Peking University HSBC Business School recently announced that its full-time MBA Program will become an international MBA program taught in English beginning from fall 2016.
 
The market's demand for talent with global vision and international management ability is rapidly growing, and PHBS is reaching to meet that need. "The full-time English MBA program is a response to the call of our times and the natural result of PHBS's development," commented Professor Wei Cen, assistant dean of PHBS and the director of the MBA program. Further, he said that the full-time English MBA program distinguishes itself from other schools' MBA programs by its "local campus, international faculty and world-class curriculum."
 
With approval from the Ministry of Education and the State Council of P.R.C., the PHBS MBA program was begun 2011. Offering both full-time and part-time programs, MBA coursework provides students with a solid foundation in management, helping them to acquire management insights and learn effective management skills. So far, 51 students have graduated from the full-time MBA program while 57 students have graduated from the part-time MBA program.
 
Located in Shenzhen and adjacent to Hong Kong, a major trade hub and financial center, PHBS has a good understanding of the local economic and financial environment and needs for local talent. Many multinational corporations are located here. PHBS creates opportunities for its students to communicate with entrepreneurs and to get to know local enterprises. For instance, the school regularly invites well-known entrepreneurs in China to give optional courses, like "Enterprises and Entrepreneurs." Last year, entrepreneurs like Shaochun Xu, founder and CEO of Kingdee International Software Group, Lianming Bo, CEO of TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Ltd., and Haitao Jin, chairman of Shenzhen Capital Group were invited to the class to share with students their experience in starting a business, thoughts on corporate governance, and understanding of venture capital.
 
PHBS has over 50 full-time faculty with more than half from foreign countries. Many earned their doctoral degrees from well-respected overseas universities like University of Oxford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, and University of Sydney. Further, Chinese students have the opportunity to meet students at PHBS from other countries, as international students this fall number nearly 100.
 
Cen said that the program provides a world-class curriculum, covering the basic knowledge and professional skills of management, finance and economics. Developing students' leadership skills and decision-making capability is core, and each course aims at unlocking students' management potential, training their organizational skills, and developing their competence in the job market and the capability to start a business. The program also provides students with the opportunity to gain global study experiences through international exchange programs and short-term overseas study programs in partner business schools in other countries.
 
Applicants to the full-time English MBA program should have a clear career goal. Potential applicants include Chinese students who wish to receive international education or work in multinational corporations, or overseas students having global vision and wanting to learn about modern China or being interested in working in Asia. All these students can apply for the full-time English MBA program or the part-time Chinese MBA program. In terms of work experience, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan applicants must have at least three years of full-time work experience, and international applicants should have relevant work experience.
 
"In general, we want to recruit those students with the spirit of innovation and the willingness to learn," Cen said.
 
As the full-time MBA program will be conducted in English in 2016, the requirement for students' English language competence has been raised. Earlier this year, three groups of Chinese applicants took admission interviews in English, which assessed the applicants' communication skills, logical thinking and leadership abilities.
 
Na Mao, director of the MBA program office, said that in order to begin transitioning the program from Chinese to English, the program added courses like "Alternative Investment" taught by Erik Benrud and "Marketing Strategy" by Yeujun Yoon, delivered in English in 2015.
 
Cen said that the program's short term goal is to recruit more international students to diversify the full-time MBA student profile. Further, PHBS will continue to work with international schools to develop double-degree MBA programs and short-term joint-cultivation projects to strengthen PHBS's MBA brand and value.
 
"In the full-time English MBA program, Chinese students can learn about the world, and overseas students will be able to understand China well," Cen said.
 
Applicants can apply for the full-time English MBA program by going to the PHBS MBA Program website (for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan applicants, go to http://admission.pku.edu.cn/bm/ ,and international applicants please go to http://www.studyatpku.com/), which guides applicants through the process.
 
 
PHBS MBA OFFICE CONTACT INFORMATION
Room 113, PHBS, University Town, Xili, Nanshan,
Shenzhen, China, 518055
E-mail: mba-admission@phbs.pku.edu.cn
Phone: 0086-755-26032001, 0086-755-26032002
Website: http://mba.phbs.pku.edu.cn/

By Sheryl Shao