Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, has been invited to be a visiting professor at Tokyo College, a new organisation run by the University of Tokyo, quoting the university news agency Reuters said on Monday. According to the report by the news agency, the appointment term for China's best-known entrepreneur finishes at the end of October, but the contract is renewable on an annual basis, the university said.
Jack Ma will be engaged in areas, including advising on important research themes and giving lectures on management and business start-ups at the college. The announcement came after Jack Ma returned to China in March, ending a stay overseas of more than a year that industry viewed as reflecting the sober mood of the country's private businesses after a tough two-year regulatory crackdown.
The Tokyo College was founded in 2019 to serve as an interface between the University of Tokyo and overseas researchers and research institutions.
Jack Ma has also been made an honorary professor at a top Hong Kong University. The professorship carries a three-year term which will end in March 2026. Hong Kong University has awarded Jack Ma an honorary doctorate in 2018. The school announced Jack Ma’s appointment on Friday, just weeks after he made a rare public appearance in China after his fall from grace following a government crackdown on the tech industry over two years ago.
The University in April announced that Jack Ma had accepted the honorary professorship from its business school. The institution said it welcomed Ma sharing "his rich knowledge and experience in business innovation and development", as reported by South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper wholly owned by Alibaba.
The report stated that Jack Ma has “no plans for public lectures or speeches”. Instead, he will focus on conducting research in finance, agriculture, and entrepreneurial innovations with the HKU faculty. The school's website now contains a profile of Jack Ma highlighting his expertise in "management and strategy".