From April to May, Associate Professor Gianluca Elia from the University of Salento, Italy delivered a short course on a heated topic Digital Business and Digital Transformation to students of Jinan University Youth Innovation Leader Program. The course was an 8-hour online course divided into three sessions which are theories, case study, and simulation respectively.

(Virtual Group Photo)

The first session introduced the basic theories of digital business and digital transformation. At the beginning of the course, Ms. Zhiying Zhou, the project coordinator of SoM, introduced the history of the cooperation between the School of Management, JNU and the University of Salento, and the background of this course. Following the introduction, Prof. Gianluca Elia introduced the concepts, trends, key components and roadmap of digital transformation to the students, and answered their questions. In the second session, Prof. Elia discussed with the students the means and performance of digital transformation in different periods of a company using the case of Starbucks. During the case study, students actively participated in the discussion, and Prof. Elia had a detailed discussion with and gave feedback to each of them.

The third session of the course relied on ODOO, an experimental platform for CRM and ERP, through which students simulated the creation and operation of a digital enterprise. During this session, students actively created their own simulated digital enterprises, explored the different digital features in the platform, and interacted with Prof. Elia. At the end of the three sessions, many students said the course deepened their understanding of key components and roadmap of digital transformation and the operation of digital enterprises.

(During the Session)

Jun Qi, Assistant Dean of the SoM and Director of International Affairs Office, expressed her gratitude to Prof. Elia for sharing such insightful ideas of this interesting topic, and helping students to get a thorough understanding of it step by step, from the theory aspect to case study, and finally to simulation. She believes it is a useful session for students who are aiming to become a data-sensitive, change-sensitive, and innovative business talent in the near future.

This is the second year that University of Salento delivered the online short course for SoM students from the Youth Innovation Leader Program. The course was first launched last year which was a new attempt of offering more international learning opportunities for students. The course is expected to be formally embedded into this program in the long term.

Written & Image: Zhiying Zhou

Edited: Jiecong Li

First Review: Lei Luo

Second Review: Jun Qi