Mo Daoming:Riding the Trends

by+Zhao+Yue

In early December 2014， at the Insti- tute of Public Policy （IPP） of South China University of Technology（SCUT）， which was jointly established by Mo Daoming， Li Yuanyuan， former SCUT president and now president of Jilin University， and Professor Zheng Yongnian with East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore， 50-yearold Mo received a certificate of recognition from UNESCO honoring his commitment to promoting innovative research and analysis of public policy through social sciences and humanities in the context of globalization as well as his efforts in coop- eration with UNESCO in the field.

It is not common for UNESCO to award an individual in China. “I am lucky，”Mo opines. “Against the background of Chinas reform and opening up， I am lucky enough to always ride the trends.”

A Changed Life

In 1964， Mo was born into a family of teachers in Haifeng County， Guangdong Province. When he was a child， the family was poor and his father frequently traveled around for work. However， his parentsdiligent and optimistic values influenced him a lot. In 1977， when Mo was in his sec- ond year of junior middle school， Chinas college entrance examination resumed. In 1982， he was admitted to SCUTs department of chemical machinery. During his four years at the university， Mo was dubbed a “nerd” by professors and fellow students. His life basically consisted of classrooms， playground， the library， dining hall， and dorm.

However， in 1985 when Mo was about to graduate， the “bookworm” made a jaw-dropping decision. Only three months before the graduate school entrance examination， he gave up the opportunity to be admitted to a graduate program without even taking the exam and applied for SCUTs newly-opened graduate program of business administration. The reason for the bold decision was that at the time， Mo had already realized that although business administration was new to China， with acceleration of Chinas reform and opening up， scientific management would become an inevitable requirement of Chinese society.

The brave young man studied day and night， and his efforts paid off when he was admitted. Luck may not have played as big a role as his tireless efforts， but only seven of more than 140 applicants were admitted. At a critical turning point of his life， Mo made a decision that changed everything.

Commitment to Education