Dear Alumni,
Warm greetings from a blossoming Peking University campus!
As April comes to a close, we are excited to share a recap of the past few months at Yenching Academy(YCA). It has been a season filled with engaging activities, insightful dialogues, and meaningful connections. We hope you enjoy this look back at our journey together.
Yenching Global Symposium
From April 16th to 19th, YGS 2026 convened around the theme “Harnessing Momentum: The Power to Act in a Changing World.”In an era marked by shifting global dynamics and increased uncertainty, the symposium highlighted the essential ability to seize opportunity, build solidarity, and channel transformation into purposeful action. Throughout the four-day symposium, we brought together diverse voices from over 100 countries and region to reflect on how nations, institutions, and individuals can turn insight into lasting impact in our rapidly evolving world.
Click here to relive the highlights:
https://www.yenchingglobalsymposium.com/
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/kQIeQTPD6xIaOBrsf01Zqw
【Alumni Enrichment program】Alumni Visiting Scholar: Josh Anderson
This spring, YCA was honored to welcome back two outstanding alumni for our Spring Alumni Enrichment Program 2026. During their stays at YCA, both alumni had one-on-one meetings with current scholars, giving advice and support on the students’ academic research and career planning.
Josh Anderson (UK, cohort 2020) has worked at the British Library as part of the International Dunhuang Programme, supporting projects, which promote the conservation, digitisation, research, and awareness of cultural heritage collections from Dunhuang and other Eastern Silk Roads sites.
Josh hosted an alumni mentorship chat on “The IDP at 30: Renewing the International Dunhuang Programme's Digital Collections Repository.” He discussed the redevelopment of the IDP’s new English-language website, showcasing its capabilities as a digital cultural heritage repository platform. Furthermore, Josh shared expert insights into current trends within the digital heritage sector, sparking a vibrant discussion on the intersection of history and technology.
【Alumni Enrichment program】Alumni visiting scholar: Kai Sandbrink
Kai Sandbrink (Germany, 2020 Cohort) is a PhD Student in Computational Cognitive Science at the University of Oxford and EPFL. His research focuses on how AI can provide a model for cognitive flexibility in the brain and human behavior.
Kai’s mentorship session, “How AI is Changing Science,” offered a comprehensive overview of AI’s core principles and its transformative impact on the scientific landscape. Kai illustrated how AI tools are already influencing key stages of the scientific process, from forming hypotheses to analyzing data and sharing results. The talk concluded with a forward-looking discussion on both the opportunities and the risks that come with its development and wider adoption.
【Alumni Mentorship Chat】Podcasting as an Early-Career Strategy
On April 2, we welcomed back Ilari Mäkelä (Finland, 2018 Cohort) for an engaging Alumni Mentorship Chat. As the founder of the On Humans podcast, Ilari hosted a session on “Podcasting as an Early-Career Strategy.”
Drawing on his own journey, Ilari shared his insights on what it takes to run and monetize an academia-minded podcast. He pointed out how podcasting can serve as a powerful platform for researchers to share their findings and build a global network early in their careers. The highlight of the session was a live demonstration, where Ilari recorded a segment on-site and showed scholars how to edit and refine audio using specialized podcasting tools.
PhD/Master Application Sharing Session
On March 27, YCA hosted a hybrid PhD and Master’s Application Sharing Session at Jingyuan Courtyard 3. We invited several alumni and current students pursuing advanced degrees to share their firsthand experiences navigating the graduate application process. Scholars gained valuable insights into academic planning, research proposals, and the realities of doctoral life.
【Alumni Gathering】Singapore Year-End Alumni Gathering
On January 24, YCA alumni gathered in Singapore to celebrate the New Year, with 15 alumni. They gathered for an afternoon of cultural exchange and reunion. The event explored Singapore’s UNESCO-recognised hawker culture through hands-on experiences, including making traditional muah chee, sampling local delicacies, and creating sand art. The gathering offered a meaningful opportunity for alumni from different cohorts to reconnect, while celebrating shared values through a distinctly local and cultural lens.
【Alumni Gathering】Shenzhen Year-End Alumni Gathering
On January 25, YCA alumni gathered in sunny Shenzhen for a cross-cohort reunion. From Shenzhen, Hong Kong to Guangzhou, scholars reconnected over coffee to share nostalgia and forward-looking insights on finance, tech, and Greater Bay Area life. Bringing together alumni from early cohorts to the latest, the mixer was a delightful reminder of our shared values. Together, our alumni are contributing to the evolving landscape and development of the Greater Bay Area!
【Alumni Gathering】Guangzhou Alumni Gathering
On March 15, the YCA Alumni Event was held in Guangzhou for a gathering focused on career development and professional planning. Hosted by the Yenching alumni network in the Greater Bay Area, the event combined an opening section of networking with a structured fireside chat addressing career trajectories, sector transitions, and strategic planning for mid-career and early-career professionals.
【Alumni Gathering】Hong Kong Alumni Hike
On April 18, YCA alumni joined a meaningful Lion Rock hike in one of Hong Kong’s most iconic settings. Along the way, they experienced the spirit of Lion Rock, shared easy conversations, and enjoyed the scenery and energy of the city from a different perspective. It was more than just an outdoor activity — it was a warm and memorable experience that brought people closer together and deepened the sense of community within YCA.
Career Development Highlights
To empower our scholars with real-world experience and professional guidance, YCA has organized several career events over the past few months.
On March 19, YCA successfully launched the 2026 Professional and Leadership Mentor Program. Distinguished mentors from public affairs, philanthropy, investment, technology, media, and international organisations joined the event. Mentors shared valuable insights on career development and global competence. Breakout sessions also enabled students to gain practical guidance from their respective mentors. The program will continue to empower students with real-world experience and broaden their perspectives for future.
On March 23, Empyrean Sky Partners, a USD-denominated investment fund, hosted a recruitment information session at YCA, featuring HR representatives Leah and Wendy, along with our alumni Mikhail Milko（Russia, 2023 cohort).
On March 27, Yenching Scholars visited Huaneng Guicheng Trust for a site visit, gaining firsthand insight into the operations of a state-owned financial institution with a central SOE background.
YCA Creative Booth
Designed by Yenching scholars Krupa Sekhar (USA, 2025 cohort) and Yuan Sio Mei (China, 2025 cohort), the YCA Creative Booth approaches nature-informed design as something lived and experienced rather than conceptual.
Created in memory of the late Professor Yu Kongjian, renowned landscape architect and founder of Turenscape, the booth draws on landscape and urban case studies from China, India, and Colombia—places where ecological thinking is embedded in everyday infrastructures, informal systems, and community knowledge.
The project considered how ecology can serve as an organising principle for urban life. The booth is intentionally designed as a calm and inviting environment, creating a place to sit, linger, and think. A participatory wall encourages students to map their own ideas for future spaces, emphasising that the ecological design is not a finished model but an ongoing, collective process shaped by memory, care, and local knowledge.
