At Pre-MBA Boot Camp, International Students Get the Business in Shanghai

This article is sponsored by CEIBS. Learn more about CEIBS’s course offerings.

Are you ready for an MBA? If you’ve spent the past few years pursuing a career in business or studied accounting as an undergrad, you may feel confident about your prospects. But what if you haven’t? What if you are one of the many non-traditional MBA students with a liberal arts background? What if you studied philosophy instead of finance?

Pre-MBA students with liberal arts backgrounds are often called ‘poets’ (traditional MBA students are sometimes called ‘quants’). Poets considering an MBA can often be anxious in the run up to an MBA. Even those who can tell an income statement from a balance sheet can benefit from preparation. After all, who doesn’t benefit from preparation?

That’s one reason business boot camps have become so popular. These short, intensive programs are usually offered for a few weeks in the summer and can cost thousands of dollars. Yet for pre-MBA students considering a summer boot camp, CEIBS offers a shorter, less expensive program.

The China Europe International Business School – to give it its full name – offers a one-week boot camp for around US$1,000 (exclusive of airfare), providing four-star accommodation, meals, courses and business visits:

“Other programs are revenue earners for other business schools,” says Roy Chason, CEIBS’s senior manager for admissions and marketing, “Our Summer Pre-MBA Boot Camp has a very different objective – we actually subsidize most of the cost of the program. It’s designed to give those who are not familiar with Asia, Shanghai, or the MBA experience at a top-tier school an opportunity to ‘test-drive’ what the program is about before they make a decision.”

Last summer’s boot camp boasted near gender parity, with women making up 49% of participants – who numbered close to 60 in total. They spent an intensive week listening to lectures and observing business decisions where they happen. For many of them, the camp also served as an introduction to Shanghai, with over half of the pre-MBA cohort consisting of international students, from a total of 22 countries.

We spoke to Chason to learn more about the CEIBS Summer Pre-MBA Boot Camp, the advantages of preparation and why you should study in China.

Did you have many students last year from non-traditional backgrounds and would you specifically recommend your program to such students?

Yes of course, our MBA is very attractive to students from non-traditional backgrounds. An extremely diverse range of industries is represented at CEIBS, due to China’s large and diversified economy. For example we recently graduated a doctor from the Red Cross who went on to launch his own healthcare startup.  In addition, professionals from almost any background find that China is a critical market because of its huge number of consumers and virtually endless opportunities.

In addition to an exposure to your MBA program, your business boot camp offers a chance to spend time in Shanghai. What challenges are faced by international students coming to China for the first time? 

I would say the challenge of not enough time and too many things to do - this is the most dynamic city in the world from my perspective.  Shanghai today is very easy to acclimatize to, although this was not always the case.  When I first studied in China in 1996, we had about two hours of hot water a day and stood in line to take a shower at the dorms. Fast forward to 2015, and Shanghai is one of the most modern, safe, and international cities in the world – the quality of life enjoyed by expats here is high, and the city offers modern infrastructure, entertainment, and safe and convenient public transportation. The CEIBS campus is world class, surrounded by a thriving expat community. Business boot camp members stay in newly built four-star equivalent executive suites in our new wing.

What advice would you offer international students preparing for the experience of living in Shanghai?

I would say keep an open mind to new experiences. Adjusting to Shanghai is not difficult due to its international nature and dynamism, but it still requires the willingness to adapt and be flexible. While not necessary, learning some Mandarin either before you arrive or while you are here, will give you an advantage when it comes to making the most of your experience.

Can you tell me a bit about some of your more popular classes and opportunities last year?  

Our most popular courses in the Summer Pre-MBA Boot Camp include David Gosset’s ‘Global Mega-Trends’. Gosset often gives a new and fresh perspective about China's place in the world, and he often prefers to refer to emerging markets as ‘Cribs’ with a big ‘C’ for China, rather than the traditional BRICs formulation – which is almost a misnomer. Jeff Sampler’s course on ‘Strategy in the Digital Age’ always manages to surprise participants and explains how the traditional Porter five forces model may no longer be relevant in today’s new economy.

In your brochure, one student mentioned visiting nearby companies to gain a ‘better understanding of the business ecosystem.’ Can you tell me a bit about some of the companies students in the boot camp visited and what they did there?

We had a total of four company visits with each participant visiting two companies (we divided them into two groups of 30). The first day, participants had a choice between JD.com [or Jingdong Mall and formerly known as 360Buy] and Shanghai Port. JD.com is China’s equivalent of Amazon, where students had the opportunity to observe the company’s huge logistics facilities near Shanghai. The Shanghai Port visit provided the other group with a peek at how logistics works in one of the world’s largest shipping ports. 

On the second day, half of the participants visited A.T. Kearney where they were lectured on innovation in China by a senior partner – to discuss whether China can transition from a ‘copycat’ economy into an innovation-led economy. The others went to Morningside [a private investment group headquartered in Shanghai], where they received a lecture from one of the partners on investing in Chinese firms and also, successful exits.

Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

This July in Shanghai, four lectures will be offered: ‘Economic Crises and Long Term Growth in Asia’, ‘Marketing Dynamics in China’, ‘Global Mega-Trends’ and ‘Achieving your Leadership Potential’. Students will also enjoy four company visits. During the Pre-MBA business boot camp, they will visit companies that work in venture capital and consulting along with two multinational companies focused on fast-moving consumer goods. CEIBS is also hoping to offer an additional visit - to Baosteel - to see their steel operations alongside trips to one of Shanghai’s newest museums.

According to Chason, CEIBS also plans, “a variety of career coaching activities, alumni sharing, on-campus cultural workshops, and a welfare dinner at the Bund area of Shanghai’s waterfront.”

For more information about the Summer Pre-MBA Boot Camp at CEIBS, please contact Mr Kan Yang.

This article is sponsored by CEIBS