CKGSB Global MBA Program hosted an online International Exchange Program Information Session for students interested in learning more about its international exchange program. CKGSB cooperates with leading business schools around the world to provide the opportunity for MBA students to study in leading institutions overseas and develop a global vision. Three alumni, Allen Tian (class of 2017), Kate Yu (class of 2018) and Lucas Elettore (class of 2018), joined the session to share their experiences during their semester studying overseas. The international exchange program can give students a broader educational experience and bring the East Asia insights gained at CKGSB to a global stage.

BRINGING CKGSB TO CORNELL

Lucas Elettore completed his exchange program at Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business. For him, one of the most valuable parts of his experience at Cornell came from the living environment.

He remarked that in the living environment at Cornell, what felt like a global living environment, he was able to learn from the many different cultures around him. His ability to work effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds served him well during his participation in two case competitions. In one of these competitions, the Cornell University Emerging Markets Case Competition, several CKGSB students teamed up to take on 16 other teams from business schools around the world. Their many weeks of preparation was rewarded with 3rd place in the competition.

Lucas recalled, “We were able to form a very diverse team: Esen from China, Lucas from Argentina, Melissa from Singapore and Romain from France … Putting up our knowledge about Chinese history, we pitched our idea in 10 minutes to explain how the Chinese company given in the case was going to expand abroad and how to do business in China as well as deploying our expansion strategy”.

Lucas and the CKGSB team showed that the insights gained from the CKGSB MBA program can be applied anywhere in the world!

PURSUING WIDE RANGING INTERESTS

Kate Yu also completed her exchange at Cornell University. The change from living, working and studying in China to studying on the relatively isolated Cornell campus might have come as a shock for some. Kate, however, jumped right in and was able to take advantage of the ride range of opportunities available to her.She valued the diversity of experiences, including in academics, sports and campus activities that are all available to exchange students.

She remarked that, in the MBA coursework, nearly all business-related topics are covered through the wide variety of elective courses. Beyond these, exchange students can also attend courses from other schools such as the School of Hotel Administration – so students can pursue their interests in various fields. There are also many opportunities to participate in sports on campus. For example, there are over 100 different PE courses to choose from. Also, every year the Business School holds a big sports competition called the Ezra Games. You can see that the student community is young and dynamic! For Kate, the size of Cornell’s campus provided many different opportunities for her to pursue her interests.

When reflecting back on her time at CKGSB however, she compared the two programs saying, “CKGSB MBA takes in only 30-50 students each year, roughly one fifth of that in Cornell. That gives us more chance to interact with our classmates and build a deeper friendship”.

BECOMING PART OF A GLOBAL COMMUNITY

For most of Allen Tian’s MBA experience, he was on CKGSB’s Beijing campus where he focused on learning about business in China. When he participated in the international exchange program, he realized that the CKGSB MBA experience is more than just China. CKGSB is a gateway to the world.

Allen Tian did his exchange at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. He chose Ross because it is one of the most prestigious MBA programs globally. It has a large MBA program, and this size can also be of benefit to exchange students because there are many networking and career development opportunities.

Allen also shared that exchange life is not all about study. The University of Michigan is famous for its athletics, so you can enjoy a football game with your friends in the world’s largest stadium – The Big House. Coming from a background in non-profit education, Allen was able to satisfy his many curiosities in activities ranging from sustainable development to the arts, seminars to shows.

He said, “The exchange to Ross, University of Michigan, is one of my best experiences in CKGSB. I appreciate the chance that CKGSB Global MBA offered to students and it made my MBA experience even more diverse than I expected. Some other famous MBA programs have very few spots to exchange, though they have a bigger student group. So I would suggest you to take this precious opportunity to enhance your learning experience and enrich your personal life through exchange.”

Through the sharing of these three recent MBA graduates, we can see that the CKGSB MBA program is more than just learning about doing business in China. It is an opportunity to know the world and know yourself.

For students who are interested in studying overseas, CKGSB Global MBA Program has partner schools around the world, including at the University of California, Berkeley, Cornell University, Seoul National University, Waseda University, Indian School of Business, Queen’s University and many more!

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About CKGSB MBA Program

This accelerated English-language 14-month MBA program helps young professionals transform into global business leaders with a strong understanding of China and other emerging economies. Participants will tap into unique mentoring opportunities that will connect them to the Who’s Who of business in China as they learn from some of the best academics in one of the most dynamic markets in the world.