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(4.9) |
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Coming from Europe and graduating during the financial crisis, I have always wondered where the best opportunities are. Certainly much of the global backdrop looks a bit bleak at the moment. For this reason it's very refreshing to be studying in china. My classmates are very optimistic about their future prospects, many have their own businesses or are in the process of setting them up. Coming to CEIBS certainly gives you the chance to get involved in these opportunities. I've been impressed with the number of high profile alumni the school has from its various courses and with the amount of firms who are scheduled to visit campus. With both multinationals and Chinese firms hiring, opportunities seem good.
As for lessons, CEIBS is living up to its promise. We are certainly getting the global breadth which I am sure is typical of most business schools. The curriculum consists of a lot of HBS cases and standard textbooks, but in addition we get china specific cases. I feel we get two for the price of one; I am certainly gettting a well rounded business education, but I am also learning specific knowledge about china which would be very difficult to pick up in any other way. Whatever I do afterwards, I feel that these twin elements of China depth and global breadth will be a very good differentiator on my CV.
Facilities is one area where CEIBS falls down a bit. We are in a campus which is slightly out of town, in quite a western area in Shanghai - it's easy to live here, but it's a shame more of the city isn't on you doorstep. The campus could also really do with a bar or some central focal point as it can be quite difficult to gather people on site.
Admissions team were very friendly and could not have been more helpful over the process. Highly recommend contacting them with any queries.
So far I would definitely recommend CEIBS for someone who wants to open up new opportunities and who wants to learn something beyond the standard cases.
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I’m from Germany and I decided to move to China to pursue an MBA. My friends still think I’m crazy. Why would you go to China and pay for education when it’s (mostly) free of charge here? And why not US or UK? The answer is: I want to learn more about a part of our world so different that most people seem not even to consider this as an option.
Education rankings are still dominated mainly by “experienced” US/UK b-schools. But if you look closely you will recognize one Asian B-school which clears up the field from the back. CEIBS is #1 in Asia and already #11 in the world (FT Ranking 2017). After only 2 months in China I have my own explanation for this good position. For me CEIBS offers sheer endless opportunities in a high-level learning environment (e.g. Student Activities, Student Events, Professional Events, Career Development Center,...).
I arrived in Shanghai two months ago. My resume so far: 1. When you move to China be aware of cultural differences. It will not prevent the cultural shock (at least not for me) but you will adapt faster; 2. Opportunities in China (not only in CEIBS) are countless! Stay open-minded; 3. When you want your MBA experience to be a real challenge instead of a nice break from work (exaggerated) than CEIBS must be on your option list!
I'm looking forward to the next months to come. The only downside so far is that my day only has 24 hours and opportunities are countless.
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China depth, Global breath is what I was looking for, and is why I actually only applied to CEIBS in the first place.
Without any doubt, China depth is getting more and more important, However, it isn't easy to get by at all.
Before joining CEIBS I had been living in China working for an MNC for 2 years. I picked up the language fairly well and was able to function completely independently in this amazing country.
However, I felt that I didn't meet the exciting, innovative young locals and that I had no exposure whatsoever to any of the thriving new industries in China such as e-commerce or Fintech.
Through CEIBS this changed. First of all, the cohort is half Chinese, the smart, hungry kind that one is unlikely to get to know when working in an MNC. It has been amazing to get to know and to experience working with my school mates. Both lessons and friendship for life. Secondly the ecosystem around CEIBS is quite amazing. Local champions like JD.com and tencent or emerging ones like dxy employ many alumns and therewith become accessible. The academic leadership consists mostly of Western educated Chinese that are both well connected and well respected in China and bring insightful cases to the class room such as Didi vs Uber. The e-lab, the part of CEIBS incubator, is gaining traction and visibility. And the reputation of CEIBS alone opens many doors so that I was able to source exciting consulting projects instead of doing a classic internship. Additionally, you are strongly encouraged to take language courses to further hone your language skills, which is greatly appreciated by the locals.
My learning curve in terms of skills, knowledge and network was amazingly steep.
Global breath also comes along the way but to a slightly minor degree.
All the classic HBS cases get covered. And all the global MNCs send their recruiters to the school. However, the student body as well as the professors are clearly mostly Asian. And the reputation of the school is stronger in Asia than it is in the Western hemisphere and therewith also among recruiters of Western MNCs. The focus for recruiting hence also is clearly on hiring people for the Chinese market. What compensates this perfectly, in my view, is the amazingly extensive exchange program to most of the top Western schools from LSE and INSEAD in Europe to Wharton, Booth and Kellogg in the US. I personally embraced this opportunity and did an exchange at INSEAD in Singapore, which was absolutely perfect for me. I was able to continue working on my start-up in quite close-by Shanghai while also getting a bit of exposure to a top Western school.
Funnily enough I ended up working at one of the largest PE-houses back in Europe, mostly related to my private situation.
But we keep the start-up in Shanghai growing, and the friendships developing.
If China depth with a good portion of global breath is what you are looking for, CEIBS is the right place for you.
If you're looking for a job in a Western MNC, CEIBS will be an exciting, mind-opening experience for you, but maybe not the perfect place.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions.
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My motivation to join CEIBS was two-fold. First, I wanted a global program that would be challenging on multiple levels. Other schools I considered were Fuqua, Insead, IMD & IESE. I finally chose CEIBS because of how different it is from American or European business schools, coupled with what I feel is a stronger value proposition. CEIBS’ exchange program also lets students experience Western MBA programs so that I didn't feel like I was missing out completely on that experience (I did my exchange at IESE, they also offer at Insead, Wharton, Booth, etc). Within this reasoning is value for money. CEIBS is like an undervalued stock. As the axis of business rotates East, and more MNCs and new technologies emerge from China, CEIBS is poised to be the next top business school in the world. I believe in 3-5 years, it will consistently rank in top ten (currently #11), and within 10 years will be in the top 5. The tuition is less than half of most business schools, and they offer many scholarships to further subsidize the cost. I worked at a Shanghai-based tech start-up for my internship and along with the CEIBS scholarship was able to graduate with no debt, plus job offers from top firms in both China and U.S. The benefit of graduating without debt is that pressure is lifted so one can make choices based on fulfillment and interest rather than signing bonus or monetary payoffs. It’s an incredibly liberating feeling to have that leverage.
Regarding living and studying in Shanghai, it wasn’t easy; however, it was fun and full of learning. Shanghai is truly the city of the future. You will feel this immediately. I believe that going to school in a country or environment in which one is familiar limits opportunities for growth and for that reason I wanted a place that would be more challenging. I wanted to be pushed out of my comfort zone. That being said, Shanghai is by far the most accessible Chinese city for foreigners. The options in terms of culture, community and food cater to an international palate. Anything you’re used to having back home you will be able to find in this city. Despite that, it’s still very Chinese. For me, that was a great mix. Toward the end of the academic intensive period of the first 3-5 terms, there are more and more chances to network and the Shanghai business community is extremely robust. Many co-work spaces and entrepreneurship hubs are popping up and adding flavor to the already vibrant MNC and industry landscape. Shanghai is a city unlike any other, where old meets new on an unprecedented scale. You will feel this as you sit at rooftop bars and look out at the Bund, where some of the tallest buildings in the world glitter and boats laced with golden lights glide along the Pu river. CEIBS is located in Pudong (dong means East, so this translates as East of the Pu river), crossing the river from downtown Puxi (Xi, you may have guessed, means West), and a bit beyond the financial district. The balance is appropriate: you have your campus life, which is insulated with infrastructure like dorms and study spaces. Then, you also have the option to venture downtown for nightlife, networking and internships. As I write this review from nearby Hangzhou, I realize how much I love and miss Shanghai!
Finally, the part that most students hone in on: career prospects. By almost any metric it’s apparent that China features prominently in the new global business dynamic. Within that milieu, CEIBS is quite famous and commands a lot of respect. This helps with job searching, both in terms of network and credentials. Above, in William’s review, he references an American student that joined Alibaba’s Global Leadership Academy (AGLA). That student is me. When I got that job offer, I was already working for an incredible Shanghai startup that I only would have left if I landed a dream job like AGLA. There is significant opportunity to bridge cultural divides as Chinese businesses look abroad and vice versa. For this reason, job prospects in Shanghai are manifold. They become even more diverse if you can grasp the paradox of being both focused yet flexible–opportunities arise that may not have been in your plan but can offer great experience. When it comes to careers, people tend to have more specific questions so if you do, feel free to ask on this thread or PM me. If I can’t help, I’ll try to connect you to alum from CEIBS with your background, interest or target company. The CEIBS career development coaches are also super strong and will be able to direct you to the right people to answer questions and provide guidance.
Best of luck and I hope that whatever school you choose, it’s a wonderful learning experience! 加油！
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I am presently a MBA student at the CEIBS MBA Class of 2019. Coming from India, being an international student, I was a little sceptical (China…Language barrier…Culture Shock…Job Opportunities – in this order!) when evaluating the program.
As a student, when evaluating North American or European MBA programs, we usually just focus on the rankings, school’s specialization that is of interest to us and jobs in that area post the MBA. CEIBS, as far as the rankings are concerned is the best in Asia – So what is it that made me think so hard about this program and finally end up here?
To start with, China is the world economy’s engine. But Shanghai, its so strategically located that it is the heart of Chinese and in a way the world’s economy. And the city, despite being in China is so Chinese yet not Chinese (it’s a hub of ethnic diversity). CEIBS, is in this city. By strategic I mean – You find the offices of almost every MNC working in Asia, right here in Shanghai – usually within a 30-minute ride from the campus. And all these companies, highly value CEIBS and visit the CEIBS campus regularly for some event or the other. The opportunities to create a network in the world’s fastest growing market are thus boundless – more so because usually you find some or the other CEIBS alumni working at the these MNCs.
The above might sound like a pitch, believe me it is not. Though I can say, when you land at the campus for the very first time, with a set of pre-conceived notions about China and its culture, you are overwhelmed! Having this in mind, I decided to come a month before to attend the School organised Chinese language pre-course for international students. I can easily say that it was one of the best decisions I made. The course was an appropriate mix of the language technicalities with the cultural experience wherein we were taken to places like the Watertown, Museum, Local market, etc. to give us a hands-on experience of being in China and getting comfortable. We were taught basic Chinese language which we tested in these excursions outside the campus and the many-many parties we had 😊
This was a soft landing which I needed to realize the openness of the Chinese people and its culture. It gave me a chance to develop friendships (with Internationals & Chinese) and explore Shanghai – which is very difficult with the pace of the MBA. All I can say is – This program is one of the best in Asia not only academically as the course structure is modeled on the much-famed Harvard Case study model, but also because of the care the school takes to make sure you don’t drop onto hard ice rather it gives you the avenue to land on water and come up to float before it equips you for final lap!
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Making the decision to want to pursue an MBA is easy. Making the decision WHERE to pursue the MBA is a lot more difficult. Believe me, I have been there. What is more important – school ranking or program? How about the environment, does it make a difference in which country the school is located? All these thoughts were running through my mind about a year ago… After extensive research and determining that a combination of competitive school ranking and a thriving environment like China was the right combination for me, I applied at CEIBS in Shanghai.
As I am writing this review, I am sitting in my dorm room and can happily say that I got admitted and started my MBA journey about 8 weeks ago.
I would like to mention a few points that convinced me in the end that CEIBS is the right choice for me. First of all it is the #1 business school in Asia, and #11 worldwide (2017 FT ranking), for anyone who is concerned about the ranking aspect. More important to me was though, that CEIBS offers an exchange semester to almost all well-known business schools around the world (INSEAD, Wharton, LBS etc.). Coming to CEIBS, not only gives you the opportunity to experience studying and working (3 month internship) in China but in addition you can participate in the exchange and live in Singapore, Japan, the US, many countries in Europe like France, Spain, UK, Italy etc for three months. So if you are looking for an international MBA experience – you should come to CEIBS!
CEIBS offers a Chinese pre-course that I can highly recommend for everyone, who doesn’t speak Mandarin yet. The course is scheduled for 4 weeks and a great opportunity to already get to know some of your classmates and develop a very basic understanding of the language. I was positively surprised how much you can learn in just four weeks and how much fun it is to try to apply what you have learned in the real world, e.g. taking a cab or bargaining in a shop. Another huge advantage of arriving early for the pre-course is that you can already make yourself familiar with the surroundings and explore Shanghai a bit before the actual classes start.
Classes so far are quite demanding; the professors are not shy to overwhelm you with case studies and team reports. What I have learned from talking to the previous class is, term 1 and 2 are the most challenging. In term 3 you are able to choose from several electives and there will be more flexibility. CEIBS has quite a few international students, the majority of the student body is not surprisingly Chinese though. The MBA office tries to create very diverse teams, most likely there will be up to three different nationalities in your groups.
Please let me know, if you have specific questions that I didn’t touch on and I would be happy to answer those.
CEIBS offers a CDC (career development program), that supports you in finding an internship and later on a job. They organize job fairs and many networking events.
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Coming to CEIBS was by far the best decision I made. As someone who has always been extremely optimistic about China's role and position in the world economy, I was interested in learning about the country, its culture, and its way of doing business. CEIBS offered the perfect soft landing in China that I could hope for. With its vast and influential alumni network, I have seen that there is possibly no door that one cannot open in the China. The faculty has an ideal mix of international and Chinese professors that gives us a unique business understanding with 'China Depth and Global Breadth'.
Moreover, being at the best school in any region, and especially an important one like China, has added advantages. For instance, the face time one gets to have with the C-Level executives that visit CEIBS from companies such as Unilever, Linkedin, Hilti, etc. Not to mention, all the top companies that recruit from the school. Depending on the role and the company, jobs can have a requirement for fluency in Mandarin sometimes. However, there are plenty of opportunities for non Mandarin speakers at MNCs having their APAC HQs in China and Chinese companies going international.
To sum it up, I can say that for anyone who is even slightly adventurous and interested in doing business in the East, CEIBS is the place to be. Highly Recommended!
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As a second year MBA student at CEIBS, I would like to share my own experience studying at CEIBS , to help you be better informed when making your own life-changing B-school decision.
Before jumping to talk about my experience at CEIBS, I’d like to emphasize that it’s vitally important to think about your motivation(s) of pursing a MBA degree, since a MBA is quite expensive not only in money term, but also in terms of the opportunity cost. Think about what you could achieve in your career and how far you could go without “suspending” your career for almost 2 years. Some of my friends have been promoted or landed a perfect job in another industry without a MBA degree, and they do not have any plan to do a MBA. So I would say MBA is not for anyone, and you have to decide whether it’s for you.
Ok, no more cliché.
CEIBS MBA is an 18-month full-time program with around 200 intakes every year . Compared with most US b-school whose MBA programs are 22 month, CEIBS’ program is shorter and more condense. Compared with most European b-schools’ 10-13 month MBA program, CEIBS program has a 3 month summer internship period. Several years ago, CEIBS started to offer a 12 month option for those who will return to previous employer after graduation. But still, most students choose the 18 month option. Normally the program starts at early August, and finishes at April the year after next.
CEIBS separate the whole 18 month into 8 terms. The first four terms are mostly core courses. The first two to three are most intensive. I still remember many groups stayed up to 2-3 o’clock in midnight to finish the group work. Starting from term three, we could choose electives. In term four, there’s a so called “Integrated China Strategy Project” , where you form a team of 5-6 people to do a real-life consulting project for one of 30+ companies based on your own preference and your bidding score. My ICSP was to help an US medical devise company come up with an e-commerce strategy in China. It was a great learning experience for me, not only from an industry perspective, but also from an perspective in terms of how to interact with clients. In term 5 and 6, normally we start the summer internship. In term 7, 1/3-1/2 of CEIBS MBA would go for an overseas MBA exchange. CEIBS offers great opportunities for students who would like to go for an exchange. To just name a few, every year, CEIBS offers about 10 slots on Insead, 10 on IESE, 7-8 on LBS. For top US b-schools, 2-3 on Wharton, 3-4 on Kellogg, 2-3 on Chicago and etc. Starting from the exchange term, full time recruitment season starts. CEIBS has a really strong career development team and everyone would be assigned to a career consultant from day 1. You could basically talk with any consultant, but your assigned consultant has the responsibility to guide you through all the milestones, such as completing your career goals , submitting your CV, and etc. Starting from last year, there’s a big trend at CEIBS that increasing number of start-ups are looking for MBAs at CEIBS, while the biggest portion still go to non-Chinese multinational companies.
But the portion of MBA graduates choosing to go to Chinese MNCs such as Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu and JD is also rapidly increasing. I expect it will soon overtake the percentage of non-Chinese MNCs. And this is also a reflection of global economy, where Chinese companies, especially start-ups are propelling China’s GDP growth.
To sum up, I believe CEIBS is a great choice if you’re interest in learning deep knowledge on China or even thinking of working in China afterwards , while at the same time having a global perspective. Besides, Shanghai is a such a lovely city that you will fall in love once you ever lived here.
Hope my sharing could be of any help.
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Thanks for sharing this. I am very interested in applying to this college and working in China for a few years. I have a few questions that I hope you can answer:
- What fraction of the class would be non-East Asian?
- How necessary is knowledge of Mandarin before you join? I doubt people can learn such a difficult language within 18 months.
- How are the placements for non-Chinese students in China? What is the average package offered?
Hi atulsunilanand,
To answer your questions:
Q1-The percentage of non-Chinese students ( including students from mainland China, HK and Taiwan ) varies from batch to batch. But generally speaking, it's about 1/3 for each batch. In terms of Non-East Asian students, the percentage would be around 20%-25%, considering our batch have 10 students from South Korea, and 2 from Japan.
Q2-Few if there's any international students could speak even basic mandarin before MBA. So CEIBS has pre-MBA language course for every batch. Most international students would choose the pre-course as a good opportunity to learn Chinese and also mingle with peer students. Besides, CEIBS also requires non-mandarin speaker to pass a mandarin test before graduation. But don't worry. I heard the test is pretty easy.
Q3- For the job placement for non-Chinese students, from what i know, a big proportion would choose to work in consulting departments of big MNCs in China, such as Bayer, Ford, Baxter and etc, where English is used for daily work within the department, and some would choose Leadership Programs designed for MBAs. If I remember correctly, for my previous batch, an American student and a Spanish student choose Alibaba Global MBA Program, where they stated to work in Hangzhou( where Alibaba's headquarter is located) , and then have several international rotations including their home countries. And some would leverage the international exchange opportunity to land a job in a target country. CEIBS has career resources sharing agreement with Insead, IESE and Harvard. In terms of salary, generally speaking, the average starting annual salary is around 80-100 K USD ,without PPP adjusted. Considering the tuition fee is more of less half of that for a US top b-school, I would say it's an investment with pretty good ROI. :)
Steven
Hi Steven,
Thanks for a detailed review! One question - how intensive is the MBA in terms of daily work. You mentioned people staying up until 2-3 o'clock? What a typical day looks like? (morning 'til evening?)
Also, how big is the focus on China itself? From what you mentioned it seems to be pretty big? i.e. how much have you learned about China, Chinese business environment and doing business there?
Thanks!
Mike
Hi,
Thanks for the detailed insight into CEIBS. It was really helpful.
can you please share some insights into the resources that will help me accelerate my career in marketing especially marketing analytics.
Also how are the career prospects to work in Singapore post MBA
Regards
Swati
Thanks for the post. I am from Asia and interested in pursuing an MBA. Though my preferences were USA and Canada, yet after reading this I think I should enlarge the list of my preferences.