China is growing as an education hub

China is gradually becoming the nerve-centre of the world. When one thinks about China, three things come to mind— a robust economy, a strong geo-political presence and unparalleled technology innovations. The dragon is now all set to add another feather to its cap. The country is now opening horizons for students all over the world with world class institutions offering some of the best courses out there.

The Chinese government wants to position China’s image as an education hub. The China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) lies at the heart of that endeavour. Established in 1994 under an agreement between the Shanghai Municipal government and the European Commission, CEIBS’, main objective is to contribute to the economic development of China by offering its students a thorough understanding of the latest international management knowledge and practices coupled with clear China expertise. In recognition of the excellence of the CEIBS MBA programme, Forbes has ranked it amongst the top four non-US schools in the world and Financial times ranked it Number. 8 globally in 2009.

Contribution of CEIBS

Its primary aim was to increase professionalism of the future managers and entrepreneurs and provide training to enable them to work with Chinese companies. The role has reversed now. CEIBS now trains leaders to work in a globally integrated environment. It means that the students graduating from CEIBS will be in a position to deliver goals in any corner of the world.

Says Professor Lydia Price, Associate Dean and MBA Programme Director of CEIBS, “We want the leaders to take the Chinese business to the next level. There are many MNCs coming into the country and we want to equip our students to tackle challenges that will arise out of such a cross-cultural scenario.”

One of the missions of CEIBS is to facilitate trade between China and other economies. The rigorous screening process ensures that only the best talents come into the school. Corroborates Price, “We take people who are seriously interested in China. We see China in a truly global context and ensure that our training gives the students the cross-cultural sensitivity, communication skills, business knowledge and a sense of world politics to ensure that our students stand out.”

Beyond China and Europe

Apart from a large contingent of Chinese students, international students form two-fifths of the total student community in CEIBS. The South Asia representation is also increasing in CEIBS. She says, “We are essentially China-driven but the recruitments for students happen through various international forums and co-branding initiatives.”

One such initiative is TABS (Top Asia Business Schools) where cooperation is sought to draw the best talent to CEIBS. We make sure we have the best faculty and draw talents from top B-Schools all over the world.” CEIBS is also a member of various international alumni organisations which enables their alumnus to co-attend the event with others thus facilitating idea-exchanges between peers. It also has well developed exchange programmes for students.
One barrier to prospective applicants is the perception of the people about the language and the Chinese culture.

“We seek to stress on the fact that ours is a truly international school with a healthy mix of students from all over the world. We ensure that our students feel at home in our campus. These imminent biases shouldn’t act as barriers; instead the students should come here, broaden their horizons and learn in a truly global environment,” adds Price.

The Indian perspective

“CEIBS maybe a B-school based in China with focus on Chinese markets but we have a truly international approach. India is still a new market for us and we have lots to learn about the country,” says Price. Through the TABS initiative, it has tied up with ISB, Hyderabad and is slowly gaining recognition in India.

CEIBS was initially envisioned to be a B-School whose focus would be on developing economies but owing to the large Chinese market, the management committee decided to focus solely on China. The institute is keeping an eye on the B-schools in India and holding talks with the management of these emerging B-schools, albeit on an informal level, to explore new areas of partnership.