We hope you will seize the opportunity. The opening ceremony of the Euro-Asia Doctorate of Business Administration (EA-DBA) Programme was held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Shanghai on March 1st, 2017. Academic director and programme professors from the three EA-DBA partner institutions, alumni, students, and representatives of the business partners attended the ceremony. They were there to witness another group of Chinese entrepreneurs and senior professional managers, who are committed to the analysis and construction of their industries, embarking on the challenging and inspiring journey of acquiring knowledge.
Professor Dwight Merunka, EA-DBA Programme Director and Associate Dean of DBA Programme
Professor Dwight Merunka, EA-DBA Programme Director and Associate Dean of DBA Programme at KEDGE Business School presided over the ceremony and announced the opening of the second intake to the Euro-Asia Doctorate of Business Administration (EA-DBA) Chinese Programme. He recognized that more and more Chinese entrepreneurs were not content with EMBA and post-EMBA education. They started to discover problems within the industry and were ready to address these problems by conducting independent research and employing external resources. This trend has gained increasing popularity over the last few years. As the Academic Director of the EA-DBA Programme, he is more than willing to provide support for students in the DBA programme, helping them accelerate the transformation of real-world practice in China into world-class theoretical management study.
Professor Park Kyoung Sam, Associate Dean of Korea University Business School
Professor Park Kyoung Sam, Associate Dean of Korea University Business School, a partner institution of the Euro-Asia Doctorate of Business Administration (EA-DBA) Programme, first welcomed the incoming students. He then expressed that Korea University Business School’s class in Seoul also received nationwide acknowledgement from Korea’s business community. Students in that class expressed their interest in communicating and interacting with students from China. They would love to share their experiences in Korea’s industrial and commercial world with Chinese students. Korea University will continue its collaboration with the other two partner institutions to provide students with better academic experiences. Professor Xu Xin from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Faculty of Business also stated that the faculty members of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University will keep on supporting the DBA programme. He congratulated the incoming students on their new academic journey.
Sabrina Woo, Deputy General Manager for China at KEDGE Business School
Sabrina Woo, Deputy General Manager for China at KEDGE Business School, reflected upon the school’s accomplishments since its first forays into China in 2002, with the launching of the MBA and EMBA Programmes with Shanghai Jiaotong University (FT2016 ranking 22nd), followed by the Sino-French Institute with Renmin University in 2010, the EA-DBA programme in 2015, and the forthcoming opening of the Sino-French Institute in Management in Arts and Design with China Central Academy of Fine Arts.
She stressed to the participants that they were now part of the big KEDGE family: 54 000 alumni worldwide, of which 1200 in China, with numbers for China set to grow rapidly in the near future.
She stated that all staff and faculty members at KEDGE Business School in China would do their best to further improve the EA-DBA programme.
Representatives of the three Euro-Asia DBA partner institutions, professors, alumni, senior managers of various corporations, and students’ families attended the Opening Ceremony. Together, they witness another group of excellent students stepping onto a global platform, joining an elite doctoral social circle and embarking on their three-year journey full of challenges.
Liu Meng, Student Representative of KEDGE Business School and Vice President of Shanghai - United Water Corporation
Liu Meng, Student Representative of KEDGE Business School and Vice President of Shanghai - United Water Corporation, warmly welcomed the incoming students. He emphasized the mutual relationship of the development of one’s personal research skills and that of his/her corporation, stating that the two should add to and improve upon each other. He expressed his wishes that his fellow entrepreneurs would enjoy studying, apply their academic accomplishments back to the development of their companies and combine professional knowledge with practical experiences.
Dr. Xu Jiansheng, KEDGE DBA Alumnus and Chairman of Zhongxin Antai Group Co.,Ltd
Dr. Xu Jiansheng, KEDGE DBA Alumnus and Chairman of Zhongxin Antai Group Co.,Ltd, shared his own experiences of pursuing a doctoral degree. This tough yet rewarding academic experience played a huge role in his business management. He encouraged the incoming students to keep on exploring and achieve significant accomplishments. Such challenges and endeavors are crucial to people’s positive developments.
The opening ceremony ended with a wave of applauds and congratulations. Here, we are glad to deliver our best wishes to all the students. Three years can be long or short. After three years, they will harvest not only knowledge and wisdom but also an intensive network and lasting friendships with the faculty members and fellow students.
The Euro-Asia Doctorate of Business Administration (EA-DBA) programme is devoted to providing an engaging and international academic environment for experienced, senior leaders in business. It is an international executive programme conceived and delivered by three elite business schools? KEDGE Business School (France and Shanghai), Korea University Business School (Seoul) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Faculty of Business (Hong Kong).
