March 18, 2020. Shanghai – CEIBS President (European) Dipak Jain today spoke via webinar with students from the MBA 2020 and 2021 cohorts about how to best manage adversity. Prof. Jain was joined by MBA Programme Director Juan A. Fernandez, Administration Director Ma Ning and Assistant Directors Jennifer Zhao and Steven Ji.

In his address, Prof. Jain stressed that although everyone around the world is facing the same situation, it is how we react that will define our individual outcomes. “We live under the same sky but we seem to have different horizons,” he said.

Prof. Jain also shared his personal experiences while dealing with uncertainties following the 9/11 terrorist attacks (2001), SARS outbreak (2003) and Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004), where his efforts in managing the response to these crises made it possible for his students to emerge from the situations with minimum losses. He said that, through his experiences, he has learnt that people who do best in times of crisis are the ones who have their feet on the ground. As such, he added, it is imperative that we do not lose touch of reality. Prof. Jain further reassured the students that their health and safety is school’s foremost concern at this point and called for their co-operation in these trying times.

Administration Director Ma Ning then updated the students on the measures that school is taking to ensure the smooth delivery of courses, such as moving lectures online and rescheduling overseas electives.

Assistant Director of the Career Development Center Jennifer Zhao also reassured students that the school has been very proactively reaching out to alumni and recruiters to secure career opportunities for the students. The CDC is currently preparing to host career fairs in Beijing, Shenzhen, Ningbo and Hangzhou. The events will be followed by networking sessions with executive search firms and Chinese enterprises and CDC consultants have already reached out to over 250 employers. In addition, CEIBS President Li Mingjun has asked the Chairman of the CEIBS Alumni Association to make student job placements one of their primary responsibilities.

Finally, Prof. Jain encouraged students to show courage and patience in the face of adversity. “No challenge ahead of you is greater than the force behind you,” he added.

This was followed by a Q&A session wherein Prof. Jain directly addressed questions from students and also welcomed their suggestions.