The "humanities crisis" has been a topic of discussion for quite some time. This crisis stems from a chain reaction triggered by employment challenges—statistics show that among the top 50 majors with the highest job placement rates for undergraduate graduates in China, engineering majors account for about two-thirds and also maintain a leading position in salary levels. There is also anxiety among humanities students themselves—in the current environment, students face negative feedback from society and urgently need an emotional outlet. However, as a "typical" liberal arts institution, Shanghai International Studies University is "swimming against the tide" by launching two new major tracks: Corporate Globalization and Global Business, and International Cultural Tourism Management. In the era of artificial intelligence, as AI agents become capable of performing more tasks and one-person companies are no longer difficult to achieve, why is this humanities university still expanding its offerings?

The international expression of China's stories, whether it's Pop Mart's Labubu causing a sensation across the ocean, Singway Group opening at the "world's busiest intersection," or Auntie Fang making Oriental tea a new favorite among Westerners, demonstrates that increasingly more brands are embarking on global expansion. "Chinese companies' internationalization is undergoing a deep transition from product export to brand export and cultural export. The continuous recovery of the international cultural tourism industry is injecting new momentum into global cultural exchange. How to effectively tell China's stories and promote Chinese cultural tourism brands to the world has become a core issue for industry development," stated Professor Meng Zhongjie, President of Shanghai International Studies University.

Currently, there exists a structural mismatch and systemic gap between the supply of international talent and industry demands, representing a developmental challenge. The addition of these two specialized tracks to SISU's MBA program represents an important initiative to respond to contemporary needs and innovate talent cultivation models. "Whether for corporate globalization or international cultural tourism, the core remains the 'international expression of China's stories,'" Meng pointed out.

Wei Zhe, Chairman and Founding Partner of Vision Knight Capital, noted that Chinese companies are currently embracing an era where "hard technology earns respect, while soft culture wins affection," creating greater need for global talent possessing both strong business acumen and deep cultural literacy. "For consumer brands going global, Europe and America should be the primary target regions, with products specifically designed for overseas markets—the focus must be sufficiently precise. Distribution channels need to be independent and controllable. Regarding brand positioning, 'value-quality ratio' should take precedence over 'price-performance ratio'—brands emphasizing value-quality ratio remain resilient against tariff wars," Wei shared from practical observation.

Humanities education does not equate to simple transfer of repetitive knowledge. "I want to clarify a common misunderstanding that humanities involve merely the simple transfer of repetitive knowledge," Meng Zhongjie stated. "This is not the case—the primary model of humanities education is not equivalent to repetitive knowledge production." In Meng's view, while an individual's capabilities were previously reflected in IQ and EQ, the AI era now demands "questioning intelligence"—the ability to质疑, think critically, and innovate to adapt to a changing world.

Consequently, SISU is repositioning its humanities education by proposing a development system encompassing "language-literature-cultural artifacts-culture-civilization," deeply integrating humanistic foundation with digital technology to cultivate students' ability to collaborate with AI in empowering industries. "Language serves as a tool, literature and cultural artifacts represent aesthetics, culture emerges from comparison, and the ultimate goal is mutual understanding among civilizations and the collective advancement of human civilization," he explained.

Meng believes that the future may see the dissolution of strict divisions between arts and sciences—humanities students, by understanding basic AI logic, can possess the same AI application capabilities as science students. Conversely, developing stronger critical thinking skills in humanities may create more irreplaceable value compared to purely technical education, as the AI era requires humanities to establish ethical boundaries for technology and provide spiritual guidance.

The two new major tracks, "Corporate Globalization and Global Business" and "International Cultural Tourism Management," not only feature core courses such as cultural tourism product design and planning but also proactively incorporate general education on AI and large language models. This approach aims to teach students to collaborate with AI, using data and technology to precisely empower the upgrading of the cultural tourism industry.