On May 23, a world-renowned economist joined Fudan University. Jean Tirole, the winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and a professor at the Toulouse School of Economics in France, was appointed as the co-chair of the Academic Committee of the "Fudan-TSE Research Institute of Innovation and Digital Economics" (FT-RIDE). This appointment was jointly conferred upon him by Professor Zhang Jun, a senior professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Fudan University and the dean of the School of Economics.

Jean Tirole is the second Nobel laureate to join Fudan University, following Nobel Laureate Michael Levitt in Chemistry in 2013. He is acclaimed as a "encyclopedic genius economist" and has made outstanding contributions to almost every field of modern economics.

FT-RIDE is a research institution jointly established by Fudan University and the Toulouse School of Economics in France. It was officially inaugurated during the centenary celebration of Fudan University's School of Economics in November 2022. The Toulouse School of Economics is located in Toulouse, France, and is one of the world's top economics schools. Through collaboration with the Toulouse School of Economics, and with the introduction of renowned economists like Tirole, it aims to provide new impetus for the development of Fudan University's "First Fudan" initiative and the construction of double first-class disciplines.

Professor Jin Li, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the President of Fudan University, warmly welcomed Professor Tirole's appointment. He expressed the hope that both parties would work together to establish the FT-RIDE as a high-level academic platform with international recognition in the fields of innovation and digital economics. This would help develop original economic theories in China and strengthen the traditional friendship between China and France.

During the appointment ceremony, it was also announced, in accordance with the agreement between the two universities, that Professor Zhang Jun and Professor Stéphane Straub of the Toulouse School of Economics would serve as co-directors of FT-RIDE. Additionally, Professor Kou Zonglai, the Vice Dean of the School of Economics at Fudan University, would assume the role of the Executive Vice Director of FT-RIDE.