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The charm of Shanghai overshadowed a prestigious scholarship granted by U.S. government. Paul Foo, a 29-year-old Malaysian who received his master degree from Cambridge University, will begin a journey of pursuing his MBA degree in China Europe International Business School in Shanghai on May 28. He made this decision at the cost of a Fulbright scholarship that a top business school in U.S. had applied for him, just because he saw the fact that Shanghai, which is developing rapidly, has become a hotspot in world economy as well a window of China’s economy with its unparalleled potential and charm.
“Go to Shanghai and earn a MBA degree!” That’s the decision made by Foo as well as 23 other foreign students, who all graduated from the most prestigious universities around the world, namely Oxford, Connell, UC Berkeley, etc. They represent the most eminent educational background among the foreign students who have come to the country to pursue their MBA degrees since China began to offer its own MBA programs. These international students, who gave up offers and scholarships from world-class business schools to study in Shanghai, are changing China’s status as a MBA student export country. The business school they chose, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), has been rapidly expanding its recruitment of foreign students since 2002, with 60% of its foreign students from Europe and U.S. this year, compared with the situation that most of its foreign students were from Asian countries last year.
“That’s not only because our MBA program is globally recognized, but, even more importantly, because they were attracted by the splendid outlook of China’s economy,” Yan Jun, MBA admission director of CEIBS, could still recall the interview for these students, “They all wished to work in China in the future.” The students believe that the 17-month MBA program in Shanghai will help them integrate themselves into Shanghai and thus into China.
The idea of international education is attracting international talents, and the talents in turn will make contributions to the success of Shanghai. According to Yan Jun, Western developed countries like U.S. have attracted a great number of top talents in management with their excellent educational resources, and China should replicate this strategy by capitalizing on the enormous function of education and seeking to “capture” talents around the world. “The colleges and universities in China should develop such notions, build up their discipline construction efforts and educational resources from a global perspective, and ultimately serve the city as well as our country.” Zhang Guohua, vice president of CEIBS, said. To this end, CEIBS introduced the international practice of “accepting applications and offering interviews on a rolling basis throughout the year”, which was warmly welcomed by foreign students.
This trend also exerts great impact on domestic students. Many of the 103 domestic students admitted by CEIBS this year, who nearly all graduated from such prestigious universities in China as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, etc., have also given up opportunities of studying at business schools listed among the top 20 in global rankings. “The education in Shanghai is increasingly recognized by the world. We believe that more and more international students will be attracted by Shanghai for its prosperity and brilliant future and come to China.” Zhang Guohua said.
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