BiMBA - Bringing together East and West (1)
Young Chinese recognize the need to have a more global mindset.
While that might be gained bu going abroad to do an MBA,
they see advantages in attending an internationally-focused MBA in China.
Walking through the old campus of Peking University along leafy paths surrounded by ivy-clad buildings, a sudden clearing reveals a sleek white structure. Students in long black robes are milling around and the air is buzzing with voices speaking Chinese and English. The scene is a snapshot of old and new, east and west: the students are graduates of BiMBA-Beijing International MBA at Peking University, one of a small number of top-level international grade MBA offered in China.
The program was the first joint international MBA in Beijing approved by the Chinese government, and is a joint educational venture operated by the National School of Development at Peking University, recently established by the prestigious China Center for Economics Research at Peking University (CCER). The current degree-granting institution fro BiMBA is the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in Belgium, rated the best business school in Belgium and the 14th worldwide in 2008, according to a survey of full-time MBA programs by The Economist. During its first ten years, BiMBA cooperated with a US business school consortium and Fordham University in New York was the degree-granting institution.
The graduation ceremony perfectly encapsulates BiMBA's objectives: providing students with a modern business education while emphasizing the Chinese market and how to adapt cutting-edge economic principles to it.Both full-time and part-time MBA programs are taught in English and graduates receive an international degree certified by Vlerick, which holds all three major international business school accreditations: EQUIS, AMBA and AACSB. Students benefit from regular visits by experts from international universities, but they can also choose to study the strategy of Sun Tzu, a course which involves field trips to the ancient battlefields of Shandong, leaving students with a deeper understanding of Chinese history.
Dr. Lee Zhang, the Associate Dean of BiMBA sees this intermingling of traditions and schools as BiMBA's unique strength. In his mind, China is a developing country in a different economic situation fro America. Although it can benefit greatly from western business theories, it should not rely solely on these traditions, but focus on adapting them to China’s individual situation. This is why increasing numbers of both international and Chinese students are choosing to enroll in programs like BiMBA.
Many international students seeking to enter the Chinese market are now choosing to come to China to study business, rather studying in their home country. Five years ago, 5% of BiMBA's MBA class was international. This number has now increased to 40%.
Mr. Jutah Kiki Sean, a Singaporean prospective applicant to BiMBA, is a good example. When asked recently why he was considering moving to China to study for an MBA after eight years working in finance in Singapore, he said that he wished to do business in China, and studying fro an MBA elsewhere would not give him the China-specific business knowledge he required.
(to be continued)
