On 26 October, Miguel Mourato Gordo, Director-General of the Human Resources Office of the United Nations Department of Management, and HR Officer He Linlin visited our university. Huang Xiangfeng, Secretary of the CPC Committee of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE), received the guests, and Ding Dong, Director of the Office of International Exchange and Cooperation, chaired the meeting.
Huang Xiangfeng extended a warm welcome on behalf of the university to Director-General Gordo and his delegation, and expressed sincere gratitude to the United Nations for its long-term support for SUFE’s talent cultivation and internationalised development. He briefly introduced the university’s historical foundation, disciplinary strengths, and achievements in the 'Digital-Intelligent New Finance' educational reform in recent years, stressing that sending talent to international organisations is a core endeavour in the university’s internationalisation practice. Since 2015, SUFE has taken the lead in exploring the cultivation of talent for international organisations. To date, over 150 postgraduate students have undertaken internships at the United Nations and other institutions, and several alumni have been formally employed by organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme. Building on the strong mutual trust established during SUFE’s hosting of the 4th United Nations Agencies Recruitment and Consultation Fair in 2023, he expressed hope for the establishment of more long-term cooperative mechanisms with the UN Human Resources Office in areas such as joint talent selection, officials delivering lectures on campus, and promoting capacity building in the Global South. Gordo thanked SUFE for its warm reception and spoke highly of the university’s sustained investment and fruitful outcomes in cultivating talent for international organisations. He also expressed appreciation for SUFE’s outstanding contributions to the 2023 UN recruitment activities. He pointed out that under the strategic transformation of 'UN 2.0', the United Nations is committed to building a future-oriented workforce, with an urgent need for young talents possessing the 'quintet of change'—core competencies in the five areas of data, digital technology, innovation, behavioural science, and strategic foresight. He emphasised that in the age of artificial intelligence, critical thinking, cross-cultural communication and collaboration, and rapid adaptability are core competencies that machines cannot replace and which the United Nations highly values. Ding Haoyuan, Dean of the Global South Institute of Finance and Economics, shared specific practices of the university in cultivating talent for international organisations, introducing the design concept of the '3+1+2' undergraduate-to-postgraduate integrated training system, as well as interdisciplinary and cross-cultural measures within the system such as deeply integrating data analysis tools into traditional finance curricula and strengthening multilingual ability development.
The two sides engaged in in-depth discussions on establishing institutionalised cooperation and exchanged views on career pathways for young talent entering international organisations and the corresponding capability requirements. They reached preliminary consensus on multiple directions for collaboration, including exploring the establishment of a long-term cooperative relationship through the signing of a memorandum of understanding, enhancing awareness of international organisation positions, conducting collaborative research on specific global governance topics, implementing more targeted talent recommendations, and strengthening students’ understanding of and capacity for United Nations work by leveraging the university’s disciplinary strengths.
After the meeting, Godoy was also invited to deliver the first session of the Global South Institute of Finance and Economics Employment Workshop. Titled 'Career Development at the United Nations', he introduced to SUFE faculty and students the talent needs of the United Nations, its career development pathways, and the Young Professionals Programme (YPP). In light of the current international situation, he pointed out that challenges such as global sustainable development, climate change, inequality, and the advancement of artificial intelligence have made the governance tasks of the United Nations more complex. The UN is promoting organisational modernisation and hopes to attract more young Chinese talents to join international organisations.
He Linlin further introduced the application requirements and selection mechanism of the YPP programme, noting that China is one of the invited participating countries for the 2026 intake, and encouraged students aspiring to work in international organisations to seize the opportunity and leverage their professional and language strengths.
During the exchange session, students actively raised questions on issues such as the independence of international civil servants, the value of experience in international organisations, and the cultivation of professional competencies. The atmosphere at the event was lively. This lecture provided students with an opportunity to engage closely with a representative of an international organisation, to learn about global governance and the talent selection mechanisms of the United Nations, and to gain first-hand information on career pathways and competency requirements for those aiming to pursue employment in international organisations.
The United Nations is an international organisation voluntarily established by sovereign states. It was founded on 24 October 1945 and currently has 193 member states. Its core mission encompasses the maintenance of international peace and security, the protection of human rights, the provision of humanitarian assistance, the promotion of sustainable development, and the upholding of international law.
