Vienna

Vienna (IPA: /viˈɛ:nʌ/; in German: Wien IPA: [viːn]; see also other names) is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria.
More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna

Skoll World Forum - the big days

Next week is a special one:
Hilary term exams
and
SKOLL WORLD FORUM!!

All seminar rooms in next week are fully booked for the forum;
Yesterday, a team started building one white big tank in the middle yard of SBS (Today the middle yard disappeared, a huge tank with big "windows", three entrances, even air conditions instead).

Not just SBS, I heard that there will be several sub-venues all around the university.

What an exciting event!
Pity it's held exactly on exam week:(.
I've booked the ticket and will attend some of meetings after the exam.

Article from NY Time

About B-schools under current situation:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/business/15school.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&em

The comments also worthy reading:

http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2009/03/15/business/15school.html

Talks from John Elkington

One of my biggest happiness and also one of my biggest sadness is that every day, there are so many interesting events/lectures/speeches in Oxford held by all the top researchers or experts.

Tonight, I attended one of them: a speech given by Mr. John Elkington. John is a big name of social sustainability who founded sustainability.com 22 years ago and volans.com last year. 

Social sustainability is not a new concept and I keep my attention on this since years ago. It's a great opportunity having chance listen and exchange ideas with such an expert from the front line. By his talk, John shared with us his story from childhood to all these years' fails and achieves. 

I asked two questions during the Q&A session:

1. Does the increasing attention on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Reports helps the awareness of social sustainability?

2. How is current situation of the awareness and activities of social sustainability worldwide?

I'm very happy hearing John mentioned China's increasing attention on sustainability when he answered the second question (he even used the word: "anxious" to describe how eager Chinese people on this topic). John shared his interesting experience in his answer:

When I visited China not long time ago, after the meeting during the dinner, the man sat next to me only spoke mandarin and I only spoke English. But we talked a lot. I was like a lemon that he wanted to squeeze all the knowledge about sustainability from me.

John described Sustainability.com as "still a small organisation". When I told John that next term, SBS will provide a "sustainability" course, he felt quite happy since behind this is the whole society's increasing attention to this area.

Spring

Spring is everywhere

忽如一夜春风来

千树万树梨花开

Surprisingly Oxford enters the spring in a sudden! Though companied with quite a lot rain and cold wind.

8k

First "long" distance jogging since I came to Oxford. Tough but thanks Jon and Ben, I accomplished this unbelievable thing! (Five months' totally out of jogging or any other exercises besides four times' gym.)

When we finally finished, I felt my feet were walking on the clouds other than ground...

Go Go Go! Will try keep joining this.