February 1, 2021. Shanghai – CEIBS is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor of Economics Bala Ramasamy as Associate Dean and Director of the Global EMBA programme.

Professor Ramasamy has been a top-performing professor at CEIBS since 2006, having previously lived and taught in various universities including the University of Nottingham, Malaysia; Massey University, New Zealand; and the University of Macau. He is already very familiar with the Global EMBA programme, having taught the core Economics module on the programme for more than a decade and has been highly commended for his teaching by both students and alumni. Prof. Ramasamy moves into the role having recently completed a three-year term as Associate Dean for Learning Assurance and Accreditation, a role in which he oversaw the successful renewal of CEIBS’ accreditation with EQUIS and AACSB. He has also served as the Chair of the CEIBS Curriculum and Learning Assurance Committee over the last six years.

“2021 brings fresh challenges to global business and there has never been a greater need for high-quality business management education at an executive level to nurture and connect business leaders,” Prof. Ramasamy says. “It is a privilege to take on this role to work with such a talented team of faculty, staff, students and alumni. The Global EMBA programme has been recognised for its ability to deliver leadership development, diversity, and an international business outlook anchored in China. I have always enjoyed my interactions with Global EMBA classes and I’m excited to lead this programme as it continues its journey as one of the top-ranked programmes in the world. My predecessor and friend Professor Nikos Tsikriktsis has set a very high standard and I will strive to reach those heights.”

Dr. Ramasamy’s research interest focuses on Asian economies, international trade, foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic development. He also has a strong interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR). This interest extends beyond academia as he runs leadership and moral empowerment programmes with CEIBS alumni aimed at young teenagers from lower income families.

CEIBS Vice President and Dean Professor Yuan Ding has further helped lead the school community in welcoming Prof. Ramasamy to the new role.

“I’m delighted to be able to welcome such an experienced and visionary professor into this new leadership role for the Global EMBA programme,” Prof. Ding says. “Professor Ramasamy knows the programme well already and is very popular with Global EMBA students and alumni. I look forward to working together with him and the team to continue the programme’s impressive development.”

Prof. Ding also paid tribute to Professor of Operations Management Nikos Tsikriktsis, who is stepping down from the Associate Dean role due to health reasons, following six years of successful service. Prof. Tsikriktsis spearheaded numerous major innovations in the Global EMBA programme, including the Leadership Stream and global electives.

“Under Professor Tsikriktsis’ leadership, the programme expanded to one that is now delivered on five continents and is strongly synergised with CEIBS’ campuses in Ghana and Switzerland,” Prof. Ding says. “Professor Tsikriktsis leaves the Global EMBA programme in strong shape, with the programme having reached an historic high #2 in the October 2020 FT Global EMBA Ranking. We thank him for his dedication and the impact he has had on the programme during his tenure.”

For more about the CEIBS Global EMBA programme, please visit our programme website page here.

For more on Prof. Ramasamy’s teaching and research interests, please visit his faculty profile here.

January 26, 2020. Shanghai – CEIBS’ international credentials have received a major boost with the recent appointment of Vice President and Dean Yuan Ding to the board of one of business education’s most influential global organisations.

Dean Ding has been named a Dean Director at the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) with immediate effect.

The organisation is a worldwide association of leading graduate business schools, best known for administering the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), a standardised entry paper which candidates for graduate management programmes must pass in order to gain entry into business schools all over the globe.

Prof. Ding becomes only the second representative from an Asia-based school currently on the board, which features leaders from elite business education institutions such as Wharton, Oxford Saïd, Hass and Imperial College.

About his appointment, Prof. Ding said, “Representation on the GMAC board is a solid acknowledgement of the progress made by our school since its foundation, and enables us to both learn from their profound experience, and share our China-based knowledge, to further the development of business education worldwide.”

He added, “CEIBS and GMAC are organisations which both place paramount importance on the value of international collaboration, and as such we look forward to working with GMAC to promote the role business education can play in cultivating leaders who can help solve the world’s problems, and promote mutual understanding across borders.”

According to the latest figures, GMAC has some 229 member schools (including CEIBS), representing 34 countries worldwide.

GMAC’s GMAT system is used by around 2,300 schools across the globe, covering 7,000 individual programmes. Some 9 out of 10 new MBA enrolments around the world each year are made using a GMAT score.

A new year begins. Throughout the seasons, the Presidents’ quarterly letter has brought us together. Of all the letters, the annual New Year’s message is undoubtedly the most anticipated. It looks back on our journey over the past year and contains the Presidents’ high hopes and best wishes. This year, in addition to a letter, the Presidents have also shared a special video message from Shanghai and Chicago. Let us once again revisit the most memorable moments from 2020 and set out for 2021 with gratitude and joy!

Dear CEIBS Community,

Happy New Year!

According to the law of nature, the four seasons follow their courses. Waking up to the first rays of morning sunshine in the New Year, we bid farewell to 2020 and usher in 2021. For CEIBS, 2020 was a year of bitter-sweet memories, challenges and extraordinary achievements. Amidst tremendous change, the CEIBS community lived up to its responsibility to chart its course with creativity and courage, and wrote another magnificent chapter in the history of the school.

As COVID-19 spread across China, CEIBS alumni stepped up to fight the epidemic. For its heroic efforts, the CEIBS Alumni Association received the Xiang Guang Organizing Committee Award at the 2020 China Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Forum. We are proud of the efforts of our alumni which have benefitted society as a whole.

As the Chinese economy struggled through the pandemic, CEIBS faculty weighed in with a stream of valuable insights to help stimulate economic recovery, and helped enterprises learn from the pandemic. In 2020, CEIBS held more than 500 online learning initiatives in such areas as macroeconomics, cash flow, enterprise risk management, leadership, and new retail, attracting a wide audience.

When global collaboration was urgently needed to revive the world economy, CEIBS made full use of its strengths to host the Europe Forum series online for the first time, attracting over 3,000 participants from all over the world. The series highlighted CEIBS’ expertise in advancing economic and cultural exchanges between China and Europe to help kick-start economic recovery around the world.

CEIBS hosted the Europe Forum series online for the first time

At the same time, we can only marvel at the outpouring of creativity from CEIBS faculty and staff. When face-to-face classes were suspended due to the impact of COVID-19, faculty and staff in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Zurich and Accra campuses pulled together and came up with innovative solutions to ensure students’ learning continued. Notably, 2020 saw the twin-city opening of the MBA2022 programme at our Shanghai and Zurich campuses.

The opening of the MBA2022 programme

What fills us with the greatest pride are several hard-won accolades in 2020. CEIBS was ranked #2 on the FT’s list of top global EMBA programmes and #5 in the world in its list of top MBA programmes. CEIBS faculty topped the Elsevier’s “Most Cited Chinese Researchers” list for the sixth consecutive year in the category of “Business, Management and Accounting”. Three CEIBS alumni appeared on China’s list of top 40 innovators, entrepreneurs and role models during the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, and two alumni won the 2020 National Poverty Alleviation Award. These accolades have given us the confidence to know that whatever adversities and challenges lay in store, as long as we continue to uphold a collective culture and the spirit of “Conscientiousness, Innovation and Excellence”, we will continue to lift CEIBS to new heights.

CEIBS was ranked #2 globally on the FT’s list of top EMBA programmes

Everything which happened at CEIBS in 2020 continues to flash across our minds as if we were watching a slide show. We feel moved, delighted and heartened. We are keenly aware that it was through the concerted efforts of the CEIBS community that we weathered the storm and made huge strides. Though we cannot individually thank everyone for their contributions, we can feel your passion, aspiration for excellence, and sense of solidarity. This spirit spurs us on to forge ahead.

As the world undergoes profound changes unseen in generations, we are formulating a strategic plan for CEIBS in line with China's 14th Five-Year Plan. After many rounds of in-depth discussions with faculty, staff and alumni, CEIBS will shape itself into a leader and pioneer in global management education with a spirit of reform and innovation to maintain its position among top-tier performers worldwide; proactively serve the national strategy and regional development by facilitating the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region, coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; harness its resources to build CEIBS into a platform for economic and cultural exchanges between China and Europe; and integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability concepts into its teaching, research and operations in order to evolve into a world-class, widely-respected business school.

Specifically, we will make continuous efforts in the following eight areas: 

First, we will break new ground in teaching methods and content to ensure our flagship programmes stay in the top tier of international rankings.

Second, we will build a world-class faculty team and cultivate more globally influential academic leaders.

Third, we will create signature research areas, carry out interdisciplinary research to promote the integration of industries, universities and research institutions, step up the development of a China-themed case library and build a first-class think tank.

Fourth, we will optimize our curriculum to cultivate more internationally-minded talent versed in “China Depth, Global Breadth”.

Fifth, we will commit ourselves to building a platform for communication between China, Europe and the world at large. 

Sixth, we will align CEIBS with China's national strategies for the Yangtze River Delta region, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area through the campuses in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen.

Seventh, we will strive to exemplify CSR education by integrating social responsibility and sustainability concepts into our teaching, research and operations.

And, eighth, we will empower our alumni by establishing a win-win alumni ecosystem.

In short, the coming period will mark a critical strategic time for CEIBS to scale new heights through continuous innovation. We will earnestly carry out the measures as stipulated in the CEIBS Strategic Plan so that the school can make further progress and a greater contribution.

The New Year marks the beginning of the new CEIBS Strategic Plan. Keeping in mind our fundamental task and mission, we will continue to nurture more top talent for business development, and provide more impetus for social progress.

As the German poet Christian Johann Heinrich Heine once wrote, “The new spring will give back what winter took from you.” What was gained in 2020 is now a thing of the past. May you have no regrets, and show more courage and strength; and may your hopes and dreams come true in the future! As we head into 2021, let us venture forward together to embrace a bright spring!

CEIBS President  CEIBS President (European)

Prof. Wang Hong         Prof. Dipak C. Jain       

CEIBS Milestones in 2020

A new year, a new life. At this moment of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, CEIBSers all around the world would like to convey good wishes for the new year. Watch the video below to enjoy more warm wishes for the coming year.