  And now we have an extremely good finance faculty and finance department in SME." 

In fact, during this decade of rapid growth of the university, the world was changing rapidly, and this change has been both unexpected and worrying at the same time. According to Prof. Thomas, differences in social beliefs are often the core of global conflicts, and what is really troublesome is the people who are convinced that the world is stealing something from them. The data revolution has been the most dramatic change in the world recently, but it's not bad. On a societal level, we're actually getting better.

"We haven't had the years like in WWI and WWII, when we had many people slaughtered, or the invasions of China by the Japanese or in the Middle East, where you have had the Greeks, Persians, and Romans that were really quite vicious in their way of imposing their own civilizations. Is it worse now than then? No, I don't think it's worse. I think that we're richer. I think that we're more aware of what the other people are doing. I think it's better that way."

From a personal perspective, Prof. Thomas proposed a novel idea. He argued that the reason we think it's getting worse and more stressful is likely because we think that we can change our lives through decisions, and decisions bring stress with them.

"I hope people attending this university can identify every aspect of that mix of ideas, enjoy the mix of ideas, where they can take advantage of it, notwithstanding the pressures of their programs."

Understand what their stories are

In times of uncertainty, "understanding" is the word Prof. Thomas used most frequently. 

"You've got to be able to get into the head of the person on the other side of the world and see the world as they see it. I'm not saying it's the truth. I'm just saying it's the world as they see it. And the way you see the world is not the truth. It's just what's between your ears because you've taken it in through your five senses over the last few years. So you somehow have to get into their heads and see the world as they see it. Because only then can you understand how you can make a project or a business deal."

We always expect strangers to trust us, but that's a false assumption. Instead of assuming trust from other persons, we should know where the mistrust comes from and try to understand how they see the world. The economic system, according to Thomas, is like a trust system. To realize something great and meaningful, it requires cooperation, trust, and belief in each other. It is just like the Global Supply Chain and Logistics Management Program at CUHK-Shenzhen, which exists based on the cooperation and trust among the three universities.

When talking about cultivation of internationalized talents at CUHK-Shenzhen, Prof. Thomas mentioned that the internationalized development of the University is inextricably linked to Shenzhen, an immigrant city with an international background.

"The domestic Chinese students are international in outlook because they are international by choice. They come from all over the country and they come down to Shenzhen, which is the most international city in China. So those students are global in outlook by choice. This differs slightly from the CUHK students—they were born in a global city. For those who are global by choice, they want to become students with a global perspective. So that's one of the aspects of the internationalization of the CUHK-Shenzhen and the city of Shenzhen." 

Meanwhile, the University provides sufficient opportunities for students to integrate into the world, both within the mainland and through exchange programs overseas. Many students seize opportunities and leave their comfort zone to learn from other people and other places around the world—through their own experiences. 

University is a romantic and idealistic place, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen strives to provide students with a place for international exchanges. Yet students are often stressed out about their future in such a free and internationalized environment. "Where to go?" This is a question at the bottom of many students' hearts. The interview with Prof. Thomas may give us insight.  Although we don't know the answer yet, we are all part of the unexpected. If we try to understand and work with others, we will all be part of the answer.