April 19, 2021. Shanghai – A CEIBS team has once again picked up one of the top prizes in the annual EFMD Case Writing Competition.

CEIBS Professor Daniel Han Ming Chng, Senior Case Researcher Liman Zhao, Professor Byron Lee and Professor Peter Moran, together with and Research Assistant Hellen Sun grabbed first place in the category of Responsible Leadership this year for their case, “Daddy Lab: A Chinese Social Enterprise’s Dilemma.”

The case explores the tension social enterprises experience between profits and purpose as they attempt to manage increasing demands from stakeholders to conduct business in a responsible manner.

In publishing the case, the team says they would like students to better understand the complexity that entrepreneurs face between their social and commercial goals and the ethical issues that can arise from the dilemma of choosing between profits and purpose.

The case also won the recently-announced Best Case Award in the 2020 Global Contest for the Best China-Focused Cases.

The EFMD competition was first launched in 1988 and seeks to reward innovation and creativity in business case writing and teaching. Winners are awarded across seventeen categories representing a range of critical management areas and are selected by an international judging panel from more than 400 submissions each year.

Prof. Chng and Dr. Zhao are no strangers to the EFMD podium, having previously taken home the award for best case in the category of Responsible Business in the 2019 contest for their work on “Voles System’s Bribery Accusations in China.”

The Responsible Leadership category recognises cases which address the challenges leaders face in engaging diverse stakeholders in the creation of economic and social value and which showcase leaders who demonstrate a commitment to integrity and to values-driven decision making that considers the interests of shareholders, employees, clients, the environment and the community.

Ultimately, the “Daddy Lab” team says that they hope that students will learn to become more thoughtful and responsible business leaders that build purposeful, sustainable enterprises.

April 17, 2021. Shanghai – The CEIBS MBA Class of 2021 marked the end of their MBA journey with a special online celebration today. Joined by friends, families, professors, mentors and CEIBS staff, over 150 graduates logged on to welcome each other into the school’s alumni network of over 25,000 professionals. School leaders including CEIBS President (European) Dipak Jain, Vice President and Dean Yuan Ding, Associate Dean and MBA Programme Director Shameen Prashantham and MBA Administration Director Michelle Zhu led the event.

The CEIBS MBA Class of 2021 together at the start of their journey

As the host of today’s celebrations, Prof. Prashantham welcomed the MBA Class of 2021 to the Virtual Gradation Celebration. Dean Ding then officially began the proceedings by congratulating the graduates and praising their resolve while facing challenges brought by on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

CEIBS Associate Dean and MBA Programme Director Professor Shameen Prashantham hosting the Virtual Graduation Celebration

“This unique experience will make you stronger. We should always look at things in a positive and proactive way, so let’s focus on the glass being half full,” Dean Ding said. “One thing for sure is that CEIBS will always be your permanent home. I wish you all the best for your career and family life, and look forward to welcoming you back to campus with the pandemic firmly behind us.”

CEIBS Vice President and Dean Yuan Ding shares his welcoming address

In his keynote speech, Honorary Chairman of Royal DSM Mr. Feike Sijbesma encouraged the graduates to go out and make the world a better place by doing well and doing good.

“Now, you are ready for the big work,” Mr. Sijbesma said. “Try to develop insights, vision and connections. I encourage you to contribute to your organisation by helping to build a better world. A better world in terms of society, climate, equality as well as the other major areas outlined by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.”

Royal DSM Honorary Chairman Mr. Feike Sijbesma delivers his keynote speech

With many MBA faculty joining today’s celebrations, CEIBS Assistant Professor of Accounting Gianfranco Siciliano spoke on behalf of his colleagues to share a final lesson about the importance of balance – not in terms of balance sheets, but in terms of life.

CEIBS Assistant Professor of Accounting Gianfranco Siciliano speaks on behalf of the school’s faculty 

“CEIBS motto of ‘China Depth, Global Breadth’ gives us a perfect example,” he said. “These four words basically imply, today more than ever, that we need to pursue, to think, to act more in terms of an equitable globalisation. With this degree, my dear students, you have not only achieved an important goal in your life – ‘a more balanced education’ – but you have also become ambassadors to reflect on and eventually bridge the gap between China and Europe, and between China and the World.”

CEIBS MBA graduate Wang Zhe reflects on his MBA journey 

Representing the MBA Class of 2021, Wang Zhe and Margherita Nostro shared some key takeaways from their journeys at CEIBS. Joining the graduation celebration in person, Zhe summarised the MBA journey by sharing his three major takeaways; namely, learning how to become a better student, a better leader, and a better person. Joining online from Italy, Margherita reflected on the importance of being happy and grateful in the new normal.

CEIBS MBA graduate Margherita Nostro on embracing the future

Prof. Jain, Michelle Zhu and Prof. Prashantham then presented awards to the MBA Class of 2021’s outstanding achievers. The award recipients are:

Outstanding Graduate Award: Kunal DATT, WANG Zhe, JIN Chengzi, Shefali Alok PATHAK, Pawel SWIERK, DUAN Kaiyue, WU Yuhao, Margherita NOSTRO and Hwee Queen CHONG

MBA Office Special Recognition Award: Raluca-Elena GEORGESCU, GU Mingyuan, JIA Bin, Mei Ying Melissa KHOO, LI Yaohui, RAO Sizhen, Ravishankar RAVEENDRAN NAIR, Karan SHARMA, WANG Xuan, WEI Jin, XU Fan, YIN Junhua, Eva Olivia ZHANG and ZHANG, Zhiyi

Student Leader Award: Neil FLYNN, Simon LIANG and Aravind THODUPUNOORI

The celebration concluded with a virtual toast and hybrid online-offline student-led gathering.

CEIBS MBA2021 graduates in China gather for one last celebration​ 

April 10, 2021. Shenzhen – The CEIBS Alumni Association 2021 Alumni Representatives Meeting and Annual Work Meeting was held in Shenzhen today. The event was attended by representatives from CEIBS leadership and more than 200 alumni.

During the meeting, CEIBS Vice President and Co-Dean Zhang Weijiong discussed some of the school’s latest developments in terms of its faculty, alumni and social influence. He then outlined some of the key areas CEIBS will focus on moving forwards and emphasised that the school wishes to engage in closer collaboration with alumni to advance its development.

The meeting was followed by a forum in which the much-anticipated 2021 CEIBS Corporate Social Responsibility White Paper was released. The report summarises recent global and Chinese CSR practices with a focus on CEIBS cases and CSR research. Notably, the paper shows that CEIBS alumni organisations score higher on average in all dimensions of CSR than most major companies.

As part of the forum, CEIBS President (European) Dipak Jain delivered an online speech in which he noted that management education has gone through several stages of development throughout its history, with an emphasis on business relevance in the first phase, academic excellence in the second and social impact in the third.

He added that CEIBS is looking forward to working with alumni in the future to promote social responsibility, environmental protection and other areas and to take the school’s development to new heights and make greater contributions to promoting world harmony and progress.

According to CEIBS Professor Emeritus Lydia Price, who also attended the event, organisations will have to face two major challenges related to CSR in 2021 – namely safety and social security and climate change.

In 2020, CEIBS also launched a new CSR/Sustainability research area to empower the school’s faculty in conducting research and teaching CSR. Learn more about this and other CEIBS research areas here.

April 9, 2021. Shanghai – Cross-cultural skills are increasingly vital when doing business involving China, CEIBS Vice President and Dean Ding Yuan told executives at a recent event hosted by The Economist.

Prof. Ding made the remarks during a panel discussion focused on the effects of the pandemic, and when China and other Asian economies may expect to recover.

During the event, he also discussed the impact of the pandemic on the school, and how COVID-19 had accelerated trends which were already in place before the outbreak, including the growing need for effective international communication.

“Shanghai is the interface between China and the world. I think most foreigners here today would recognise that Shanghai is by far the most international city in China and a window for the world,” Prof. Ding said, adding, “At CEIBS we have been playing a role in this, particularly, in the field of executive education.”

Prof. Ding said CEIBS had started out by disseminating the best Western business practices and passing these on to Chinese executives, but the school’s role had shifted as China has developed.

“Nowadays, because of international interest in things such as dual circulation, and due to the growing importance of China, we are playing a different role – we are becoming an educator to the world about China,” he said, adding, “From this perspective the role of being an interface is still very important both for Shanghai, and also for CEIBS.”

Prof. Ding said China’s changing role meant that the school offered new opportunities to those able to cross cultural divides.

“Chinese are much more aware of the outside world now, and more and more are fluent in English, but paradoxically they want to see that you are curious about their language and that you make some effort to adapt,” he said.

Foreigners who are able to master these skills may gain access to rewarding and lucrative opportunities, said Prof. Ding, citing the example of an MBA alum who became very successful as the first foreigner to join a well-known and successful Chinese firm.

“In these kinds of situations, where you may be in very unfamiliar surroundings, you can look at the glass half full or half empty,” he said, adding, “You could feel lonely or miserable, but on the other hand if you start to adapt to others then the opportunities are huge.”

“You can be in every photo of the company when they want to show their diversity, and you can be the bridge between China and the world – it’s really up to you to take that different attitude,” he added.

Prof. Ding said foreign talent also had a huge advantage with their international backgrounds because many Chinese companies are going global.

“Just imagine the career progress you can make with a growing Chinese company because you are one of the only talents who are reliable and available for them to help with international expansion,” he said.

Similarly, western companies with a presence in China were also learning, Prof. Ding said, referring to the example of German firms in the first quarter of last year. Some such firms mitigated the impact of the coronavirus, due to continuous communication with their Chinese offices who were around two months ahead on pandemic prevention and management best practice.