Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 1009 Wutong Academy Sets Sail
Beijing, Beiqijia Town, Beyond Science and Technology Park.

While Zhou Shouzi was still on his way to the venue, Chen Mo had already stepped into the auditorium of Wutong College, waiting for the opening ceremony to begin.

As early as last month, Qing Teng, Xiaomi and JD.com's three colleges completed their enrollment and started classes one after another.

Today's college graduates, in addition to entering society, can choose two completely different paths to "get ashore": one is to squeeze into the single-plank bridge of the system, and the other is to step into another channel built by the three vocational skills colleges of Qing, Mi, and Dong.

These colleges, founded by enterprises themselves, are classified as "technical schools," yet they attract young people with associate's, bachelor's, and even master's degrees to return to the classroom.

Many students who have studied hard for several years at non-211/985 universities find that their job prospects after graduation are not even as good as those of skilled technicians.

This seemingly absurd phenomenon also reflects the gap that exists between education and employment today.

The next few years will see a peak in the number of graduates, with tens of millions of college graduates entering the workforce each year, resulting in a severe oversupply.

This results in a situation where, on one hand, companies are finding it difficult to recruit suitable candidates, while on the other hand, a large number of graduates are struggling to find jobs and have no employment opportunities, leaving them stuck on both ends.

When there is an imbalance between supply and demand, one party becomes the "ox or horse" (a metaphor for being exploited or neglected).

This has led to numerous phenomena, such as companies advertising a monthly salary of 6000 yuan to recruit PhDs at job fairs, some companies' HR departments not actually hiring but just going through the motions, and even billiard bars hiring people to play games with clients.

This reminded Chen Mo of a short story he had seen online a couple of days ago.

The last class before graduating from university

A student asked the teacher, "Teacher, what if we can't find a job after graduation?"

Teacher: "Class, don't worry, look at the lights above us!"

Student: "Is the teacher trying to say that our future is bright?"

Teacher: "What I meant was to let you see what's inside the lamp."

Student: "Do you mean we should become qualified, even indispensable 'parts' in this complex system, contributing our own strength to our society?"

Years later, the student realized that the answer his teacher hadn't said was actually 'filament'!

The latest tools, systems, and technologies used by internet companies like Beyond are not found in traditional university textbooks.

Students may study hard for four years, only to learn outdated techniques or theories that will never be put to use.

Chen Mo knew all this, but he also knew that this was not something he could interfere with.

Therefore, as a compromise, "vocational schools" such as Qing Teng, Xiaomi, and JD.com emerged, serving as a bridge connecting the campus and society.

Beyond has already systematically compiled and open-sourced a large amount of internal learning materials for enterprises. Xiaomi and JD.com followed suit, and other "Beyond" companies, although they have not established their own academies, have also followed suit.

In this way, if students with strong self-learning abilities do not waste time and use their spare time to study, they can still apply for the corresponding colleges and companies.

However, only tens of thousands of people can break through this path each year, which is far from enough to help the huge unemployed population.

But he believes that as long as the model works and the foundation is solid, it will have the potential to expand and flourish in the future.

Currently, the company is actively exploring the possibility of collaborating with regular colleges and universities to run programs. After all, graduates from 985/211 universities may not have trouble finding jobs, but the silent majority truly needs this pathway.

Completely solving the problem is unrealistic, but alleviating the conflict to some extent would be a win-win situation for both society and businesses. The establishment of Wutong Academy is another level of experimentation—to dig deeper and wider into the employment pool and to build a normal enterprise with potential and sustainable development.

Therefore, those sitting here today are not young job seekers, but rather a group of small and medium-sized business owners and senior executives from large corporations. They come from the internet and related fields, and the course has been condensed to a mere month, requiring full-time, off-the-job training.

In addition, the audience was packed with numerous media outlets and reporters who had come after hearing the news.

There's a saying circulating in internet circles: "Chen Mo is as cunning as a dog and as shrewd as a wolf."

In the eyes of media professionals, "whenever Chen Mo has something important to do, there will definitely be big news" has become an unspoken rule in the industry.

Moreover, the opening of Wutong Academy coincided with the overseas TT hearing? Nobody believed this was just a coincidence.

The opening ceremony of Wutong Academy was not much different from that of Qing Teng Academy in terms of process. The original entrepreneurs of the first generation of the cultivation program and representatives of graduating entrepreneurs still appeared to share their learning, thoughts and gains.

Entrepreneurs such as Wang Shoude of Shanghe Technology and Wang Hang of Haodf.com took the stage as representatives.

Their presentations were all practical and substantive, packed with hard data and comparisons of the company's transformation before and after. These transformations were comprehensive, showcasing the company's metamorphosis in organizational culture, work environment, operational efficiency, and performance growth.
"Remembering the bitter past to appreciate the sweet present" is an old tradition on the other side of the strait.

As Chen Mo was about to take the stage, his gaze swept over the thousands of faces below the stage.

Some of them were students who had graduated from Lakeside College and had heard him give a lecture at Lakeside.

There are also some companies that Chen Mo has heard of, such as Yuanfudao, Beike, Huitongda, Xingsheng Youxuan, JD Digits, etc., which are all leaders in their respective vertical fields of the Internet in the future.

In addition, even companies from other industries, such as Heytea and Genki Forest, which use internet thinking to develop the beverage industry, and even Chen Nian of Vancl, a friend of Lei Jun, have come to learn from them. Vancl has actually not been doing well in the past two years.

But Chen Mo was unfamiliar with and did not know many of the business owners from all over the country and from all walks of life.

They are of different ages, have different backgrounds, and their companies vary in size, but their eyes shine with a similar light—an urgent desire to seize opportunities and take their companies to the next level.

After all, they are not blind. Whether it is the news reported online before or the cases shared on stage, their achievements are obvious to all.

They're willing to take risks even with a success rate exceeding 50%, let alone something with such a high probability of success; there's no reason not to strive for it.

But at this moment, in Chen Mo's eyes, they were no different from the middle-aged women queuing up at the entrance of supermarkets to grab eggs during promotional events.

What Wutong Academy aims to teach is not how to "grab the most eggs," but to shatter their illusions and passions, and teach them how to "raise hens that lay eggs."

Only by avoiding depleting resources and not being greedy for short-term gains can we escape the predicament of a zero-sum game.

This reminded him of the days when he and his grandson, Ziwei, would catch birds together in the winter when he was a child.

They scattered a handful of millet, set up a wooden frame, tied a long rope to a small stick, and hid behind the tree, waiting quietly.

First, lure it with benefits. As for whether to tame it, release it, or roast it after it's been caged, that depends on the bird's behavior.

"Finally, let's welcome Mr. Chen Mo, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Beyond Group and Dean of Wutong Academy, to deliver a speech!"

As the announcer finished speaking, Chen Mo composed himself and walked steadily toward the podium amidst thunderous applause.

(End of this chapter)