A Letter to CEIBS Global EMBA Alumni

Dear CEIBS Global EMBA Alumni,

Warm greetings!

As we make our way through spring, we would like to take this opportunity to look back on the past year and share some programme highlights moving forward. Last but not least, we would like to recognise the outstanding contribution that so many of our alumni have made to CEIBS and the Global EMBA programme over the past year and a half. Scroll down see a full list of alumni who have given their support to us this year.

The year 2020 was challenging for us all. From the pandemic’s early stages, the Global EMBA Programme Department has endeavoured to support our students and to adapt to the new situation as best we could. At the beginning of the pandemic, the Global EMBA Programme Department responded quickly and sent some essential supplies to students who were in the worst-affected areas of the pandemic. One of our top priorities was to ensure clear and transparent communication with our alumni, and the Department held four online meetings with students and alumni through the first half of 2020 to keep them updated on the situation. Meanwhile, the department provided access to Harvard's online learning resources for all Global EMBA students. Moreover, thanks to our collaboration with the Zurich and African campuses, online courses were offered from early April onwards.

After the COVID-19 situation stabilised in China, it was also possible to deliver face-to-face teaching sessions again from September. This mixed method of online/offline teaching required a great deal of coordination, preparation and patience from both the professorial staff and the Global EMBA students themselves. Ours was the first Global EMBA programme in the Chinese mainland to offer online courses, and the first in Asia to fully resume its offline courses.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global EMBA community has consistently demonstrated its sense of social responsibility, resilience, vitality and shared values, with all members of the community supporting and learning from one another at every opportunity. At the beginning of the pandemic, Global EMBA alumni quickly came together to organise fundraising events to support Wuhan. The Global EMBA Department worked closely with alumni to organise 11 "Connect & Learn" online events to allow students and alumni to continue their learning. The Connect & Learn initiative reached more than 1500 attendees, including both alumni and current students, from different countries and time zones, helping the Global EMBA community to maintain strong lines of communication while learning from each other.

This year, the Global EMBA Healthcare Club, the first industry club of its kind, was successfully launched thanks to the careful preparation of the club's core members and operation team. More than 100 alumni have joined the club and have already held several online and offline events.

Despite the formidable challenges that MBA programmes are facing across the world, CEIBS Global EMBA did not compromise on its rigorous admission requirements, and in December we were able to welcome a new Global EMBA class of 90 fantastic participants from 21 different countries and regions. The programme also received a record number of participants from Asia this year. We feel truly honoured that the programme ranked 2nd in the Financial Times list of top EMBA programmes worldwide in 2020. This is the highest ever ranking given to a single-school EMBA programme in Asia.

Led by the newly appointed Associate Dean and Director of the Global EMBA programme, Professor Bala Ramasamy, the programme will undergo a series of innovations in 2021. These include a diversification of teaching methods, such as the use of the Real-Situation Learning Method (RSLM) to strengthen the China depth & global breadth element of the experience. We also look forward to more high-calibre executives from across the world becoming part of our community and adding their knowledge, experience and unique insights to the programme.

All of these achievements were only possible due to the support and contributions made by our alumni. In the face of such unprecedented difficulties and challenges, CEIBS alumni and current students stood together, deciding as a community that they would not be discouraged, but instead would find new ways to innovate, explore new learning experiences and support one another at every turn.

The Global EMBA Programme Department would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere thanks to our alumni and students. In particular we would like to acknowledge our “Alumni Ambassadors” who have made a sustained and outstanding commitment across a range of areas.

CEIBS Global EMBA Department

April 30th, 2021

Public Profile Ambassador Award

The Global EMBA "Public Profile Ambassador Award" is given to alumni who devote their time, skills and knowledge towards strengthening the branding and communications of the programme. This is an essential contribution to the programme’s current and future health, since it ensures that the GEMBA message remains as relevant and impactive as possible. In turn, this boosts the presence and appeal of the programme, encouraging a higher quality of applicant, thus ensuring that future GEMBA classes will be populated by leading executives in any given field.

Business Development Ambassador Award

The Global EMBA "Business Development Ambassador Award" is given to alumni who devote their time, skills and knowledge to assisting the future development of the programme. This contribution can take many forms, from actively developing corporate relationships and opportunities for the community, to sharing their unique business insights and experiences with their peers in new and engaging ways. This ensures that the programme remains as relevant and attuned to the business realities of the wider world as possible.

CSR Ambassador Award

The Global EMBA "CSR award" is given to alumni who devote their time, skills and knowledge towards advancing the corporate social responsibility efforts and profile of the programme, and CEIBS itself. These alumni are instrumental in helping to deliver CSR-related projects and initiatives within their studies and outside of them. This is something close to the hearts of the school’s leadership, as CEIBS aims to be an increasingly prominent activist in the CSR arena, giving back to society wherever and whenever possible.

Admission Ambassador Award

The Global EMBA "Admission Ambassador Award" is given to alumni who devote their time, skills and knowledge to actively supporting the programme’s admission function. One of the fundamental strengths of the CEIBS GEMBA is that its students are consistently of the highest possible calibre, representing the best of their respective industries and fields. As recommenders, alumni actively refer new participants to apply to join the next GEMBA intake. As interviewers, alumni lend their invaluable insight to this crucial process, ensuring that every student admitted has plenty to offer their peers and will prove an asset to the class overall.

Ambassador Excellence Award

The Global EMBA "Ambassador Excellence Award" is given to alumni who make a tangible difference or impact to the GEMBA programme and wider CEIBS alumni community. This is an essential contribution to ensuring the programme’s ongoing sustainable development. In this way, alumni strengthen the community's sense of cohesion by creating new opportunities for members to enhance their CEIBS experience, raise their sense of belonging, and deepen the influence of GEMBA alumni community overall.

Besides the award winners above, we would also like to extend our appreciations to following alumni for their contribution to the Global EMBA community in the year of 2020. (in alphabetical order)