Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone is a major national strategy planned, deployed and promoted by President Xi Jinping, as well as one of the three new primary tasks assigned to Shanghai by him. Since its establishment, Lin-gang Special Area has constantly adhered to the “Five Important” principles and strictly complied with the “Four Create” requirements of the Municipal CPC Committee and Municipal Government. Keeping in mind these instructions, we forge ahead to take on the mission and act as a pioneer. While achieving a leapfrog in growing into a special economic functional area and a modern new town, Lin-gang Special Area is emerging as a growth pole and engine for Shanghai's high-quality development strategy.

Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE), as a member of the Double First-Class University Plan and the oldest financial and economic specialized university in China, remains faithful to its mission of “serving society, seeking the truth, strengthening morality, and benefiting the country”.

In March 2023, the Lin-gang Special Area Administration, SUFE, and Shanghai Lingang Economic Development (Group) Co., Ltd. (Lingang Group) agreed to collaborate on establishing the Dishui Lake Advanced Finance Institute, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE-DAFI) as an international first-class business school, in order to thoroughly implement the spirit of President Xi’s “Five Important” instructions to Lin-gang Special Area, to serve the national economic development and the construction of Shanghai into “Five Centers”, to help Lin-gang Special Area grow into an emerging financial center featuring “smart finance, openness, integration, collaboration, and good governance”, and to foster the new development of SUFE in the new stage. 

Vision: To uphold a century-old business culture and become a world-class finance school leading the development of emerging finance.

Mission: To pool world-class resources, foster financial elites, nurture financial knowledge, create a novel financial culture of Shanghai style, and propel social and economic advancement.

Located at the heart of Dishui Lake Financial Bay, SUFE-DAFI is within a 10-minute functional circle – where infrastructure service providers, international financial service providers, and regulatory authorities can be reached within 10 minutes on foot. This provides functional scenarios for talent training, scientific research, and practical innovation at any time. This “building-based institute” aims to become a talent training base, information exchange platform and government consulting center in support of Dishui Lake Financial Bay’s transformation into a world-class financial hub, and to promote the organic integration of regulators, academics and business.

SUFE-DAFI is an integrated institute for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, academic and non-academic programs, as well as domestic and international education. We stive for a world-class faculty by recruiting top-notch research scholars and teachers from all over the world and inviting senior executives and experts from financial institutions and industrial clusters to work as adjunct professors and mentors. With a focus on emerging finance, we have established a teaching model that combines “finance + technology innovation + industry” to produce market-driven financial elites, business leaders, and financial model innovators with social responsibility. The Institute promotes the creation and dissemination of financial knowledge and enhances scientific research by insisting on reform and innovation, seeking the truth and pursuing true knowledge. Meanwhile, it specializes in policy-oriented and application-oriented theoretical research pertaining to China's financial reform and development, with the purpose of presenting expert think tanks, high-level forums, frontier training and other products and establishing a first-class policy think tank.

Looking forward, SUFE-DAFI is determined to provide exceptional financial education in an effort to supply Shanghai and the nation with financial elites and industry leaders possessing international vision and global competitiveness and persistently fuel the high-quality development of Lin-gang Special Area!

Milestones

September 2022

SUFE inked a strategic cooperation framework agreement with the Lin-gang Special Area Administration.

December 2022

SUFE signed a contract with the Lin-gang Special Area Administration on the collaborative establishment of Dishui Lake Advanced Finance Institute, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

May 2023

The Institute was inaugurated.

September 2023

The Institute held an opening ceremony for its Class of 2023.

Innovative system: Three-party meeting system + strategic partner system

The Joint Meeting System of Lin-gang Special Area Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and Lingang Group for the Collaborative Establishment of Dishui Lake Advanced Finance Institute, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics is in place for the three parties to support the Institute’s system innovations and maintain its independent operations.

Innovative faculty: Top-notch teachers recruited worldwide + exceptional teachers from SUFE + industry professionals appointed as adjunct professors

SUFE-DAFI recruits top-notch teachers from all over the world, hires exceptional teachers from SUFE, and invites executives and experts from financial institutions and industrial clusters to work as adjunct professors, thereby establishing a world-class faculty.

Innovative training mechanism: New finance + new industry + new technology

SUFE-DAFI aims to develop future talents in finance through the combination of classroom teaching and practical training as well as the integration of new finance + new industry + new technology. It places a strong emphasis on cultivating exceptional, globally-leading, innovative financial professionals who specialize in new financial formats such as ESG finance, cross-border finance, and financial technology.