原文：教育之光 点亮未来（微信公众号「东方剑桥教育集团」）
From his work as an education leader to his philanthropic commitments, Yu Yue has remained true to his original calling in education while pursuing excellence in both his professional and personal life. In this interview, he reflects on the lessons and insights he has gained along the way. As a member of the Beijing Clubhouse, he also contributes in his own distinctive way to the cultural and intellectual life of this distinguished community.
Yu Yue is Chairman and President of Oriental Cambridge Education Group, a member of the Economic Committee of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, a member of the 13th Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an honorary trustee of Peking University, a honorary professor at Peking University’s School of Economics, and a member of the 11th All-China Youth Federation.
Oriental Cambridge Education Group (OCEG) was founded in 1986 by Yu Yue’s father, Professor Yu Songling. In those early days, Professor Yu started the school with just 22 students, driven by an unwavering commitment to education. The decades that followed brought both remarkable achievements and difficult periods, but he never lost sight of his founding purpose. Over more than three decades, the group has grown from those humble beginnings into a network of more than 170 schools and institutions in 39 cities across China. It has educated more than 500,000 students and become a leading presence in China’s private education sector.
Yu says his family instilled in him a deep and irreplaceable passion for education. Yet he also understood that passion alone was not enough; it had to be grounded in solid theory and practical experience.
Yu holds a PhD in Educational Economy and Management from Peking University, a master’s degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of Warwick in the UK, and a bachelor’s degree from Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management. After graduation, he worked in finance, gaining valuable professional experience. When he joined the group in early 2006, he set out to build its preschool sector and established Oriental Cambridge Kindergarten from the ground up.
“As educators, we must have a sense of mission.”
To strengthen the group’s preschool education operations, Yu immersed himself in every aspect of running a kindergarten and developed systematic plans for expansion. For six months, he slept on the floor of an empty kindergarten classroom. As friends jokingly put it, he had endured “the hardships of both a first-generation entrepreneur and a second-generation successor.”
Drawing on his diverse educational and professional background, Yu led the group’s expansion into preschool and international education, extending its presence to 39 cities while continuing to explore new directions for growth.
As Yu gradually took on greater responsibility for Oriental Cambridge Education Group, his first priority was continuity. He wanted to carry forward the educational ideals, valuable experience and organizational culture that had guided the group from the beginning.
“As educators, we must have a sense of mission,” he says. “Whatever technologies we use or programs we develop, we are still engaged in the work of education.” Yu and his father share a firm belief in education as a noble mission serving the nation, the Chinese people and the wider world.
In September 2023, Yu became President of Harbin Cambridge University, which is part of OCEG. An education leader with management expertise, a rich academic background and a forward-looking educational philosophy, he introduced a range of innovative ideas, strengthened many aspects of the university’s operations and advanced its student-centered approach.
At major university events, including campus sports meets and welcome celebrations for new students, students take the lead in both planning and execution, while faculty members provide support. This approach helps students realize their potential and develop independence, organizational skills and the ability to coordinate with others.
“Not long ago, two students came to me about the stray cats on campus,” Yu recalls. “Instead of giving them an immediate solution, I encouraged them to think through the problem themselves and offered support along the way.”
Determined to find the cats safe and warm homes, the two students proposed ideas and explored different solutions. The process captured their imagination and enthusiasm. As they worked through the problem, they were inspired to conceive a student association dedicated to helping more stray animals.
“Schools should not simply impart knowledge,” Yu says. “They should also give students opportunities to broaden their horizons.”
Yantai City College of Science and Technology, another institution within the group, is building an equestrian facility and has imported 14 horses from overseas for equestrian training and recreational riding. On-campus equestrian facilities are rare among Chinese higher education institutions. The initiative is intended to do more than enrich students’ extracurricular lives. Riding challenges students to develop focus, courage and endurance, while the interaction between horse and rider fosters rapport and trust. Through training, students can strengthen their sense of responsibility and self-confidence and learn to push beyond their limits.
Explaining the thinking behind the initiative, Yu describes it as an extension of his educational philosophy: education should extend beyond the classroom, offering students opportunities to try new things, broaden their horizons and develop their abilities in a well-rounded way, while inspiring them to pursue their dreams and embrace the future with courage.
“We look forward to working with the Beijing Clubhouse in more diverse ways,” he says, “bringing equestrian culture to our campuses, enriching students’ extracurricular lives and helping them develop broader ways of thinking and seeing the world.”
Even as he pursues innovation in education, Yu has remained committed to philanthropy. As head of OCEG, he has carried forward his family’s educational mission while extending that sense of responsibility to wider society.
Over the years, Yu and his father have led the group’s philanthropic work through scholarships, financial support for students in financial need, and other forms of educational assistance. “Education is like a beacon that lights the road ahead,” Yu says. “It is our responsibility to carry that light farther, to the places where help is needed.”
Education has the power not only to transform individual lives but also to bring hope to society as a whole. In 2018, Yu donated RMB 50 million to his alma mater, Peking University, to establish a Research Center for Basic Education. The center was conceived as an open platform for interdisciplinary and cross-sector research, supporting the reform and development of primary and secondary education in China.
“Education is like a beacon that lights the road ahead.”
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