January 28, 2008. Shanghai. -- The China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) announced today that its MBA Programme has been ranked #1 in Asia and #11 worldwide by the renowned Financial Times annual global rankings of business schools. CEIBS has held the top-ranked seat in Asia continuously since 2004 - five years running -- and has been ranked 11th worldwide since 2007 - two years in a row.
The Financial Times released the results of its 2008 Global MBA Survey today. The survey covers 158 business schools worldwide and is widely considered to be one of the most thorough, longest-running and best respected rankings of business schools worldwide. This year marks the 10th year of the FT rankings.
CEIBS FT Ranking Press Conference
At a press conference held at the CEIBS-Lujiazui International Financial Research Centre (CLFC) today at 2 pm, CEIBS President Zhu Xiaoming announced the FT ranking results to a crowd of 40 domestic and international journalists. President Zhu also introduced the research institutes launched through CEIBS in 2007: the CLFC, Centre for Service Outsourcing, Centre of Marketing & Innovation, Centre for International Entrepreneurship, and Centre for Asset Management. President Zhu stressed the importance of the CLFC, launched last fall in order to serve as an authoritative and influential think tank for the development of Shanghai as an international financial center, which reflects school’s keynote of developing finance sector.
President Zhu also announced that construction of CEIBS’ new Beijing campus began in October 2007, covering an area of 8000 square meters, and will be completed in 2009. In addition, Phase III of CEIBS’ Shanghai campus is also underway, adding another 38,000 square meters to the complex. CEIBS’ Shenzhen operations are also being expanded.
This fall, CEIBS was the bid-winner for the Europe-China Business Management Training (BMT) Project, bringing total funding of 17.7 million Euro to the school, mainly from the European Union and the Shanghai Municipal government. The BMT Project will cover a number of initiatives focused on delivering first-class management training programs in China. Specific programs will be launched in conjunction with CEIBS’ partners in the project: the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, and IESE School of Business.
Finally, President Zhu stressed the important work of the CEIBS Foundation, a registered not-for- profit organization which manages all sponsorship gifts made to CEIBS through endowment funds, alumni, corporate and institutional sponsors.
'Remarkable' achievement
CEIBS Dean and Vice President Rolf D. Cremer said: “Achieving position 11 worldwide - once again-- is a powerful confirmation of the strength of the CEIBS MBA Programme, and the success of CEIBS graduates in the market. This achievement is really remarkable, because the standards of the world’s top business schools, and the expectations of the market, especially in China, are getting higher and higher. ”
Dean Cremer added that: “The next big challenge for CEIBS is clear now: as an internationally top-ranked, China-based international business school, CEIBS must provide thought-leadership for management education worldwide -- in the same way that Harvard Business School, for example, has done as a US-based school for the past 100 years.”
Professor Cremer also highlighted the significant improvement CEIBS made this year in its research ranking, which measures the number of publications from CEIBS faculty in the world’s 40 most prestigious international academic journals.
Ranking results
CEIBS MBA Director and Associate Dean Lydia Price added that CEIBS is particularly pleased this year to see improvements in its ranking in the categories of: "international faculty,” “international experience,” and “percentage of women students” in addition to its continuing strong performance in student placement. Currently, each CEIBS graduate receives an average of 6 job offers upon graduation. Dean Price said CEIBS is now seeing increases in recruitment offers for CEIBS graduates in the financial services and consulting sectors.
Another new trend for CEIBS is a sharp rise in foreign student applications, including from India and Latin America. Today nearly one-third of CEIBS MBA students are hold passports from countries other than China. Among foreign students, Dean Price said recent incoming students tend to have richer job experience before beginning their studies - especially in the financial services field. “CEIBS is now competing directly with schools such as Insead, Harvard, and IESE for its students,” Price said.
In closing, Dean Price commented that: “The continued strong rating by the Financial Times shows the value of CEIBS’ strategy and mission to educate China for the World and the World for China.” She commended CEIBS on achieving its current ranking based on “vision, consistency, and unshakable commitment to excellence.”
The Financial Times annual global ranking survey is widely recognized as the most thorough and best-respected of the business school rankings. This year, CEIBS ranked highly in several key areas including:
- % Salary Increase (#3 in the survey) - Average salary increase for CEIBS MBA alumni who graduated in 2004, comparing their pre-MBA salary with their current salary. Average increase for CEIBS alumni = 157%.
- Weighted Salary (#7) - Measures the average salary earned by CEIBS graduates three years after graduation, with adjustment for industry variations and for purchasing power parity. Average current salary for CEIBS alumni three years after graduation = US$154,155 per year -- up from an average salary of US$146,410 per year in the 2007 FT rankings.
- International Faculty (#9 in the survey) - 65% of CEIBS faculty hold passports from countries other than China.
- Placement success (#14) - Alumni who use the career development services at their school rate its effectiveness in their job search. This year’s rating marks a significant increase over 2007 ranking of #32.
- International experience (#17) - Measures the level of international exposure among MBA students during their study programme.
- Percentage of women students (#23) - CEIBS MBA programme currently enrolls 35% female students. The current rating marks a large improvement over the 2007 ranking of #53.
CEIBS also saw significant improvement the category of research:
- FT Research Rank - CEIBS jumped in this category from a ranking of #81 in 2007 to #66 this year. This measures the number of faculty publications in 40 academic journals recognized by Financial Times.
About the Financial Times MBA Rankings
(Note: The following explanation was provided by the Financial Times.) The process of compiling the Financial Times 2008 ranking of full-time MBA programmes began in July 2007. A total of and 156 business schools that met the criteria for participation have been were included.
To be eligible to participate in the FT rankings, a business school must be internationally accredited by a body such as the AACSB, Amba or Equis; it must have a full-time MBA programme that has been running for at least five years; and it must have graduated its first class at least three years ago. Furthermore, a school must have graduated at least 30 students from the class three years ago and in each subsequent year. This year, an online questionnaire was sent to 23,657 members of the graduating class of 2004 from the 156 business schools.
The FT always surveys graduates three years after they have completed the degree, to assess the effect of the MBA on their subsequent career progression and salary growth. Forty-eight percent of them replied. Last year the response rate was 44 percent. Of the 156 schools, 39 were excluded because of insufficient alumni data. The response threshold that the FT sets is 20 percent of the entire class with an absolute minimum of 20 responses. The remaining 117 were ranked and the final ranking shows the top 100 of these.
About CEIBS
In the 14 years since its launch, the CEIBS has solidified its reputation as the leading international business school in Asia. CEIBS is the only Asia-based business school to have achieved top-tier global rankings for its MBA, EMBA and Executive Education programmes, and is the only b-school in mainland China to earn an internationally recognized EQUIS accreditation. The school has achieved the following rankings:
CEIBS MBA Programme:
- #1 in Asia , Financial Times' global MBA rankings, (2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 )
- #11 worldwide, Financial Times' global MBA rankings (2007)
- #9 worldwide, Forbes magazine, non-U.S., two-year MBA programs (2007)
- #1 in China, Forbes China, "Most Valuable Full-time MBA Programme in China" , (2007, 2006, 2005).
- #1 Business School in China, BusinessWeek China, "Best China Business School" (2007)
CEIBS EMBA Programme:
- #23 worldwide, Financial Times global EMBA rankings (2007)
- Top 50 worldwide, Financial Times global EMBA rankings (2001-2006)
CEIBS Executive Custom Programme:
- #2 in Asia , Financial Times global executive education rankings
CEIBS Executive Education Open Programme:
- #35 worldwide, Financial Times global executive education rankings
In slightly more than a decade, CEIBS has grown from a new creation to a world-class business school, with outstanding international and local recognition for its programmes. Launched in 1994 as a non-profit joint venture between the Chinese government and the European Commission, CEIBS is the first business school in mainland China that offers a full-time MBA, an Executive MBA and a wide array of executive education programmes. As of 2006 , the School has graduated over 5,000 MBA and EMBA graduates and provided management training for over 57,000 executives.
CEIBS Accreditation
In 2002, the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council of China formally recognized the CEIBS MBA degree.
In 2004, CEIBS received international accreditation from the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), making it the only school in mainland China to receive this international accreditation. EQUIS is a renowned international system of quality assessment, improvement, and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration.
In 2007, EQUIS awarded CEIBS with renewal of its accreditation. This marks another important step towards CEIBS becoming a global player.
New Developments & Media Events at CEIBS
Feb 25, 2008 -- CEIBS International Office Launch -- On February 25, CEIBS will officially open its International Offices, located in Barcelona, Spain. Media representatives will be invited to the opening ceremony
Coming in 2008:
- Expansion of CEIBS Beijing campus
- Launch of PhD Programme
- Launch of Europe-China Business Management Training website for media
- Launch of Media Event: E.U. Day at CEIBS
For more information, contact CEIBS Director of External Communications Laurie Underwood, 2861 2890-5505 or lunderwood@ceibs.edu
