May 2026

Dear friends and alumni,

What a remarkable month April has been.

As I look back on the past few weeks at the University of Manchester China Centre, I am struck by a single, powerful thread woven through every event, every conversation, and every new connection: the courage to grow in the face of change.

Whether it was Professor David Bamford flying in to lead Global MBA students from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai through the complexities of strategic supply chain management, or the extraordinary Han Zijun reminding us that resilience knows no age limit as she shared her Everest summits alongside our own alumna Serena Yu—the message was clear. Growth happens when we step beyond comfort zones, across borders, and into honest dialogue.

We saw this courage in the pages of Nineteen, where Adam Robarts and Wu Jingfan explored the very meaning of life and mental growth in education. We saw it in Beijing, where our alumna Wu Jing and ELiP student Struan Mathieson shared practical strategies for navigating workforce shifts and education reform. And we celebrated it at the 2nd anniversary of our alumni Speaking Club—a community born from a simple idea, now 200 members strong, proving that when we find our voice, we never lose it.

I was also deeply honoured to represent the Centre at the AmCham Shanghai Women's Leadership Conference, sharing how our Global MBA enables women to rise, and to visit Daystar Academy and the Qi Social Innovation Centre in Beijing—where two of our proud Manchester alumni are leading with purpose and heart.

To every student, alum, speaker, and guest who joined us this April: thank you. You are the reason this community thrives. You remind us that education is not just about knowledge transfer. It is about shared humanity, resilience, and the quiet courage to calibrate direction when the path shifts.

Here is to climbing higher—together.

Warm regards,

Sherry Fu