Saturday 28th September 2024: Flying in from all over China and the rest of the world, alumni from cohorts stretching back over 20 years (representatives of Classes 1999 to 2021) gathered at CEIBS Shanghai Campus to reunite, reflect and rekindle friendships new and old.
Welcoming them to the Global EMBA (GEMBA) Annual Reunion was GEMBA Administration Director Isa Luo, serving as the event’s MC, alongside the Programme Director and Associate Dean, Professor Bala Ramasamy, who reminded the assembled alumni of the importance of reconnecting with the school, while forging new connections with each other.
Welcome address by Prof. Bala Ramasamy, Associate Dean and Director of GEMBA Programme, CEIBS
On average GEMBA alumni come back at least four times a year. That’s gratifying for us on the school side to see, because it demonstrates how eager you are to return to CEIBS, to reunite with classmates but also to continue your learning journey with us. Furthermore, we really hope that you take every opportunity to connect with alumni from cohorts other than your own, because we are GEMBA, and together we achieve more.
A further welcome address came on behalf of CEIBS’ senior leadership, delivered by Vice President and Co-Dean Professor Zhang Weijiong, one of the longest-serving leaders of the school.
Welcome address by Prof. Zhang Weijiong, Vice President and Co-Dean of CEIBS
This annual alumni reunion is a special time for me. Whenever I see you gathered together, it reminds me of the foundation of the programme, and it makes me so proud to see how far we have come. Together, through the hard work and dedication of successive professors and literally thousands of students, we have created a programme that is ranked number 2 in the world. Together, we have created a platform dedicated to supporting your lifelong learning journey. Together, we have made a community, a family that is instinctively willing to support everyone within its membership. So, please remember that, and please keep coming back.
A Moment of Recognition
In his welcoming address, Professor Zhang acknowledged that the success of the programme would not be possible without the wholehearted support and active contributions of its current students and growing alumni community.
The next section of the reunion agenda was dedicated to recognising and celebrating those whose personal efforts have elevated the Global EMBA programme.
Such individuals repeatedly contribute their time, expertise and resources. They recommend exceptional candidates to our programme, working hand-in-hand with the GEMBA Office and CEIBS Faculty to arrange visits to their companies. They lead workshops and sharing sessions, spreading their knowledge far beyond their own classroom. Many actively participate in student clubs, Class Committee Teams, charitable events and other fundraising activities. They also support the school’s development and research initiatives through donations or by assisting professors in developing case studies. They help us interview applicants to ensure a high-quality, diverse cohort—and so much more. In short, they lend their strength to the GEMBA programme however and whenever they can.
With more than 1,200 such contributions and over 100 GEMBA Alumni Ambassadors, there was hardly enough time to celebrate everyone’s individual accomplishments. However, the following 10 outstanding alumni were singled out for their respective contributions.
2023 GEMBA Alumni Ambassador Awards
Programme Updates – What’s Next for GEMBA?
Professor Bala then gave a brief overview of how the GEMBA programme is looking ahead, specifically with a view to maintaining what differentiates itself from other business school offerings.
Initially, GEMBA stood out by virtue of offering an English language EMBA in China. However, this cannot be the only thing that differentiates us from other programmes. Our truly invaluable, truly unique offering is giving students a genuinely global mindset. To maintain that offering, we must always be able to consistently provide an educational environment where we think and explore globally in such a natural way that language does not matter, only the mindset.”
Highlighting several changes and updates to the programme offering, the professor stated the need for GEMBA to keep pace with an increasingly discerning global education market, resulting in more global modules, more location-based experiential learning, and greater flexibility for students to balance their academic, professional and personal lives.
GEMBA alumni enjoying their reunion at the campus
In 2024, GEMBA students will have global module options in 23 destinations worldwide. This expanding roster of locations will continue to reinforce the global relevance of the programme by giving access to different economies, business cultures and emerging hotspots for the latest developmental trends.
Not forgetting the alumni community side of the programme, the professor highlighted the expanding range of GEMBA student clubs, which now numbers 9, representing 2,000 active members and hosting 40 events in the past year.
These clubs are a lynchpin for the wider GEMBA community, providing platforms for forging deeper friendships and business connections based on mutual interests, as well as relevant knowledge transfer and wider learning opportunities. As such, expanding the range and membership of student clubs is an outcome supported by the GEMBA Office and the school wherever possible.
GEMBA Community at a glance
Partisan Politics and Silver Economics
Alongside the celebratory and administrative elements of the reunion, the agenda also contained two engaging lectures that perfectly encapsulated the overall theme of how a global mindset can better equip a business leader to anticipate and adapt to rapidly changing conditions within their industry and beyond.
The morning lecture – U.S. Partisan Policies on China and Post-Election Scenarios of China-U.S. Relations – was delivered by the Director of International Political Studies at the National Institute for Global Strategy Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (NIGS-CASS), Dr. Zhao Hai. In it, Dr. Zhao outlined the importance of understanding US domestic politics in the context of the upcoming presidential election in November.
Lecture by Dr. Zhao Hai, Director of International Political Studies at the National Institute for Global Strategy Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (NIGS-CASS)
Mapping out the respective election scenarios and resultant policy directions likely to be embraced by a Democrat or Republican administration, Dr. Zhao provided invaluable insights into the potential shape of future US-China relations, and how companies might prepare for the risks and opportunities associated with either outcome.
Lecture by Prof. Lingling Zhang, Associate Professor of Marketing, CEIBS
The afternoon lecture – Turning Silver into Gold: Is the Silver Economy the Next Blue Ocean? – came from CEIBS’ own Associate Professor of Marketing, Lingling Zhang. Given the inevitable aging of China’s population, the economic status, purchasing behaviour, emotional and psychological traits, and cultural habits of China’s elderly people will assume greater influence over the wider economy, not to mention the success or failure of individual companies. In her lecture, Dr Zhang presented a comprehensive overview of how companies can strategically position themselves to capitalise on the expanding silver economy, potentially transforming it into the next blue ocean of opportunity.
Looking back on 30 Years of CEIBS – Looking forward to a further 30
This year’s annual GEMBA Annual Alumni Reunion recognised another milestone, celebrating 30 years since the school’s founding.
With living links to the earliest days of both institutions, all attendees were better able to benchmark how they have progressed and evolved. From a single cohort in a niche programme at a very young school, to a thousands-strong community sharing a globally recognised platform of academic excellence and innovation, none can doubt that GEMBA has gone from strength to strength.
We hope that everyone in attendance thoroughly enjoyed the social, academic, informative and celebratory sides of this very special reunion. As the professors said, there is always a reason to keep coming back, to keep the connections between fellow alumni strong, and keep exploring the future as a community.
Together, we achieve more!
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The End
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