John Donahoe, president and CEO of Nike, visited Tsinghua University and met with university President LI Luming in the West Hall of Gongzi Hall to discuss deepening their cooperation on June 5, 2024.

John Donahoe shared Nike's development history and vision, expressing gratitude for Tsinghua University's support in their collaboration. He acknowledged Tsinghua as a renowned university with outstanding students and expressed eagerness to further deepen their long-term partnership.

Angela Dong, vice president of Nike Inc. and General Manager of Nike Greater China, also attended the meeting. Representatives from Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, the Department of Physical Education, and the International Office participated as well.

Photo of the attendees

At Tsinghua SEM, John Donahoe engaged in a lively dialogue with Dean BAI Chong-En and interacted with more than 300 students. They discussed leadership, the role of sports in today's world, the growing importance of innovation, and how collaboration can drive sustainable development.

BAI Chong-En and John Donahoe meet for a discussion.

"Sustainability is embedded in everything Nike does, but it is through community and collaboration that we will reach our goal of creating a better world," Donahoe said during his visit to Tsinghua University, "By coming together and working with partners across sectors and industries, we are able to drive greater impact and change. Tsinghua University is a world-class institution, and we are excited to be expanding our work together to empower young minds and help them become tomorrow's leaders and innovators in sustainability."

"Tsinghua SEM has undertaken numerous practical explorations to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in talent cultivation, scientific research, social service, cultural inheritance, and innovation," BAI Chong-En said. "Leveraging Tsinghua SEM and the university's high-quality educational resources in science and technology, humanities, social sciences, and the arts, the Tsinghua-Nike Sustainability Fellowship Program will focus on cultivating students' global competences, local insights, and systematic critical thinking. This will help make sustainability a core value in their daily learning, thinking, and living. Through hands-on projects and innovative support, students will acquire the ability to solve real-world problems, laying a solid foundation for their future as leaders in advancing sustainable development."

The dialogue and the Nike delegation visit were hosted by LI Jinliang, a professor at Tsinghua SEM who leads the Tsinghua-Nike Sustainability Fellowship Program. LI said students with innovative thinking and leadership potential will be selected from across the university to join the program, creating a close-knit, open, and inclusive community. The training mechanism will allow students to specialize in their respective areas of expertise while fostering a sustainability mindset and leadership skills. The program will offer interdisciplinary cutting-edge courses, domestic and international study tours, industry practice opportunities, and various community activities. These experiences will help students gain a comprehensive understanding of sustainability, global issues, and future challenges from diverse perspectives. Academic and industry mentors will jointly support students in research and innovation projects, helping them master innovative thinking methods and tools, and to apply them in practical sustainability explorations.

LI Jinliang hosts the Nike delegation visit.

ZHOU Kanglin, a PhD student from the School of Social Sciences, aims to develop a real-time carbon emission monitoring, fine management, and trend prediction solution using artificial intelligence. He hopes to assist enterprises in achieving localized deployment and security through project development. Veldesen Yaputra, an undergraduate student from the Academy of Arts and Design, seeks resources and technical support for his rural revitalization project in Indonesia through the program. WEI Zhenwei, a PhD student from the School of Vehicle and Mobility, aims to collaborate across departments to study achieving self-protection and safe operation of new energy vehicle battery systems using principles from bionics and materials science.

A group photo at the event

During his visit to Tsinghua University, John Donahoe also toured the century-old Tsinghua University West Gymnasium to learn about the development of sports and interacted with Tsinghua's student athletes.

John Donahoe meets with Tsinghua's student athletes.

The two sides also discussed advancing the Tsinghua-Nike Sustainability Fellowship Program, which aims to cultivate future leaders and advocates of sustainability and contribute to achieving the "dual carbon" goals. The program is scheduled to officially launch in September 2024.