December 28, 2020. Shanghai – Despite the disruption caused by COVID-19, it was a busy year at CEIBS. From record-high rankings and online learning to new appointments and virtual forums, we look back at some of the top news and events stories around CEIBS in 2020.

This year go off to a positive start for CEIBS. In late-January, the school retained its spot amongst the world’s best business schools as it again placed fifth in the Financial Times’ annual ranking of MBA programmes for the second consecutive year.

Like many organizations around in the world in 2020, CEIBS was forced to shift many of its activities online due to the coronavirus. One of the first student-led events to make the leap was INNOVATEChina, which in April brought together MBA teams from around the world for the annual pitching competition under the theme of ‘Connectivity for the Future’.

This past spring, CEIBS also launched its ground-breaking Lessons for Leaders from the Pandemic series, a programme of webinars featuring school faculty and other leading thinkers from around the globe. In just two months, the webinar series attracted more than 1,000 participants from more than 40 countries around the world.

As part of our ongoing efforts to support MBA students and alumni during the COVID-19 pandemic, in April, the CEIBS Career Development Centre went virtual with a series of online job fairs. The events were organized with the help of the CEIBS Alumni Association and the alumni chapters in Beijing, Ningbo and Shenzhen.

In June, nearly 2,000 people join in to watch the first ever virtual graduation celebration in CEIBS’ history as 150+ students from the MBA Class of 2020 concluded their learning journeys and joined the school’s alumni network of over 24,000 professionals.

The CEIBS Female Leadership Forum also went online for the first time this year, welcoming more than 100 participants for an in-depth exploration of purposeful leadership in July. The 2020 edition of the forum looked beyond women’s issues to explore the broader topic of how to lead during times of uncertainty.

TEDxCEIBS 2020 hosted eight high-profile speakers as students from the CEIBS MBA Class of 2021 broadcast the event live from the Poly Grand Theatre in Shanghai. This year’s event touched on a range of topics such as calmness, enthusiasm, persistence, studying, understanding, science, life and sports, all under the banner of Becoming: Me, Us & More.

In September, a special faculty and staff meeting was held at the school’s Shanghai campus to officially appoint Professor of Management Wang Hong as new CEIBS President. At the end of the month, CEIBS also appointed Professor of International Business and Strategy Shameen Prashantham as the new MBA Director.

The pandemic forced CEIBS to take an innovative approach to keeping learning on track in 2020. With overseas MBAs unable to enter China due to travel restrictions, we launched our first-ever ‘twin city’ model, with students enrolling at both our Shanghai and Zurich campuses. With housing and learning facilities in place, CEIBS officially welcomed the 157 young professionals of the MBA Class of 2022 with a special ceremony in early October.

October brought even more good news to CEIBS as our Global EMBA soared to a record-breaking high of #2 in the Financial Times’ list of the top EMBA programmes in the world. It marked the third consecutive year CEIBS’ Global EMBA appeared in the top five and was the highest ever ranking for a stand-alone EMBA programme in Asia.

The CEIBS Insights 2020 Europe Forum series went virtual for the first time in November and December, with more than 3,000 participants streaming the events online. This year’s series explored opportunities for Sino-European collaboration and highlighted the importance of cooperation in leading the global economic recovery.

In capping off an extraordinary year, CEIBS in December welcomed the Global EMBA 2020 cohort to our Shanghai campus with a special opening ceremony to kick off their 20-month journey of learning and discovery.

For all of the latest news and events highlights from around CEIBS, please visit our News page here.

December 23, 2020, Shanghai – A challenging and bizarre year delivered a colourful myriad of stories from the CEIBS community around the globe.

For many alums, students, faculty and friends of CEIBS, overcoming difficulties is part of their job description. Nevertheless, 2020 presented a whole new level of challenges for everyone to contend with.

CEIBS MBA Sourav Panda wrote of a surprise twist to the start of his CEIBS adventure, finding himself at our Zurich campus – rather than Shanghai – thanks to virus-related travel restrictions.

The joy of fatherhood and becoming a role model for a little girl was the inspiration behind Andrei Naumovich’s story of applying to undertake an MBA at CIEBS, whilst Max Hinchman revealed the unconventional route which led to his MBA enrolment.

Raluca Georgescu provided some much-needed relief from the weighty nature of 2020 by detailing her leap from the glamorous world of fashion to studying for an MBA. Meanwhile, alum Gabriel Masfurroll told the tantalizing tale of his life journey, including holding a seat in the boardroom of Barcelona FC and helping bring the most talented footballer on the planet, Lionel Messi, to the club.

One of CEIBS most inspirational and successful African alums, Uju Ojinnaka told her story of becoming CEO of Traders of Africa and her life and work philosophies, whilst “A once in a life-time opportunity” was how Professor Sebastian Schuh described his decision to accept an offer to serve as a part of CEIBS’ faculty.

In a tale of moving east, Darkhan Myrzabayev revealed how his four years prior to CEIBS spent working on a Kazakhstan-China oil and gas joint venture just 100km from the border between the two countries led him to eventually enrol for an MBA in Shanghai.

CEIBS MBA 2012’s Eric Seidner showed how English teaching in China could lead to great things by landing his dream job with Apple in Shanghai, and MBA 2021’s Fay Sura surprised many with her skills as Shanghai campus’ resident DJ.

Current MBA student Pawel Swierk revealed his winding path from his native Poland via Milan to immersing himself in Shanghai, whilst Professor Rama Velamuri admitted his wife’s excited reaction sealed his decision to accept an offer to join CEIBS back in 2007.

Jiangsu Province native Stephanie Lu revealed why she decided to move back to China after emigrating to Canada in 2003, and South African Mtha Moses spoke of leaving the joy of the outdoors behind in his home country to cut a distinctive figure around campus as a current MBA student in Shanghai.

Click here to read more stories from the CEIBS community.

December 18, 2020. Shanghai – A mind-boggling year saw CEIBS further its reputation as a reliable and respected source of China-related business commentary and thought leadership on the international stage.

Top global outlets, influential regional media and specialist publications frequently worked together with the school’s faculty on all manner of topics, in an effort to help the world at large chart a path forward through an unprecedented crisis.

World news was dominated by one topic in 2020, and Professor Zhu Tian spoke with Swiss Radio on the possible impact of the coronavirus in February not long after the outbreak occurred, before being quoted by Spanish national newspaper El Pais on how the virus would affect the Chinese labour market.

The role of fintech in China’s approach to coping with the economic effects of the virus was on the agenda for Prof. Zhao Xinge in a Bloomberg interview, whilst Prof. Katherine Xin outlined three biases that shaped CEOs’ COVID-19 pandemic response in a piece carried by Harvard Business Review.

Meanwhile, Prof. Oliver Rui spoke on the effects of the coronavirus on small and medium sized enterprises with German business newspaper Handelsblatt, and Prof. Bala Ramasamy urged the world not to miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide universal basic income (UBI) for all in an op-ed with the South China Morning Post.

As China got to grips with the virus, the start of the school’s journey towards a return to normality was the subject of a TV interview with Channel News Asia for Dean Ding Yuan, and Professor Xu Bin was quoted by El Pais in report on China's better-than-expected virus economic recovery.

The school also took time out from the challenging conditions to celebrate its all-time high #2 position in the Financial Times’ global ranking of Executive MBAs, whilst Prof. Juan Fernandez told Poets and Quants the coronavirus offered the school a teachable moment.

Completing a strong showing in business education coverage, an extensive feature in The Economist featured CEIBS as a Chinese management school thriving thanks to a mixture of western and local traits.

Thankfully, the virus was not the sole topic in 2020. The Financial Times carried a thought leadership piece from Prof. Shameen Prashantham on global firms partnering with start-ups, Prof. Bala Ramasamy was quoted by the Wall Street Journal on US-China trade, and Time Magazine spoke with CEIBS President (European) Dipak Jain on China’s logistics sector.

Possible solutions for the US-China trade dispute were also offered by Prof. Xu Bin to Time Magazine, whilst the implications of ground-breaking research on tax policy from Prof. Frank Yu and Prof. Yi Xiang was the key focus in an article from German Daily Newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung.

Rounding out the year, Prof. Vivian Guo was interviewed live by Bloomberg TV on the importance of subtle nuances when using corporate language.

For more about CEIBS in the news, visit our media centre page here.

December 12, 2020. Beijing – The CEIBS Beijing New Year’s Forum was held today at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. EU Ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis was invited to deliver a keynote speech entitled, “The Form is Close, but the Meaning is Far – An Analysis of Cultural Misunderstandings between China and Europe”. CEIBS President Wang Hong also attended the forum and delivered the opening speech. The event also featured a dialogue between CEIBS Vice President and Dean Ding Yuan and Ambassador Chapuis about how to bridge differences and promote mutual trust and cooperation between China and Europe.

In her speech, President Wang said that CEIBS’ achievements have been derived from the close collaboration of China and the EU, the pursuit of excellence by the school’s faculty and staff, the support from the CEIBS alumni community and their dedication to social responsibility – all of which will continue to inject energy into the school’s future development. She added that, in the future, CEIBS will continue to expand its global vision through various forums, think tanks, and research platforms, co-operation with global entrepreneurs and by empowering its alumni. Moreover, President Wang said, CEIBS will become a model for the training of talent and for exchange between China and the EU and a strategic platform for economic, social and cultural integration and development. Finally, President Wang said that she believes that, with the support of the Chinese government and the EU together with the joint efforts of the school’s alumni, CEIBS will be able to reach new heights.

Ambassador Chapuis said in his keynote speech that in the context of globalisation, nations may use common vocabulary, but it is still easy to overlook the different meanings of words in across cultures. He then explained the meanings of “mutual understanding” and “cultural deficit”, enumerated a number of cultural differences in translation, pointed out the necessity of acknowledging cultural differences and, finally, analysed how to bridge the differences between Europe and China. Ambassador Chapuis continued that the EU is willing to create appropriate conditions for enhancing understanding. For example, he stated, it plans to hold a special conference to discuss cultural misunderstandings between Europe and China, to promote discussions between academics on both sides and to publish a “misunderstanding dictionary” to help everyone better understand and bridge their differences. He also praised CEIBS’ success as an example of enhancing understanding. On one hand, he noted, it has effectively aided Chinese business leaders in understanding the world more comprehensively and, on the other hand, it has helped business leaders from all over the world better understand China.

During his dialogue with Ambassador Chapuis, Dean Ding pointed out that, in the era of globalisation, China and the world are deeply integrated in terms of business activities, including trade and investment. As such, he said that understanding how to communicate and work with people from different languages and cultural backgrounds has become a necessary skill. He then cited examples of linguistic and cultural misunderstandings, not only between China and Europe, but also among major European countries. Dean Ding and Ambassador Chapuis then discussed how to “seek common ground while maintaining differences” between cultures, and how to strengthen the understanding of deeper cultural and historical symbols.

This year was the fifth year that CEIBS Beijing campus has hosted the New Year’s Forum. As an important part of the CEIBS Beijing New Year’s series of activities, the New Year’s Forum focuses on current economic topics and features CEIBS professors, well-known scholars, politicians and alumni to give keynote speeches and interact with members of the CEIBS community. It is now annually one of the most anticipated events among the school’s alumni in Beijing.

December 10, 2020. Shanghai – The first 40 China-focused cases developed and selected by CEIBS have officially gone live on the Harvard Business Publishing - Education, and 27 of them are cutting edge cases developed during the last two years. The first batch represents the latest progress in the long-term cooperative partnership between CEIBS and Harvard Business Publishing - Education agreed in November 2019. In the future, more China-focused cases will enter Harvard Business Publishing - Education and make their way into the classrooms of international business schools. These cases have been developed, selected, and modified using strict criteria in line with the expectations of international readers.

According to CEIBS President Prof. Wang Hong, “Cooperation with world-class business school case libraries is a substantial effort by CEIBS to draw on its key advantages, contribute to the implementation of national strategies, spread the word of China and tell business stories from the country. Founded in 2001, CEIBS Case Center is committed to developing high-quality China-focused cases and building a world-leading China case platform. As the only business school co-established by Chinese and foreign governments, CEIBS is tasked with promoting international economic and cultural exchanges. It will exert further efforts in the future to construct a platform bridging China with the rest of the world and contribute more wisdom and power to promote social and economic development on national and regional levels.”

The first batch of CEIBS cases to enter Harvard Business Publishing - Education cover business management issues in the Chinese context and deal with various disciplines and industries. For example, LiuGong: Integration Challenges in Poland tells how Chinese enterprises efficiently implement post-merger integration and restructuring; LinkDoc: Commercial Exploration of Healthcare Big Data provides innovative thinking on how big data medical start-ups can explore paths to commercialization while capturing and generating value; Phoenix: Facing the Disruptive Challenges of the Bike-Sharing Tide and Transsion Holdings discusses leveraging technological innovation, competitive strategies and business models to proactively adapt to external changes in the context of disruptive innovations; Dow Greater China: Localizing the Corporate Sustainability Strategy helps students understand the leadership challenges of balancing sustainability investment and strategies—which often yield indirect and long-term payoffs—against the short-term needs for growth and financial gains; Xihaner Car Wash: Building a Sustainable Social Enterprise in China depicts how a social enterprise faced up to growth challenges and discussed its future options. Baman Technology: Building Supply Chains for Boundaryless Dining covers business model innovation based on supply chain strategies, role definition, and collaboration between upstream and downstream.

In addition to traditional cases, the batch included newly developed role-playing projects. For example, Smart Health (A&B): Negotiation with a Social Purpose features role-playing in a negotiation scenario between a social entrepreneur and a venture capitalist on balancing a social enterprise's financial and social goals. Such role-playing brings out a strong sense of empathy, initiating class discussion, and triggering in-depth thinking.

“The inclusion of CEIBS cases in Harvard Business Publishing - Education reflects once again CEIBS' preeminence in research and teaching, and that our efforts to expand the school's global reach have paid off,” said CEIBS Vice President and Dean Ding Yuan. “While providing CEIBS students with a better learning experience, these cases will also make their way into the classrooms of other well-known business schools around the world, serving as a testament to CEIBS' commitment to ‘China Depth and Global Breadth'.”

According to Prof. Chen Shimin, Director of CEIBS Case Center, “even during such an unusual time as we are experiencing this year, CEIBS has never relented on its case development efforts and has successfully dealt with the challenges posed by the pandemic. In 2020, CEIBS has developed more than 100 cases, giving a tremendous boost to the full resumption of teaching. Meanwhile, the inclusion of Ivey Publishing's China-relevant cases in ChinaCases.Org, a case library initiated and operated by CEIBS, has also been underway. Next year the total number of cases under ChinaCases.Org will reach 2,500, making it the most influential China-relevant case library worldwide. This will help promote and support case-method teaching in schools and institutions in the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.”

So far, CEIBS has independently developed more than 1,000 China-focused cases, playing a positive role in promoting the international brand influence of Chinese enterprises, contributing to China's economic development and facilitating exchanges and mutual learning in business management around the world. In the future, CEIBS will further devote itself to developing more high-quality China-focused teaching cases while making proactive efforts to integrate internal and external resources for the further upgrading of ChinaCases.Org to create new value for management education globally.