China as a Gateway to Asia
“China Depth, Global Breadth”, this is what CEIBS stands for, but to me it is so much more than that. In my first two-and-a-half months here in China, and at CEIBS, I can most certainly say that, for me, this school stands for friendships, valuable connections, self-development, important learnings, and most importantly an academic challenge. I knew coming here would be a challenge and that I might have some struggles, but the first 2.5 months have been nothing but a blessing so far and I am looking forward to seeing what else this journey has in store for me.
Personal introduction
Hello, my name is Mark Malleczek. I was born in a small town called Korneuburg in Austria and lived there for the first few years of my life. Due to my family’s adventurous spirit and my father’s entrepreneurial mindset, we quickly moved out of Austria and right then and there, started my journey as a global citizen.
I lived between Thailand, South Africa and Oman all before the age six and quickly moved to my new home, the Middle East, where I spent all my youth up until the age of 18. After successfully completing high school, I went back to Vienna to serve the Austrian Armed Forces, as this was, and still is mandatory for all Austrian men.
After my (not so short) stint in the Austrian army, I decided to delay my studies for a while and, once again, give into my “global citizen spirit” and went ahead and moved to Portugal. While living in Lisbon, I worked in the Customer Service Industry for one of the largest hotel chains in the world.
After a short while in Portugal, I thought it was finally time to give academia a chance, before it was too late, and enrolled in EU Business School in Geneva (and eventually online due to COVID-19) and studied Business Administration with a focus on Finance and Marketing.
During, as well as after university, I worked at a software scale-up focusing on software automation and finally ended up at Deloitte. At Deloitte, I worked for the consulting business line, first in the Digital Customer Experience portfolio and then finally moving to Strategy, Analytics and M&A, focusing on Procurement Excellence.
Since I am only human, and wanted to strive for more, I decided to look around for further education, and since the only logical step after a BBA is an MBA, I decided to take a glance at the Financial Times Ranking, focusing predominantly on Asia, after the advice of my mentor.
First Impressions of Shanghai and CEIBS
Like everyone who has ever moved to another country, especially Shanghai, one can first find themselves extremely overwhelmed and astonished by the mere size and livelihood of this city. Luckily enough, I was warmly welcomed on CEIBS’ beautiful campus by peers and faculty/staff who quickly helped me find my footing.
Something I realised very early on was that no matter what you think you know about China can quickly be thrown out of the window when actually living here because this city, and country, isn’t just more developed than any other city I have seen before (and I’ve lived in Dubai) but, has really taken the digitalisation of the economy, as well as day-to-day life, very seriously.
On the one hand, I found myself extremely confused and overwhelmed but was kindly assisted by the awesome peers of my cohort. For the ones of you reading this that aren’t aware of the digital advancements in China, let me tell you, there is an app for everything, and this doesn’t just make your life better and more convenient, but I would go so far and say, that they are almost a necessity for a successful life in China.
I truly believe when I say this, living and studying here in China feels a bit like studying the future and how other economies of countries can learn a thing or two about the possibilities in regard to convenience and efficiency.
Once successfully acclimatised and settled in, I just wanted to go and explore what this beautiful metropolitan city has to offer, which brings me to my next point, the people. Without having communicated my wish to explore Shanghai, four of my Chinese peers, on separate occasions, took me and some other international students out to explore the city. Things like this have happened on several counts, within the first few weeks, where you just get invited without having to take the initiative. This was one of the many times where I felt tremendously welcomed and at home on the campus at CEIBS and in China.
The CEIBS MBA Experience
As mentioned previously, I found myself scrolling through the Financial Times MBA ranking as well as various MBA and GMAT related websites searching for programmes across Asia which would make my personal profile and CV stand out for recruiters and HR personnel. Then, I landed on CEIBS. From the moment I started applying, a feeling my gut told me I would end up here, and so I did.
Besides the excellent faculty and their respective courses, I, and other students, had the opportunity to indulge in extracurricular activities such as various modules, company visits, student clubs and societies and city trips with newly made friends.
Given the opportunity to travel to cities like Chongqing, Chengdu, and Wuzhen with peers really opened my mind to how beautiful this country really is and how many treasures there are which are unknown to the rest of the world. Going on these trips really made me look at China from another perspective and made me love the people, culture and especially the food even more.
I was lucky enough to have built relationships with classmates to the extent that we collectively run the management consulting club at CEIBS, and we were also able to forge connections outside of the rigorous curriculum.
We've had a great time together and I feel like this has really extended my position. My MBA experience would not have been as valuable without these people. I can honestly say that I have made a lot of genuine, long-lasting connections here, and I am always grateful to have met individuals like them.
It was challenging at first, but it has been more than worthwhile. Though I have no idea what my life may hold in the coming months, coming here was most definitely the right decision. My journey here has been noteworthy because, although the road may not always be easy, the people you meet along the way are much more significant.
