Life @ China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

Videos, articles and news from students and alumni at CEIBS.  Designed to give you an insight into life on CEIBS campus, our student clubs and developments in our Alumni community

Renovated CEIBS Corona Student Lounge now open

Thursday 14th January, Shanghai. The three Student Lounge committee leaders, Devon Nixon MBA2008 (Student Lounge Founder), Kunal Daga MBA2016 and Jeffrey Tchui MBA2017 stood laughing while sharing memories of CEIBS over a cold brew from the recently installed draft beer machine with compliments of ABinBev through efforts made by Aldenizio Santos Berra MBA2017 and Stella Sun MBA2017. This year's committee led by Jeffrey Tchui believes that prestigious institutions such as CEIBS should have facilities to encourage the development of the Mind, Body and Spirit. At CEIBS, "we already have the world-class learning spaces and a Library for the MIND, a multifunctional gymnasium and soccer pitch to help students develop their BODY, and now the next generation of student Lounge to further improve the CEIBS SPIRIT." Building from the momentum of massive improvements made by Eduardo Vianna, Kunal Daga and the MBA 2016 class, the committee developed and delivered a self-funded renovation plan in collaboration with ABinBEV, hosting the launch party of the 'CEIBS Corona Student Lounge' on the evening of Thursday 14th. Designed with 3Rs (Resonance, Recreation and Rejuvenation) in mind, students flocked to the renovated Lounge, with the open bar area, refurbished CEIBS pool table and foosball games proving particularly big hits amongst the student body. Many saw the interior design of the lounge as the biggest improvement, now equipped with ambient lighting, digital signage, TV and projector screens and contemporary furniture. "Build it and they will come, design it and they will stay. But we really could not have done it without all the efforts from all parties involved, the MBA office, Logistics, IT and Student Leadership." -Jeff Tchui Supported by the launch of the Lounge's official WeChat App, the Committee foresees a busy schedule for the lounge with beer/wine tasting, club events, cinema evenings and game nights shows all on the cards for future events.

Check out the video here:

http://en.ceibs.edu/node/5637

CEIBS Alumni Hemanth Kumar Venugopal

Hemanth Kumar Venugopal is a co-founder of Wishary, a digital media and e-commerce business. After graduating from CEIBS, Hemanth partnered with some CEIBS classmates to launch the company's innovative online shopping platform in India, China, and Korea. Before beginning his MBA studies Hemanth worked as a software developer and project manager for a logistics company. His experience at CEIBS inspired him to make the transition to entrepreneur in Asia's fast-moving and lucrative digital market.

http://www.ceibs.edu/images/mba/candidate/2015/03/13/56322B4A57E9C460E6C8449EBBEC49B4.pdf


2016 CEIBS MBA Recruitment Fair Draws Record Crowd

http://en.ceibs.edu/node/5620

CEIBS Alumni stories - Ranjeeta Rai

Ranjeeta Rai is a Regional Category Manager at Henkel, one of the world's largest household chemical products companies. Many people are familiar with Henkel's consumer goods brands such as Persil, Schwarzkopf, Purex, and Fa. After earning a degree in psychology and media/communications, Ranjeeta worked in Human Resources for multinational companies such as JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs. During her MBA studies at CEIBS she gained the confidence to make a career shift into a different industry and function.

http://www.ceibs.edu/images/mba/candidate/2015/03/13/7EEB9144A40499F8056C3AD5A4B733C3.pdf

Ecosystem and the Network of Entrepreneurship in the US

Overseas Elective Programme at University of Virginia Darden School of Business - See more at: http://en.ceibs.edu/node/5590#sthash.iHdZ4hji.dpuf

http://en.ceibs.edu/node/5590

CEIBS Alumni stories -

Vijay Govind is our MBA2014 alumni, coming from the South Indian State of Kerala. Motivated by his fascination with China, Vijay moved to Shanghai in 2008 to take an IT position at a company in the finance sector. After nine years as an IT consultant he decided to pursue his MBA at CEIBS. After graduation, Vijay made a huge career leap into a new industry - he is now working for the Ford Motor Company as the APAC IT Strategy Manager.  Read more about Vijay's story:

http://www.ceibs.edu/images/mba/candidate/2015/03/13/FEA371A4062CDC4688CB10ED2F0DB577.pdf

Highlights from a workshop for international students seeking career opportunities in Shanghai after graduation

http://en.ceibs.edu/node/5941

CEIBS set to host international venture capital competition VCIC's East Asia regional finals  


http://en.ceibs.edu/node/5965

FT ranks CEIBS MBA #17 in world MBA programme rankings

http://en.ceibs.edu/node/5670

CEIBS celebrates female entrepreneurs in Shanghai

http://en.ceibs.edu/node/5974

Success, Struggle and Strength - Main Themes of the Year's First Indian Alumni and Career Mentors Meet By Yashasvi Nahata

On 12th March 2016, 'CEIBS Alumni - Indian Chapter' organised a Panel Discussion on Managing Businesses and Career Prospects for expats in China at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)'s Shanghai Campus. The panel comprised of esteemed corporate leaders - Rangarajan Vellamore, CEO at Infosys (China), GK Sukumar, Sr. VP at IBM China Global Delivery, Amit Waikar, Sr. VP-Sales APAC at Dhler Group and President of Indian Association Shanghai, and Ramesh Salagrama, Head of Program Management APAC at Fiat-Chrysler Group.

The discussion was moderated by Prof. Ramakrishna Velamuri - professor of entrepreneurship and academic director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Investment at CEIBS. The discussion commenced with opening remarks from each member. While Mr. Rangarajan described success in career building as the courage mustered from various failures, Mr. Sukumar stressed the importance of pushing out of one's comfort zone to develop this courage. Drawing from his personal experience, Mr. Ramesh illustrated how day-to-day problems can be tackled more efficiently by a structured problem solving approach and how this could go a long way in developing a successful career. Mr. Waikar took a pragmatic view, encouraging students to dream big and make the right connections to help realize those dreams.

Moving onto more tactical advice, Mr. Rangarajan demonstrated the value of being a subject matter expert, especially in China, and all members unanimously agreed on the importance of learning the language and imbibing in the local culture - not as a must have per se but as a good-to-have tool that reflects one's respect for the culture and in turn commands respect. They stressed that companies looking to hire international students in China are primarily seeking domain expertise with Chinese language skills as an attractive value addition. Mr. Waikar advised on choosing the right industry among the many 'shining stars' in China as China undergoes a tectonic shift from being a 'low cost' manufacturing centre to a 'high quality' innovation centre.

After an hour and a half of this engaging discussion, the floor opened to comments from students and Alumni. Rahul Bagde, Sr. Manager - APAC/JAPAN Fulfilment at Microsoft, commented that patience and perseverance are important in seeking the right career opportunities. Vijay Menon, AP IT Strategy & Communications at Ford (China), advised that sticking to one's domain expertise is essential to find a satisfying work profile in the long-run. Muthuraman Kathiresan, Consumer Insights Manager at AB InBev (China), emphasised on leveraging transferable skills to explore all possible career opportunities. Mayand Singh, Delivery Manager - Lincoln IT Program at Ford (China), remarked that students should tap into the Alumni network which is one of their biggest assets. Ananth Nagarajan, Business Model Innovation Manager at Baxter (China), steered the discussion towards entrepreneurial opportunities for Indians in China which attracted very keen interests from the panel. Panel members insightfully pointed that the breed of Indian entrepreneurs in China has moved away from a simple import-export trade to more technically intense services in catering to growing domestic demand in China.

The event also facilitated the launch of the Sino Indo Business Digest - a quarterly newsletter initiated by the organising team of CEIBS Alumni - India Chapter. Panellists mutually agreed for a need of such events in the future and for a stronger institutional bonding between CEIBS and their respective organisations in to symbiotically exchange business acumen and identify potential talent.

"Shanghai has a rich community of senior managers of Indian origin, working in both Western and Indian MNCs. The event presented an opportunity for our Indian students and alumni to interact with them, learn about medium to long term career planning, and obtain tips on which Asian countries and industries to focus on for job opportunities" said Prof. Ramakrishna Velamuri who also initiated the panel discussion. It was organised by student body comprising of MBA 2016 and 2017 students, namely - Karishma Choudhary, Kunal Daga, Sukhdeep Virk, Sushant Gupta and Yashasvi Nahata, with immense support from Verena Kohleick and Lee Zhang of CEIBS Alumni office.

CEIBS MBA student Yashasvi shares her thoughts on coming to China to study her MBA

Me: Mom, I got an offer from CEIBS in Shanghai and I think it'll be a good idea to accept it.

Mom: Shanghai? You mean China? What will you do in China? What will you eat there?

Any Indian who has studied at CEIBS or been in China for an extended time can probably relate to this conversation. Being cosseted by our families all our lives, it is a legitimate concern when we decide to pursue our careers in China - a world unbeknownst to most of us, more likely to feature in an oriental fable than become a part of our daily lives.

On the one hand there is our self-fulfilling perception of China and on the other there are facts which are often obscured by the former. We surveyed the CEIBS Indian Alumni and current Indian students to understand the extent of this gap and unmask the hard facts. An extremely closed culture, language barrier, food, and most of all limited job prospects after the MBA were the key concerns of the respondents before coming to CEIBS - based mostly on prior perceptions. It is interesting to note that after the CEIBS and China experience, 95% of the respondents reported that they either overcame most of the aforementioned challenges or corrected their perceptions after experiencing life in Shanghai first-hand. The only challenge that still remained for most respondents was the language barrier.

On the flip side, 97% of the respondents recognised the advantages of studying in China over India and other international cities. One of them remarked, "Developing a deep understanding of the Chinese culture and economy made my candidature unique". Unless one has been in China for an extended period, this understanding is difficult to develop and consequentially underrated. Objectively, equipped with a proven ability to work in China coupled with the journey of surmounting the various challenges, one is better prepared to face life's uncertainties and adapt to demanding circumstances. Ultimately, the inherent Indian ingenuity (read: Jugaad) when transferred to the China context, makes CEIBS a great launching pad for a long-term career.

Most of us fail to acknowledge that our drive coupled with our ingenuity can help us sail through China. Once this awareness dawns, we can tap into the vast opportunities and networks at CEIBS to find the job of our liking as many have done before. Keeping an open mind and accepting the Chinese culture is crucial to being accepted back - be it talking to taxi drivers in broken Mandarin or finding life partners. When one of the students went to fetch salt at a local store, he was handed cigarettes and now he quips jokingly that he has replaced salt with cigarettes. Eventually most of us come to discover salt substitutes, great food, and love the spirited Shanghai city. And now, my mother gets it too!

Yashasvi Nahata MBA2017

Dancing with Gorillas in India vs. China - CEIBS Associate Professor of International Business and Strategy Shameen Prashantham discusses entrepreneurial strategies in both countries

http://en.ceibs.edu/node/6937

CEIBS faculty visit Shanghai Greenland Shenhua Football Club to kick around ideas on the expansion of the club on and off the pitch

http://en.ceibs.edu/node/7098

CIEBS welcomes Swiss President to Shanghai campus following his State Visit to China

http://en.ceibs.edu/node/6826

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2016

http://en.ceibs.edu/node/6976

We welcome MNC tech giants KUKA, GE and SAP etc to discuss the challenges on China of adopting Industry 4.0 methods

http://en.ceibs.edu/node/7201

A big thanks to the MBA employers for providing so many fantastic opportunities to our students


http://en.ceibs.edu/node/7267

Top tips on climbing the corporate ladder from the former COO of Morgan Stanley Europe

http://en.ceibs.edu/node/7135