China’s rise gives EMBAs an Asian flavour

The rising power of China’s economy, the world’s second largest, means that business schools around the world are putting an Asian emphasis on their executive MBA programmes. Schools and universities in Europe and North America are seeking links with colleges in Asia, to add an Asian flavour to the courses they offer students who are keen to exploit the new opportunities in the east.

Schools taking part in the Executive MBA Council Conference in Singapore, which took place October 25 to 28, demonstrated a growing interest in forging links with Asia’s dynamic economies.

Håkan Ericson is managing director of the school of executive education at the school of business, economics and law at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg, which has a longstanding co-operation with Asian colleges, including Zhejiang University in Hangzhou and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

“We do exchanges,” Ericson says. “We exchange students, and we exchange professors. We have chosen to integrate this into our executive and day programme by sending our participants in groups of 20 to 25 for a 10-day residency. They go to Hangzhou and Shanghai for five days each. Sweden is a small economy which is highly dependent on trade and an openness to the world. We feel that acquiring a profound understanding of emerging markets is vital for any Executive MBA, and will continue to be so for many years.”

Ericson says the students relish the opportunity to experience Chinese business culture, and Chinese culture in general. “I went with a law cohort in April this year, and spent the whole 10 days with them,” he says. “They get to see Chinese faculty professors lecturing, and we also do field trips. We go to Chinese companies to understand how they operate, and find out how those operations might impact Swedish multinational companies, or Swedish local
companies.”

Ericson says that some of the students are entrepreneurs. “Our cohorts reflect the nature of regional business in Gothenburg. On the one hand, we have big companies producing cars, trucks, roller ball bearings, and pharmaceuticals. We have Volvo, which is now owned by Geely in Hangzhou, and AstraZeneca, the UK-Swedish pharmaceuticals company. On the other hand, we have medium-sized companies, and also some entrepreneurs. So we have a good blend.”