On April 16, 2026, a delegation from the Milgard School of Business, University of Washington Tacoma, led by Professor Altaf Merchant, Dean, and Associate Professor Zhiyan (Juliet) Cao, Senior Associate Dean, visited Business School, Soochow University. Professor Bo Feng, Dean of Business School, Soochow University, Professor Tao Xu, Associate Dean, and other faculty members attended the meeting. The two sides held in-depth discussions on talent development, discipline construction, international cooperation and other topics, and reached a number of cooperation intentions.

In the morning, a student forum was held at the Finance & Economics Building, East Campus, between the delegation and undergraduate and postgraduate representatives from Business School, Soochow University. Students actively raised questions concerning study planning in the United States, master programapplication procedures, adaptation to overseas life, scholarship policies, academic research activities and other concerns, and had in-depth exchanges with the delegation.Prof.Merchant andProf.Cao patiently answered each question, shared detailed information and practical suggestions based on the school’s educational characteristics, study abroad application experience, and the actual study and life in American universities, creating a lively interactive atmosphere.

In the afternoon, cooperation talks were held in Room 317 of the Finance & Economics Building, East Campus. On behalf of the Business School of Soochow University, Prof. Feng extended a warm welcome to the delegation, and Prof. Xu briefly introduced the school’s development history, vision and mission, talent training system and international cooperation. Prof. Merchant and Prof. Cao introduced the educational positioning, AACSB accreditation advantages, undergraduate and postgraduate program offerings of Milgard School of Business, and shared its distinctive practices in business analytics, leadership development, industry-university collaborative education and other fields.

On the basis of in-depth exchanges, the two sides discussed and reached cooperation intentions onmodels such as student exchange, 1+1 and 0.5+1 international master’s programs, and 2+2 international undergraduate programs. In the future, the two schools will take this exchange as an opportunity to accelerate the implementation of cooperative programs, share high-quality educational resources, jointly cultivate interdisciplinary business talents with a global vision, and support the development of business education.