Dear CEIBS Alumni, 

None of us could have imagined the rocky start of 2020 as we suddenly found ourselves amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Though trapped at home, we have come to realise that the whole world is more closely connected than ever before.

In response to the outbreak, a dozen cities in Hubei Province pressed pause on the hustle and bustle of life to fight the coronavirus in China and even the whole world. With tenacity, bravery and professionalism, many Chinese people, ordinary or extraordinary, have battled the epidemic on the front line to keep China on its feet. While lamenting the untold human suffering caused by this global outbreak, we can also marvel at the brighter side of human nature – characterised by optimism, responsibility, dedication and altruism. The light of humanity shining amidst the crisis has bound us together in a way which transcends language, beliefs and national boundaries. We firmly believe that after the pandemic, everyone will have deeper insights into our global community and shared future.

As an international business school, CEIBS has the honour to forge ahead with entrepreneurs, who, instead of sitting on the side-line, stand ready to respond to crisis and inspire others to join hands in turning things around. At the outset of the epidemic outbreak, the CEIBS Alumni Association Hubei Chapter appealed to all alumni that, “The heroes at the front line must not be left unarmed.” In response to the call of the CEIBS Alumni Association, CEIBS alumni, and alumni enterprises and organisations leapt into action. Some donated money and materials to affected areas despite pressures on their own businesses; some harnessed cutting-edge technology to facilitate disease detection, diagnosis and treatment; and some sourced medical materials from all over the world and shipped them to the hardest hit areas. According to incomplete statistics, CEIBS alumni have donated 1.285 billion RMB via various platforms. Meanwhile, the value of donated materials has reached 474 million RMB. Alumni chapters have also provided donations and support for nearly 100 provincial and municipal medical teams in Hubei.

During this period, many alumni enterprises have made outstanding contributions to the fight against COVID-19. Fosun Group, for example, established a global command centre, which promptly delivered donated materials to the front line through its sourcing network covering 23 countries. At JD Logistics, more than 100,000 employees across China made concerted efforts to ensure that emergency materials were reasonably co-ordinated, shipped in an orderly manner, and delivered promptly. Yuwell Medical mobilised its employees to work overtime to ensure the supply of medical materials. Later, the company received a letter of thanks from the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council in Response to the Novel Coronavirus. Meinian Healthcare, meanwhile, chartered a flight to send 300 elite medical workers to Hubei. In addition, many other alumni enterprises offered their support to the fight against COVID-19 through various means and channels.

As the epidemic swept across the world, the CEIBS Alumni Association appealed for a second round of donations on March 26 in hope that alumni would help out with the pandemic in the EU and the rest of the whole world. The initiative was met with a warm response from alumni. On behalf of CEIBS, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all alumni for your contributions to the fight against the epidemic. You are the pride of the CEIBS community!

As an international business school rooted in China, CEIBS stepped up its efforts to shape and share knowledge during the outbreak, and weighed in with valuable suggestions about economic stability and corporate development. Amidst the pandemic, both the macro-economy and corporate world are facing a “stress test”. In this moment, how should the government draw up economic policies? How should people from all walks of life combat the pandemic? How should companies ensure a sound cash-flow position, build a flexible supply chain, and enable digital transformation? How should SMEs secure financing to stay afloat? CEIBS faculty presented their insights about these questions, capturing much attention from alumni and mainstream media. Meanwhile, alumni enterprises are carrying out an array of innovative practices, which can be of great help, provided that we draw valuable lessons from them as quickly as possible.

During the past few months, CEIBS has also been affected by the epidemic, and our campus has not yet been re-opened to students or alumni. At the inception of the outbreak, the CEIBS Working Team of Coronavirus Prevention was established, and promptly issued notices regarding campus-wide epidemic prevention and control, curriculum and event arrangements, and work resumption based on the regulations of the government. Throughout, we have remained concerned about the health and safety of the CEIBS community. Shortly after the outbreak of the epidemic in China, we sent masks and other anti-epidemic supplies to faculty, students and staff in Wuhan and other hard-hit epidemic areas. As the epidemic has extended abroad, we have mailed anti-epidemic materials to students, faculty and BOD members around the world. We have also shared our thoughts and concerns with colleagues at other business schools. We were also moved that some alumni sought and donated all types of anti-epidemic materials to CEIBS, while doing their best to battle the pandemic. We are also pleased to see that in this war against COVID-19, the CEIBS community has pulled together. Such a strong cohesion is a powerful manifestation of CEIBS’ “合” (hé) culture.

During this special period, CEIBS programme departments have leveraged new technology platforms to provide students and alumni with opportunities for online sharing and discussion. Since the end of February, at various online info-sessions under different themes, faculty and alumni have shared various companies’ battle against COVID-19, and analysed and predicted trends for China’s economy. The EMBA “Cloud Sharing” series and the Executive Education “Chief Cloud Forum” series have recently wrapped up and received wide acclaims. More high-quality online activities are under way. All these efforts aim not only to pave the way for the long-awaited opening of the school, but also to bring the school to a higher level of digitalisation.

We are happy to share with you a piece of good news: CEIBS retained its #5 spot in the world and #1 spot in Asia in the FT’s ranking of full-time MBA programmes in 2020 released on January 27. This impressive feat was not celebrated due to the epidemic. Despite many uncertainties in the global situation, we are doing our best to meet the current challenges. Starting on March 2, we began delivering online classes for MBA students. We are convinced that the CEIBS community will move forward against all odds and elevate the school to new heights.

At present, the epidemic outbreak in China has been effectively contained, but the overall pandemic situation still paints a grim picture. The fight against COVID-19 has brought home to us that in an era of globalisation, countries across the world share the same fate as a close-knit community. Only by working together can we survive the crisis.

The balance of the world we usually take for granted has been disturbed. We wake up from the dream and fall asleep filled with hope every day. Faced with the changes unfolding in our lives, we should remember that every dark cloud has a silver lining. Each member of the CEIBS community should maintain confidence, a commitment to creation and rationality in thinking, before victory is declared in the battle against COVID-19.

We sincerely wish you all good health and safety!

CEIBS President  CEIBS President (European)

Prof. Li Mingjun         Prof. Dipak C. Jain