The 2025 Cambridge Economics of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference (EIEC) was held at Fitzwilliam College of Cambridge University from January 23 to 25, 2025. With the theme of ‘Sustainable Development on Education, Economy and Environment’, the forum discussed how to promote the sustainable development of human society through innovation and entrepreneurship from the interdisciplinary perspective. Professor Huo Chunhui, Vice President of Liaoning University was invited to attend the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered a keynote speech.

The forum included five parts, namely opening ceremony, keynote speeches, thematic discussion, youth forum and international competition. More than 20 well-known professors and scholars from the Department of Land Economics, School of Economics, Business School, Department of Education, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Institute of Sustainable Leadership, Business School, CFCC Cambridge Institute from Cranfield University and other institutions conducted in-depth exchanges and delivered wonderful reports and speeches.

 

(Speech by Vice President Huo Chunhui)

 

Professor Huo Chunhui, Vice President of Liaoning University and a senior visiting scholar at the Department of Land Economics of Cambridge University discussed the far-reaching influence of institutional differences at the sub-national level on regional economic activities and corporate strategies, the important role of green innovation in balancing internal strategies and external supervision of enterprises, the key functions of digital technologies in upgrading the status of global value chains and optimizing domestic circulation, the influence of different leaderships on organizational sustainability and employee behaviors and the innovative modes of digital marketing represented by green advocates of ChatGPT.

 

(Speech by Professor Pete Tyler)

 

Professor Pete Tyler, former Chairman from College of St. Catherine of Cambridge University and former Director of the Department of Land Economics of Cambridge University discussed urban and regional policies, governmental policy evaluation, innovation and technologies, economic restructuring and business performance as well as local labor and real estate market. With his research results on ‘urban economic revival and policy intervention’, he analyzed the impact of ‘Levelling Up’ policy on the British regional economy and shared the latest urban renewal cases.

 

(Speech by Associate Professor Melvyn Weeks)

 

Associate Professor Melvyn Weeks, a Fellow from Clare College and teaching director of Economics Department of Cambridge University delivered a report on ‘Application of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) in the Financial Field’, emphasizing Generative AI’s roles in revealing changes in corporate policies, predicting investment opportunities and quantifying the impact of cultural fit on management tenure by analyzing unstructured data (such as conference call records of financial reports).

 

(Speech by Associate Professor Li Wan)

 

Li Wan, a Fellow from Gonville and Caius College and an Associate Professor from the Department of Land Economics of Cambridge University gave a speech on ‘Variability of Traffic Emissions and Its Policy Significance’. In the report, he raised a key question: ‘Are you a sustainable traveler?’ Through data analysis, he noted that there was no significant difference in the average emission intensity of different socio-economic groups (SEC) after controlling the variables such as travel date, transportation mode and travel purpose.

 

(Speech by Senior Researcher Giorgio Caselli)

 

Giorgio Caselli, a Fellow from St Edmund’s College and Executive Vice President from the Institute of Business Development of Cambridge University gave a report on innovation clusters in Cambridge and their important roles in regional economic development. He stressed that knowledge-intensive (KI) industries had become the main drivers of employment growth since 2013 and were significantly better than non-KI industries. By analyzing the employment trend from 2014 to 2023 and the ‘over-employment’ contribution of key industries such as R&D and information technologies, he noted that the KI industries had a positive spillover effect on non-KI industries.

 

(Speech by Dr. Liu Chong)

 

Dr. Liu Chong from the Department of Land Economics of Cambridge University discussed the theories and practices of using mathematical tools to analyze Marxist political economy on the theme of mathematical political economy. He emphasized that mathematical analysis could make theories more accurate, connect theories with empirical data. He also discussed some core issues such as Sraffa’s Model, dynamic imbalance and structural contradictions.

 

(Speech by Professor Ying Xie)

 

Professor Ying Xie, former Dean from the School of Finance of Anglia Ruskin University and Business School of Cranfield University discussed how to optimize the efficiency and transparency of the supply chains through blockchain and artificial intelligence to achieve the goal of decarbonization while promoting the resilience and green transformation of the global supply chains. She shared the results of several international research projects she had hosted, emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary innovation and industry collaboration to provide practical guidance and strategic support for supply chain management and policy formulation.

 

(Speech by Professor Rupert Wegerif)

 

Professor Rupert Wegerif, Founding Dean of the Digital Education Futures Initiative at Hughes College of Cambridge University focused on the application and future influence of generative AI in the field of education and discussed how to reshape the education models, improve learning efficiency and cultivate critical thinking through AI tools. He proposed that generative AI is not only a tool, but also a thinking partner for students to explore and collaborate. He also advocated dialogue education as the core teaching method to cultivate students’ abilities to ask questions and solve practical problems.

In the following discussion session, Professor Mike Proctor, former Dean from King’s College, Dr Emre Usenmez, Dean of the Institute of Sustainable Leadership, Professor Alan Barrell, President of Cambridge International Federation and Martin Rigby, Managing Director of ET Capital, Cambridge delivered speeches on topics such as Cambridge educational models, sustainable development on education, innovation and entrepreneurship and the application of artificial intelligence in finance.

Professor Ying Xie, former Dean from the School of Finance of Anglia Ruskin University and Business School of Cranfield University presided over the opening ceremony and  the session of keynote speech. Professor Li Weimin, a visiting researcher at Cambridge University and a teacher from the School of Economics of Liaoning University presided over the session of special discussion.