Luigi T. Peccenini, the Italian founder of the global English training company Wall Street English, was welcomed as a visiting professor by Beijing Normal University at a hiring ceremony at the university on Thursday.

During the ceremony, Peccenini delivered a speech titled “A Winning Heart”, in which he talked about entrepreneurship by sharing his own experience with the students.

The 76-year-old went to college at the age of 29, when he was already managing his own business but had begun to realize the importance of education.

“Education is the motivation of life,” he told the hundreds of college students attending the ceremony.

Peccenini emphasized to the students “to have a dream and do what you love”.

“I have been giving lectures on entrepreneurship at many universities in China in recent years, and people keep asking me the same question,” he said.

“People ask about success. ‘How can I achieve success?’ And this is the biggest problem. This is not only in China. This is a social trend all over the world. The most important thing is to have a dream and make serving people your goal.”

He said the reason he called his company “Wall Street English” was because when he founded it 41 years ago, Wall Street was the main place where people invested in business. He wanted to present the idea of “investing in language learning and education” through this name.

He emphasized that the idea of serving others is very important.

“In today’s world, you cannot achieve anything only by yourself. Everyone is connected to those around them,” he said.

“Do something that serves people; this will make you happy.”

Since entering the Chinese market in 2000, Wall Street English has set up 66 study centers in 11 cities, mostly on the east coast.

The Italian, who said he is a big fan of Tao Te Ching (or Daodejing), by Laozi, has settled into life in Beijing. He has apartments in both Beijing and Hainan province, and returns to Europe only for a few months a year.