Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, has 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, on Friday, 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”.
The Jack Ma Foundation, set up by the billionaire in 2014, told The Post that after a hiatus from the world of education, Jack Ma is looking forward to returning to campus life.
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Before he launched Alibaba, Jack Ma had taught English for eight years at Hangzhou Dianzi University in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang.
In 2015, he founded a centre for entrepreneurship in Zhejiang along with several Chinese business heavyweights. It was originally called Hupan University, however, amid the spat in 2021 with the Chinese authorities, the word “University” was removed from the name.
Since late 2020, he has maintained a low profile after a speech he made led Beijing to pull the plug on a planned IPO by Alibaba affiliate Ant Group. Later, a fine of $2.75 billion was imposed on Alibaba for alleged unfair business practices.
In the past 2 years, Ma has been spotted at several locations around the world, he was reportedly living in Japan for much of 2022.