On March 20th - With a world ranking of top 50 for 7 consecutive years, the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) EMBA programme welcomed the new participants of its 2008 spring classes (International Class, Shanghai Chinese and Shenzhen Chinese Classes). As many as 250 business elites from all over the world gathered together on CEIBS Shanghai campus, witnessing the grand opening ceremony.

Also present in the ceremony were Professor Zhu Xiaoming, president of CEIBS, Professor Rolf D. Cremer, dean and vice-president of CEIBS, Professor Zhang Weijiong, vice president and co-dean, Professor Liang Neng, associate dean and director of EMBA Programme, and Professor Henri-Claude de BETTIGNIES, representative of the faculty.

President Zhu first introduced the breakthroughs and progresses CEIBS achieved in the recent years and emphasized the school motto of "Conscientiousness, Innovation, and Excellence". He pointed out that the spirit of "conscientiousness" led the school to high recognition among participants and customers; the "innovation" efforts helped to promote the social status of the school; and the pursuit of "excellence" enabled the school to take a lead in China's business schools for continuous progress.

Professor Cremer then expressed that in the current context of global economy, CEIBS was able to cultivate for China a number of outstanding and competent executives with an international view.

Professor Henri-Claude de BETTIGNIES pointed out in his address that the EMBA is a "journey" that will transform you. Students will broaden their view of job, company, of the Chinese society, of the world. They will enlarge their competences through the acquisition of concepts, theories and models, through the development of skills. They will change their attitudes toward people, toward society, toward their responsibility as a leader, a responsibility particularly critical, today, in China, when the pace of the transition is so fast. They will endeavor to be a responsible leader.

After a brief introduction to the profile of EMBA participants 2008, Professor Liang Neng reiterated the strict yardstick by which CEIBS manages its teaching and learning activities, and the strong control mechanism that each participant should adhere to in both academic ethics and social responsibility. Professor Liang indicated that CEIBS was dedicated not only to the enrichment of participants' knowledge and their success in career development, but also the nurturing of moral principles and leadership qualities. The participants were supposed to develop in an all-round way with profound thoughts, strong personality power and pursuit beyond success, and grow up to be a powerful force in fueling the economic development of China.

Triple Balance in the Industry Distribution of Participants

CEIBS EMBA programme is now the largest of its kind in the world, and the number of participants enrolled in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen throughout 2007 totaled over 630. The enrollment for EMBA programme 2008 is conducted respectively in the spring and fall. The opening ceremony this time marks the start of Shanghai spring intake and Shenzhen class, while Shanghai fall classes and Beijing classes will start in early August.

2008 Shanghai spring intake and Shenzhen class have enrolled more than 20 international participants from 10 countries all round the world, above 30% of the total participants in the English classes. The Chinese participants come from over 20 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, and special administrative regions, with 52% of them from outside Shanghai.

According to statistics, approximately 40% of the participants come from shareholding companies and private companies, 44% from joint venture and foreign companies, and 13% from SOEs and governmental sectors. The participants cover a wide array of industries including finance and investment, information technology, energy, pharmaceuticals, real estate, architecture, manufacturing, media and advertising, logistics, trade, science & technology, and culture, sports, public utilities, etc. On average the participants are 38 years old with 14 years of work experience. 27% of them hold Master's degree or above. 20% are female and 87% come from top management of enterprises. 59% come from enterprises with a workforce of over 1,000 people.

Colorful Entry "Residency Module"

The school offered a four-day "residency module" for the new participants, hoping they could have a better understanding of management essentials, get acquainted with each other, and better integrate themselves into CEIBS EMBA family. From March 20th o 23rd, EMBA participants from all around the globe gathered in CEIBS and joined the residency module.

Highlight One: Leadership Development Preludes the Program

In the first session of the entry residency module, two professors were invited here to make speeches on the art of leadership. Dr. Katherine R. Xin, Professor of Organizational Behavior, identified four classic definitions and six leadership styles. She indicated that there was no absolutely universally applicable style of leadership, and the style selection should be dependent upon concrete circumstances. Comparatively speaking, the authoritative, democratic, relation and coach style of leadership would more likely lead to optimal performance of work and operation. "The leadership should be more of a science than an art, which is to be trained and developed."

At the start of the programme, the school will guide each participant to undergo a 360 degree leadership evaluation, and help them analyze the results and formulate a leadership development plan. The same evaluation will be made in the exit residency module before their graduation. The comparison of these two evaluation results will be used to help participants reflect on the gains and the gaps during the two years' study. Then a long-term leadership development plan will be worked out to improve participants' leadership for realizing growth through effective changes in their organizations. The tool used for 360 degree leadership evaluation is developed by Prof. William Mobley, and aims to help the participants improve their leadership skills based on the evaluation of their competency. This is the first time that a business school in China introduced such a practice. In the comparisons of the two evaluation results for participants 2006, the self-evaluation and evaluation from friends and colleagues showed that the dimension of participants' leadership was greatly enlarged.

Highlight Two: Industry-specific Talks Enhance Cohesion

The annual intake of 630 participants produces the largest EMBA alumni network in China. For 14 years, the school has enrolled and graduated over 5,000 EMBA participants, among whom one can find China's leaders and elites in various industries, senior executives of multinationals' Chinese operations, as well as senior executives of foreign enterprises.
    
During the entry residency module, the school creatively launched "Industry-specific Talks" with participants grouped according to industries such as manufacturing, information technology, finance, real estate, and pharmaceuticals. The talks of each group created opportunities for mutual understanding and cooperation among the members with similar industry backgrounds. 
 
Highlight Three: Wonderful Lectures on Culture and Arts

Following renowned writers Tie Ning, Wang Meng, Yu Qiuyu and celebrated artists Shang Changrong, Xu Zhong, Xin Lili and Chen Changfen, professor Zhou Haihong, the famous musician and vice president of the Central Conservatory of Music, was invited to deliver a lecture titled "The World of Music Unveiled". It was expected that the lecture could serve as a bridge for the new participants to enter the world of art by knowing their "quality of sensation" and the facts that "one can appreciate music even though he/she knows little about it" and "there is no single fixed right way of interpretation of music". The lecture was followed by a wonderful show of some famous music pieces performed by pianist Huang Yameng and violinist Liu Xiao.
       
Unlike some other business schools that only pay attention to business education, CEIBS has been devoted to the cultivation of not only successful business executives, but more importantly, leaders who are knowledgeable, and have good taste and charisma. "What they pursue is beyond mere business success. They can interpret not only financial statements, but also ancient poems and verses; they excel in not only market competition, but also art appreciation. The other reason why the school invites top artists to the executive forum is that their careers can be excellent models for our participants to follow in practicing the school's motto - Conscientiousness, Innovation and Excellence," said Prof. Liang.

Highlight Four: Warm-up in "TechMark"

The two-and-half-day TechMark was a warm-up course for the EMBA programme, during which the participants were divided into different groups and asked to conduct R&D, marketing, manufacturing and financial operations in a simulative business environment to achieve pre-set financial targets, while the professor elaborated on key management concepts to help the participants think comprehensively and strategically to reach the goal of adding shareholder's value.

The teamwork brought the 250 participants closer to each other and allowed them to quickly get ready for future study. Some winning group members commented that strong teamwork and leadership were the key factors for their success. Some important management concepts introduced by the professor aroused the thirst of participants for the coming two years of study in management courses.