On 19 June 2026, Professor BEN Shenglin — founding Dean of Zhejiang University International Business School (ZIBS), the Academy of Internet Finance (AIF) and the Frontier Institute of Regulation and Supervision Technology (FIRST) — joined the Asia Matters Business Summit in Cork, Ireland, themed “Asia Ireland Financial Services and Investment Partnership.” In a fireside conversation hosted by Asia Matters Executive Director Martin Murray, he spoke on the role of universities in nurturing talent and driving financial innovation, highlighting Zhejiang University’s STEM strengths and the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Zhejiang province — home to Alibaba, Geely and DeepSeek, and to Hangzhou’s world-leading fintech hub. Drawing on his experience as former China CEO of J.P. Morgan, he gave a candid overview of China’s “big but not strong” financial sector and explored opportunities for China–Ireland collaboration in R&D and joint laboratories. The moderator congratulated Zhejiang University on topping the 2026 Nature Index, overtaking Harvard for the first time since the index began.