Kai-ming Cheng

　　 Kai-ming Cheng is Emeritus Professor at the University of Hong Kong. He was Chair Professor of Education, Dean of Education, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Senior Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor of the University. At the administrative level, he worked in human resources and campus IT, but his major contribution was in fundraising and networking. He started the Development Office at HKU, among the first in Asia. He is now Director of Education Policy Unit at the Faculty of Education. He taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education as Visiting Professor 1996-2007. In 1987, he pursued doctoral study at the London Institute of Education, in the realm of education policy and planning. His current attention is on the fundamental changes in society and their challenges to education, and focuses on learning as the core business of education. Recently, he is also involved in discussions about education reforms in the US, and is on the International Advisory Board of the National Council for Education and the Economy. Currently, he is member of the National Advisory Committee on Curriculum Reform in China. Locally he was member of the Education Commission and was instrumental in the comprehensive reform which started 1999. He is among the initiators of “Education 2.1”, an advocacy for reforms in education in Hong Kong. He publishes extensively, and has delivered over 200 keynotes in international meetings. He writes columns in Hong Kong Economic Journal Daily, Shanghai Education and Escuela (Spain).

Kye Woo Lee

　　Kye Woo Lee is an Economics Professor of the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Seoul, Korea. He was Managing Director of Development Education and Research Network of the KDI School and was a Chair Professor of the Graduate School of International Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He also taught at the Graduate School of International Studies, Seoul National University and Ewha University. He was also a visiting scholar with the Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson Graduate School of International and Public Affairs.

　　Prof. Lee was a civilian member of Prime Minister’s Committee on International Development Cooperation and served as an advisor to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Korea Export-Import Bank. Before repatriating to Korea in 1998, Professor Lee served with the World Bank in Washington, DC in various capacities including executive and economist positions. While serving with the World Bank, Prof. Lee was accorded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Project Outcomes in 1997 and was seconded by the World Bank and UNDP as advisor to the Economic Planning Board of the Government of Korea for the Fifth Five-Year Economic Plan preparation in 1981. He was also President of the Korean Economic Society in the United States. Before joining the World Bank in 1972, he was a middle-level manager with the government of Korea. Prof. Lee has written several books and numerous professional and academic articles in domestic and international journals on international trade and finance and economic development (especially on aid, debt, human development, poverty and income distribution, social safety nets, SMEs, international organizations, and Latin American economies).

Isak Froumin

　　Isak Froumin is a mathematician and educator by training and the Head of the Institute for Educational Studies at the National Research University "Higher School of Economics in Moscow". He is also an advisor to the university’s president on strategic planning and international cooperation. From 1999 to 2011, Professor Froumin was the leader of the World Bank education program in Russia. His World Bank experience extended to projects in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Turkmenistan, and India. From 2012 till 2016 he served as an advisor to the minister of education on educational reform. Froumin is the author of numerous books and articles on educational theory and educational reform.

Mary E. Young

　　Mary E. Young, MD, DrPH, is a pediatrician and specialist in global health and child development with broad experience in both developed and developing countries. For the past three decades, she worked at the World Bank, guiding efforts in international public health and child health and development. Currently, she is Director of Center for Child Development at the China Development Research Foundation, Senior Advisor to Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, and Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at University of Hawaii Medical Center. During her tenure at the World Bank, she led global efforts to inform world leaders and policymakers about Early Childhood Development (ECD). Her experience spans the globe—from China, to Eastern Europe and Central Asia, to the Middle East and North Africa, and to Latin America and the Caribbean.

　　Dr. Young’s recent publications and edited works include: Converting the science of early human development into action: closing the gap between what we know and what we do. (2015) in The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Research; Addressing and Mitigating Vulnerability across the Life Cycle: The Case for Investing in Early Childhood. (2014), for the UNDP Human Development Report; The Role of the Health Sector in Early Childhood Development (2013) in the Handbook of Early Childhood Development: Translating Research to Global Policy; From Early Child Development to Human Development (2001) (published also in Portuguese, Chinese, and Arabic); and Early Child Development—From Measurement to Action: A Priority for Growth and Equity (2007) (also available in Portuguese and on CD-Rom); Lancet series on ECD (2007).

Eduardo Velez

　　Eduardo Velez has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Illinois. His areas of interest include Sociology and Economics of Education, and Analysis and Evaluation of Development Programs.

　　Dr. Velez had a long trajectory at the World Bank in Washington D.C., Mexico City and in Beijing. He was Education Sector Manager for East Asia and the Pacific, and Education Sector Manager for Latin American and the Caribbean; Sector Coordinator (Human Development) for the China program; Sector Leader (Human and Social Development for Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela); and Human Development Cluster Leader for Uganda and Tanzania. Before joining the World Bank, Dr. Velez was Adjunct Director at Instituto Ser de Investigación in Bogotá, Colombia, his country of origin. Dr. Velez has also held an academic career. He has been a Visiting Professor at: Peking University, Beijing Normal University and Fudan University in China, Brown University and the University of Connecticut in USA; Kobe University in Japan; currently he is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. Dr. Velez has written extensively on the subjects of Economics, Education, Development and Sociology (has published nine books and more than 90 articles in professional journals or as chapters in books, and research reports).

Yang Jin

Yang Jin, a National Education Inspector, is currently Director-General of the Central Institute for Vocational and Technical Education (CIVTE) of the Ministry of Education (MOE) of China - a national agency which coordinates TVET research and teaching and learning support in China. He is Vice President of the Chinese Society of Technical and Vocational Education and serves as guest professor in Beijing Normal University, Tianjin University and East China Normal University. From 2008 to 2014, he obtained international experiences by serving as a senior programme specialist at the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and facilitated the development of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities and managed UIL’s programme on lifelong learning policies and strategies. Before joining UIL, Dr Yang was Deputy Director-General of Department of Basic Education, MOE of China. He also worked previously as Chief of the Division of Teaching and Learning Support, Department of Vocational and Adult Education, MOE of China. He holds a B.Sc, an M.Ed and a PhD.

Xiaoxi Kan

　　Xiaoxi Kan is Director of the Fifth Division of Department of Finance, Ministry of Finance. Working in Department of Finance MOF for 11 years, Mr. Kan is very familiar with the financial revolutions in China. He is now in charge of promoting PPP in China.

Houqing Yin

　　Houqing Yin is Vice Director of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, former National Education Inspector, former Vice President of the Chinese Society of Education and President of Shanghai Education Association. Mr. Yin has worked as Vice Director of Education Popularization Department, Director of Shanghai Basic Education Office of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and executive Vice Director of the Inspection Office in Shanghai Municipal Government. He was appointed as the Director General of Social Development Bureau of Pudong District, Shanghai in 2003 and the Vice Director of Shanghai Municipal Education Committee in 2007. He is also a member of experts-team for primary and secondary school curriculum and teaching materials reform initiated by Ministry of Education. He has presided over a number of major reform programs in basic education and policies in Shanghai, including combination of the dual system in Pudong New Area, construction of the linkage mechanism in administration, operation and assessment, education policy design for children of migrant workers in Shanghai, public service system construction for Shanghai pre-school education, urban and rural basic education integration in Shanghai, Shanghai primary and secondary school curriculum reform, etc.

Liping Xiao

　　Liping Xiao is a Senior Education Specialist of the World Bank Office, Beijing. She is responsible for coordinating the Bank's operations and analytical work in education in China. As a senior education specialist, Liping's professional interests lie principally in basic education, vocational education and teacher education. In addition to research activities, she ever managed the Bank’s Youth Engagement Program, involved in the implementation of the Basic Education Project, designed and implemented the Vocational Education and Training Projects, Skill Development for Migrant Workers and School Reconstruction of Earthquake Recovery Project. She also managed some technical assistance operations on teacher policy, migrant children, quality assessment for basic education, and early child development.

　　Prior to joining the World Bank, she worked in the Ministry of Education for policy-making research and was responsible for Campus Recruitment Program in a Human Resource Company. Liping holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from Beijing Normal University and an EMBA from Nanyang Technology University of Singapore.

Ning Fu

　　Ning Fu is a World Bank Education Specialist based in Beijing where he supports the Bank’s ongoing lending activities, contributes to client dialogue, and helps extend the Bank’s reach in China. Before working in China, Ning was also involved in the design and implementation of broader human development activities for the Bank’s Africa region: youth employment programs, social safety nets, and labor market analyses. Ning has both public and private sector experience. Prior to joining the Bank, he worked as a researcher at the IMF. A Chinese national, Ning holds a Master of Public Administration in International Development from Harvard University.

Tiezheng Fu

　　Tiezheng Fu, Deputy Director of Yunnan Foreign Loan Office of Yunnan Education Department. Mr. Fu has directed the World Bank financed project of vocational education development in Yunnan Province, which has been recognized as a comprehensive success.

Rong Wang

　　Rong Wang is the Director and Professor of China Institute for Educational Finance Research (CIEFR), Peking University. She has a Ph.D. in education from the University of California, Berkeley. Her major research interests include education finance, economics of education and education policy. She is currently the Chairwoman of the Association of Education Finance, Chinese Society of Educational Development Strategy, and Deputy Director of China Democratic League Education Committee. She is also the youngest member of China’s State Education Advisory Committee. Professor Wang has chaired a number of research projects commissioned by Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, and international projects cooperated with World Bank and UN agencies, etc. She has published Public Education Explanation, Comparative Studies of Public Educational Expenditure Statistics and Policy Advisory Reports Regarding China’s Education Finance. Meanwhile, she is the author of numerous articles on the financing of education and educational reform.

Mingxing Liu

　　Mingxing Liu is Deputy Director and Professor at China Institute for Educational Finance Research, Peking University. His research interests include China's elite politics, economic growth, and fiscal system. His ongoing projects include one that examines how elite coalition building in Chinese legislature affects the education policy making and local implementation. He has published numerous academic articles in international and Chinese journals such as the American Political Science Review, Comparative Politics, Political Behavior, and China Quarterly.

Yingquan Song

　　Yingquan Song is Associate Professor at China Institute for Educational Finance Research. He has a Ph.D in Education Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. He has been dedicated to researches in the access and quality of early childhood education for disadvantaged groups, provision of compulsory education for migrant children and the left-behind children. He has expertise in program evaluation and policy impact evaluation. He has been a Principal Investigator for various research projects sponsored by Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Education in China, The World Bank, UNICEF, China National Science Foundation and Social Science Foundation. He has published numerous academic articles in international journals including Social Science Research, Economics of Education Review, China Economics Review, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Comparative Economics, Comparative Education Review, World Bank Economic Review, Economic Development and Cultural Change as well as Chinese journals such us Peking University Education Review, China Economics of Education Review, etc.

Jianguo Wei

　　Jianguo Wei is Deputy Director and Associate Professor at China Institute for Educational Finance Research. He graduated from Peking University with a Ph.D. in Law and has been a visiting scholar in Stanford University. His research focuses on education finance and law, fiscal and tax law. He was PI of The Central and Local Relationship Ruled by Law—Fiscal Dimension, project commissioned by China National Social Science Foundation, and Student Loan Repayment, Risk Control and Guarantee Institutions, project commissioned by Ministry of Education, among a number of research projects of which he has chaired. He has published The Central and Local Relationship Ruled by Law—Fiscal Dimension, and his articles are published in international and Chinese journals.

Po Yang

　　Po Yang is Associate Professor at Graduate School of Education, Peking University. She is a Research Associate at China Institute for Education Finance Research. Her research interests include economics of education, education finance, vocational education and student financial aid. At present, she involves in projects related to comparative analysis of national skill formation system, and skill shortage management. She receives research grants from National Science Foundation, National Social Science Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Ministry of Education. She publishes widely in peer reviewed international and domestic journals.