April 26, 2021. Shanghai – The CEIBS-EHL joint Hospitality EMBA (HEMBA) has been officially certified as an EFMD Accredited programme. This latest accreditation comes in addition to the programme’s existing NECHE (New England Commission of Higher Education) certification, as well as the accreditation CEIBS has received from both EQUIS (EFMD Quality Improvement System) and AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business).

The EFMD programme accreditation system is an international programme certification system operated by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). It is widely recognized as one of the most thorough programme accreditation systems for business and/or management degrees and courses in the world. Furthermore, it incorporates four key values – respect for diversity, an international dimension, responsible management and connections with practice – as its main building blocks.

In January of this year, an EFMD accreditation panel conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the HEMBA programme. In addition to a review of the school and programme-related materials, the panel conducted in-depth interviews with representatives from the school and external companies, and students and alumni from the HEMBA programme. Following the review, the HEMBA programme was successfully awarded EFMD Accredited certification.

“Recent global developments have ushered in new opportunities for the post-pandemic era, and the service industry continues to provide new momentum for economic growth,” CEIBS Vice President and Dean Ding Yuan says. “CEIBS and EHL have taken the lead in launching the HEMBA programme to meet the needs of both economic transformation and service innovation. The EFMD accreditation attests to the strength of the programme under the cooperation of the two schools, and further demonstrates the spirit of CEIBS in exploring and keeping pace with the times.”

“In an era of uncertainty, business leaders urgently need forward-looking programmes to help companies transform and HEMBA achieves this by bringing together top faculty from CEIBS and EHL,” CEIBS Associate Dean (Europe) and HEMBA Programme Director Katherine Xin says. “The programme allows students to keep pace with the times and truly adapt to future economic developments by delivering an innovative curriculum combining cutting-edge global management concepts with Chinese business practices.”

The HEMBA programme combines core management courses and professional service industry courses. In addition, its design incorporates a series of outstanding leadership classes to cultivate leading talents for the pan-service industry. As part of the programme’s unique overseas modules, CEIBS’ Real Situation Learning Method (RSLM) integrates theoretical learning, service industry experience, special guest presentations, and company visits to create a new, innovative learning experience.

“Receiving the EFMD accreditation once again proves the influence of the concept of service excellence. At present, every industry needs to develop a service culture and develop service awareness,” EHL Associate Dean (Graduate Programmes) and HEMBA Programme Director Professor Achim Schmitt says. “HEMBA is dedicated to cultivating high-end service management talent and making service excellence a key competitive advantage for enterprises.”

About CEIBS-EHL Hospitality EMBA (HEMBA)

The Hospitality EMBA (HEMBA) is a joint programme offered by CEIBS together with Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), the number one hospitality management school in the world. The HEMBA curriculum combines core courses from the CEIBS EMBA programme together with professional courses aimed at upgrading the service excellence value chain. Established in 2017, the programme has trained nearly 200 entrepreneurs and executives from pan-service industries such as health, real estate, finance, education, communication, and manufacturing.