NSD Neck and Neck with Harvard Kennedy School

Oct 16-2019   

The positioning of the NSD is unequivocally clear. In a recent media interview, Prof. Yao Yang, Dean of the NSD, said the NSD shall be head-to-head with Harvard Kennedy School and shall outshine its American counterpart in comprehensiveness. Eventually, the NSD will grow to be one of a kind in the world.

In terms of influences on government policy making, the NSD as a think tank has already outgunned Kennedy School, said Prof. Yao.

Dean of the NSD since 2012, Prof. Yao thinks big and acts fast. In his plan, the NSD will be a PKU-based comprehensive school straddling political, business and academic circles, and supplying advice to the government and the society.

He’s a staunch supporter of liberal arts education and believed that China by and large needs one or two schools whose task is not to cultivate ‘talents (task handlers)’, but rather thinkers and leaders in every industry and field.

“Our strategy is to find the best people and build the best platform for them. People define our ultimate development,” he said. The NSD can trace its genes to research institutes in the 1980s dedicated to reform and development issues, hence its root and heritage in studying and solving real-world issues.

“Many people aspire to join NSD to pursue academic excellence and impact on China’s historic drive,” he said.