2025 Commencement Ceremony | Speech by Interim Dean of STL, Professor Mark Feldman

Professor Zhang Ping, STL faculty, staff and senior administrator colleagues, members of the STL Class of 2025 and guests, it is an honor to open the 2025 STL Commencement ceremony. Welcome.

尊敬的张平教授、国际法学院全体教职员工、2025届毕业生及各位来宾：我很荣幸为2025年北京大学国际法学院毕业典礼致开场词，欢迎大家的到来。

Congratulations to the PKU STL Class of 2025.

首先，祝贺北京大学国际法学院2025届全体毕业生！

For our 146 JD/JM graduates, and our 12 LLM graduates from 11 different countries and jurisdictions, 2025 is an extraordinary moment to begin applying your STL education in a range of different settings, from Linklaters, DLA Piper, Orrick, Fangda Partners, King & Wood Mallesons, Zhong Lun, to Huawei, Tencent, ZTE, China Construction Bank, China Development Bank, MOFCOM, Department of Finance of Jilin Province, Beijing Chaoyang District People’s Court, etc.

对于146名JD/JM毕业生，以及来自11个国家和地区的12名LLM毕业生而言，2025年是一个非凡的起点。你们将带着STL的学术积淀，踏入顶尖律所（年利达、欧华、方达、金杜、中伦等）、科技巨头（华为、腾讯、中兴）、金融机构（中国建设银行、国家开发银行）、政府机构（商务部、吉林省财政厅、北京朝阳区人民法院）等多元舞台，开启职业新篇。

It is graduation season and last week I attended a Commencement ceremony, as a family member in the audience.

又是一年毕业季——上周，我以家属身份参加了一场毕业典礼。

The keynote speaker at the event was Dr. Mesky Brhane, who has served for many years in senior positions at the World Bank.

典礼的主旨演讲人是Mesky Brhane博士，她曾在世界银行长期担任高级职务。

In her keynote, Dr. Brhane addressed a range of issues, including the importance of navigating a so-called “VUCA” world–V.U.C.A., standing for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity.

在演讲中，Brhane 博士提到了一系列重要议题，其中之一是如何应对一个所谓的 “VUCA 世界”——也就是波动（Volatility）、不确定（Uncertainty）、复杂（Complexity）与模糊（Ambiguity）并存的世界。

The VUCA term is not new–indeed the term dates back to the 1980s. But over the past few years, there has been a resurgence of interest in how to successfully navigate a VUCA world.

这一概念并不新颖，最早可追溯至上世纪80年代。但近年来，围绕如何在VUCA世界中成功应对挑战的讨论再次兴起。

Why such interest in navigating a VUCA world at this moment? There are many reasons, of course. I would highlight two of them.

为何此时对“VUCA世界”的关注再度升温？原因众多，我愿在此强调其中两点：

First, the rapidly narrowing gap between the scale of human intelligence and the scale of machine intelligence.

Second, the rapidly expanding role of the Global South as a region of innovation, rule-making, leadership and influence.

第一，人类智能与机器智能之间的差距正在急剧缩小；第二，“全球南方”正在快速崛起，成为创新、规则制定、领导力与影响力的新重心。

Those two developments alone should lead any open-minded, intelligent person to reassess their assumptions about where to turn for guidance, inspiration, leadership and, indeed, education. Stated another way, when a large group of TikTok refugees suddenly flood Rednote, it is time to reassess our situation.

仅这两点，便足以促使任何开放而理性的头脑重新审视我们应当向谁寻求指引、启发、领导与教育。换句话说，当一大批“抖音难民”纷纷涌入“小红书”，也许正是我们重新思考自身处境的契机。

And with respect to reassessments, law students around the world, in China, and at STL have been reassessing the value of legal education and–more precisely–of time spent in the law school classroom.

说到重新审视，当下无论在世界各地，在中国，还是在STL，法律专业的学生们都在重新思考法律教育的价值——更具体地说，是思考待在法学院课堂里的时间是否值得。

The world of legal practice is, of course, an education in itself. The training provided at the best institutions is simply invaluable. But the world of legal practice is, in many ways and even at the best institutions, inbox-driven. The inbox-driven nature of legal practice simply reflects the reality of that practice: time-pressured, service-oriented, often hierarchical, and constrained by economic realities.

法律实务本身就是一种教育。在最顶尖的法律机构中接受训练的价值不可估量。但即使在最好的机构中，法律实务仍然是“收件箱”为中心的模式：任务驱动、节奏紧迫、服务导向、层级分明，并受经济现实制约。

The classroom experience at STL is not inbox-driven. Instead, at STL, we look to maximize opportunities in the classroom for intellectual rigor and creativity, free from external deadlines and free from the external demands of clients. And opportunities for intellectual rigor and creativity are often found in situations that feature, quite notably, volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.

而STL的课堂体验则与之不同。我们尽力在课堂中为严谨的思维和创造力创造空间，不受外部期限的限制，不受客户需求的干扰。往往正是在那些充满波动、不确定、复杂与模糊的情境中，最能激发出深刻的思考与创新。

At STL, we embrace those situations because they allow us to demonstrate our capacity to reason, to innovate, to solve problems, to lead.

在STL，我们拥抱这些不确定性，因为正是在这样的情境下，我们展现出理性思辨的能力、创新的潜力、解决问题的智慧，以及领导的担当。

A VUCA world exposes outdated assumptions and exposes conventional mindsets. A VUCA world rewards passion, rewards creativity, rewards curiosity. Since its establishment, STL has attracted students who are passionate, creative, and curious; those qualities are then further developed and enhanced by their STL education.

VUCA时代粉碎陈腐假设，颠覆传统思维；它嘉奖热忱，犒赏创意，厚待好奇。自创院以来，STL始终吸引着一群充满热情、富有创造力与好奇心的学生，而这些品质也在STL的教育中得到了进一步的打磨和升华。

Our alumni lead in part because of who they are and in part because of the STL education they have received.

我们的校友之所以能够在各自领域崭露头角，既源于他们自身的特质，也源于STL所赋予他们的成长与养成。

Congratulations again to our JD/JM graduates and our LLM graduates. With the graduating Class of 2025, we now have nearly 1,500 alumni who are more than comfortable navigating a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. Nearly 1,500 alumni who are influencing the development of transnational law, international business and international policy at the highest levels. Nearly 1,500 alumni who remember moments spent in the STL classroom as some of the most memorable and inspiring moments of their lives.

再次祝贺我们的JD/JM毕业生，以及LL.M.毕业生。随着2025届的毕业，你们将加入一个近1500人的校友网络。这1500人深谙在VUCA世界中破浪前行的法则。他们正以最高水准影响着跨国法律、国际商务与全球政策的演进。他们将永远铭记，STL课堂上的那些瞬间，是他们人生中最富启发的思想盛宴。