Dulwich College Beijing Worldwise Academy 2020 launch event

No aspiration too big, no inspiration too small.

Launched in 2019, the Worldwise Academy (WWA) initiative plays a significant role in DCB’s mission of building bridges between students and the wider professional world.

Anthony Coles, Head of College and chairperson of the Worldwise Academy executive committee defines it as “a collaborative approach that brings students, parents and staff together.” According to him, “hearing directly from professional in the areas of Science and Technology, Business, Economics and Entrepreneurship, Arts and Creative Industries and Public Affairs, Law and Education will not only help students match their talents to potential career pathways, but also broaden their view on the world”.

The Worldwise Academy 2020 launch event took place on Saturday 14 November 2020 at X Museum with esteemed panellists sharing their views on the theme of No aspiration too big, no inspiration too small.

WWA 2020

Michael Xufu Huang, co-founder of X Museum, underlines the shared goal between X Museum and WWA. “X Museum aims to encourage emerging young artists in their bold and free expression of art, giving them the opportunity to stand out in the International Art world. Similarly, WWA is a platform built for students to potentially find their inspirations in unexpected places”. A Dulwich College London alumnus himself, he portrays how exploring new opportunities and hard work could lead to reaching one’s aspirations

wwa 2020 launch

The panellists shared sincere accounts of their journey of aspirations and inspirations, failures and successes that have led them to where they are today. They gave invaluable advice and personal examples of the importance of stepping out of one’s comfort zone and experiment without fear of making mistakes, to maintain one’s motivation through continuous learning and self-improvement. They all couldn’t emphasize enough how learning from failures leads to success, that the journey to success requires strong personal values, resilience and constant adaptability while maintaining one’s focus on what really matters. The current Z generation bears the responsibility of changing the world, however, is seemingly better equipped than their parents because technology gives them the means to be more conscious of the global issues and actively engaged.

wwa 2020 panel

Dr Jiang from XIN Center at Tsinghua University and representing a Science and Technology committee member at WWA considers “DCB Worldwise Academy is a great platform” before noting “With the coronavirus hitting the world, the next generation and the parents begin thinking more in-depth about the development of individuals and the world. I am looking forward to seeing more similar activities and seminars on the Worldwise Academy platform to share experience, knowledge, and resources for our next generation to understand and be better prepared to lead the world in the future”.

wwa 2020 launch

The event was skilfully hosted by our students with Rachel W and Mink L as moderators, while Yi Xin L, Jolin T, Kevin M and Jadelle C delivered the opening speech, transitions and closing speech.

Jadelle C concluded the evening by emphasizing that “Aspirations and inspirations bring purpose to our life. While it seems that kindness and humanity are common vector of inspirations, our most counter-intuitive, yet most powerful, key to success is to overcome our natural fear of failure”.