On September 6, 2024, Professor Larry Kramer, President of the London School of Economics and Political Science (hereinafter referred to as LSE), led a delegation to visit Fudan University. President Jin Li cordially met with President Kramer and his delegation at the Ma Jinming Building of Fudan University. The two sides reviewed the developments and achievements of the bilateral cooperation since the launch of the strategic partnership in 2015. It is expected that the two universities will continue to expand the scope of cooperation and improve the level of cooperation in the second phase of cooperation.

Participants to the meeting included Ben Plummer-Powell, vice president of LSE, Brendan Smith, director of international strategy and East Asian affairs, Danny Hatem, senior assistant to the president, Corey Moore, assistant to the vice president, and Sophie Copie, director of alumni affairs, as well as Fudan colleagues including Zhou Lei, vice president, Lu Lian, director of the International Cooperation Office, Zhang Jun, dean of the School of Economics, Jing Yijia, dean of the Institute of Global Public Policy, Luo Jianbo, dean of the School of International Cultural Exchange, Zheng Wen, vice dean of the School of Journalism, Tian Feng, vice dean of the School of Social Development and Public Policy, and Yun Xiaojing, vice director of external connections.

After the meeting, President Larry Kramer was invited by the Institute of Global Public Policy and the LSE-Fudan Research Center for Global Public Policy to deliver a speech entitled The Role of Social Sciences in the Siyuan Hall of Guanghua Tower. The lecture was part of the Fudan-LSE Lecture Series No. 59. The lecture was hosted by Professor Jing Yijia, Dean of the Institute of Global Public Policy and Director of the LSE-Fudan Center.

President Larry Kramer pointed out in his speech that politicians, educators and other leaders have been looking to solve social problems through STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) for a long time, but despite the incredible progress of information science and biotechnology, the challenges and threats facing society seem to be getting more and more serious. He believes that this further reflects the importance of developing social science and applying it to understand and solve social problems. President Kramer further expounded the indispensability of social science in dealing with complex social phenomena such as political polarization, economic inequality, climate change and artificial intelligence.

After the lecture, President Kramer and his delegation went to LSE-Fudan Center for a visit. Professor Jing Yijia, director of the Center, introduced the history and developments of the Center, focusing on the achievements made by the Center in promoting all-round exchanges and cooperation between Fudan and LSE. He pointed out that despite the global pandemic and unfavorable geopolitical conditions, the cooperation between Fudan and LSE did not fall but rose against the trend, and the scope and depth of cooperation were constantly improved, reflecting the high mutual trust and respect of both teams, which always work hard together to bring real opportunities and benefits to professors and students of both sides. President Kramer spoke highly of the achievements of the Center and looked forward to its further growth. He exchanged gifts with a student of the Fudan-LSE double degree program. Professors and students from Fudan and LSE participated in the event.