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XR Twitter Ice Cream Social on High-Fidelity
XR Twitter Ice Cream Social on High-Fidelity

NYU in Shanghai

NYU currently has a presence at East China Normal University (华东师范大学). They're opening a full campus in Pudong, the new district. Maybe they understand they can't just feed Wall Street, so Pudong is a logical decision. But it's a good decision for more than just being situated in the new financial district of a new financial power. "In the 2011-12 academic year, NYU plans to begin an executive education program, which will not grant degrees. A degree-granting, professional Masters program would begin in the 2012-13 academic year, and in the fall of 2013, NYU hopes to welcome its first undergraduate class to NYU Shanghai. "

East China Normal Uni is located at what was the campus of St. John's University right by Suzhou Creek. St. John's University was dissolved after the revolution with parts of it absorbed into Shanghainese Second Medical College and Fudan University.

Even though St. John's University was registered in Washington DC, a BA from St. John's University and a CPA from Hong Kong (which is qualified through the UK) would not even let you sit for the CPA in the United States. NYU is really (has really been) leading the curve. They accepted programs from St. John's back in 1956, organized semesters abroad with ECNU and now are opening their own campus.

I am still trying to have Parsons give me credit for my semester at Fudan.

Original source: http://nyunews.com/blogs/on-assignment/2011/01/22/22shanghai/

Education in China

; approach pushes students to top of tests "Many educators say China’s strength in education is also a weakness. The nation’s education system is too test-oriented, schools here stifle creativity and parental pressures often deprive children of the joys of childhood, they say."

"These are two sides of the same coin: Chinese schools are very good at preparing their students for standardized tests." "For that reason, they fail to prepare them for higher education and the knowledge economy.”

"In an interview, Mr. Jiang said Chinese schools emphasized testing too much, and produced students who lacked curiosity and the ability to think critically or independently.

“It creates very narrow-minded students,” he said. “But what China needs now is entrepreneurs and innovators.”

This is a common complaint in China. Educators say an emphasis on standardized tests is partly to blame for the shortage of innovative start-ups in China. And executives at global companies operating here say they have difficulty finding middle managers who can think creatively and solve problems."

Related: "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

Source: "Shanghai Schools’ Approach Pushes Students to Top of Tests" David Barboza, New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/30/world/asia/30shanghai.html?scp=1&sq=shanghai%20schools;%20approach%20pushes%20students%20to%20top%20of%20tests&st=cse

Chinese Model - US Model

"China adapts quickly, making difficult decisions and implementing them effectively," "Americans pride themselves on constitutional checks and balances, based on a political culture that distrusts centralised government. This system has ensured individual liberty and a vibrant private sector, but it has now become polarised and ideologically rigid." -Francis Fukuyama, historian, featured in Financial Times

"Fukuyama seems to be warning that, in Darwinian terms, the Chinese system may be more adaptive than the land of the free." I love when people apply Darwin theory to things other than biology. I think the land of the free needs to rethink itself. But that's what we've always been doing, rethinking ourself. Now we realize we need to rethink ourself.

side note: Why is Time developing articles off of Financial Times?

Source: Time (who sourced from FT) http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2043235,00.html#ixzz1BidMhwtn

Friday Night Fights

We went to see Watt's fight.[singlepic id=437] She's an awesome photographer and can throw a strong right cross. [singlepic id=441] Ashley Kechego-Nichols looks a little like our friend Ilene (www.ilenebyersart.com) [singlepic id=442] Congrats to everyone who fought. People like that juice me. It's a trickle down effect of motivation.

I want to do Service Design for a fight event. Crazy white space in the blueprint! [nggallery id=35]

Hannukah Party!

[nggallery id=34] [singlepic id=416] [singlepic id=417] [singlepic id=418] [singlepic id=419] [singlepic id=420] [singlepic id=421] [singlepic id=422] [singlepic id=423] [singlepic id=424] [singlepic id=425] [singlepic id=426] [singlepic id=427] [singlepic id=428] [singlepic id=429] [singlepic id=430] [singlepic id=431] [singlepic id=432] [singlepic id=433] [singlepic id=434] [singlepic id=435] [singlepic id=436]

To Do Lists

We have too many of them.I need a clear calendar. Testing a new system - To Do Tags: kMind, kEye, kConnect Alphabetically ordered by priority.  They're applied to blog posts so there are notes + that sense of urgency.  But even though one might be more urgent than the other it might not be more important, just more pressing - something to do sooner. kAction? I don't think it's necessary to identify things in action. We should focus on keeping them in action and finishing them rather than just overly describing the process. End.

Leap - Art in China

Leap Magazine (艺术界)The first bi-lingual (Chinese and English) art magazine.  It's broken up into three sections "上, 中, and 下 (top, middle and bottom) are differently conceived." Their site is just a splash page - keep an eye on it. http://leapleapleap.com/ Brought to my attention by Benjamin Bacon

Intro by Redbox redbox.studio.cn

"LEAP (艺术界) is a brand-new bilingual magazine covering Chinese contemporary art and culture. In the words of Chief Editor Philip Tinari, it’s “a magazine about art in China, or rather art and China, that aims to do things ever so slightly differently from the dozens of art magazines which have emerged here in Beijing since auction fever began in 2006.”

The first issue was released just in time for the Lunar New Year, and features interviews, profiles, exhibition reviews, and a collaborative look back at the past ten years of Chinese contemporary art from leading figures. But mixed with serious criticism, there’s also a fashion photo-spread entitled “Caochangdi Last Supper,” and comic-like illustrations by Xu Zhen’s MADEIN. With a healthy dose of pop and irreverence, LEAP seems determined to not be just another Chinese contemporary art magazine."

Video preview on Youku Interview with Chief Editor Philip Tinari on 3030

Xpert Financial

xpert_financial.png

A new service with a new model for funding private companies. "A new company has won approval from US regulators to serve as an online exchange for shares in private companies such as Facebook." (Financial Times)

Xpert Financial will be the first electronic exchange with formal approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to deal in private company stock." Letting them bypass traditional venture capital financing." (Financial Times)

I'd like to get an inside look at Xpert, but they are in stealth.

It's great that there are options to traditional models of funding as opposed to venture capital, which is having trouble as a business model.  Late last year at a conference, some people were mentioning that venture capitalists would fund  a company and push it until an IPO so the VC can gain their principle back plus profit -instead of the VC earning profit from their portfolio company generating revenue.  Not everyone feels positive about Xpert or Facebook raising funding.

"Goldman SPV to sell Facebook to "hi net worth clients" at $50bn valuation? What could possibly go wrong? Ponziconomy: back with a bang!" - Umair Haque via Twitter @umairh

"Facebook & Goldman Sachs in a private deal only for the rich to make insiders rich? It doesn't feel right. Google did it much better." Bruce Nussbaum via Twitter @brucenussbaum

Source: See Financial Times for orgional article in it's complete context here.

Approval for Xpert to deal in private company shares, By David Gelles in Charleston, South Carolina Published: January 3 2011 22:03 | Last updated: January 3 2011 22:03 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7a2040f2-1775-11e0-badd-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1A83CqsoJ