For Xiang Bing, seen here, professor of accounting and dean of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing, China, the success of the school rests on one factor: its faculty. And not just a faculty, but a world-class faculty with a strong research and teaching pedigree.
CKGSB has 28 full-time faculty, says Prof Xiang, another vital component of a successful school. Prof Xiang stresses commitment is paramount.
CKGSB was established in 2002 with funding from the Hong Kong philanthropist, Li Ka-shing, and with Prof Xiang at its helm.
Prof Xiang had experience of setting up a business school — he was one of the seven founding faculty members who established Ceibs in Shanghai and pioneered the EMBA and executive education programs at Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. So, from the outset, he had an idea of how he wanted CKGSB to develop. He planned to create something different, a new generation of business school, and feels that he has succeeded.
When setting up CKGSB, Prof Xiang said, ‘We are not trying to be a Harvard or a Ceibs. From the beginning, we decided to go way beyond the training institute model. We wanted to emphasize our knowledge generation.’
The school runs a small full-time MBA programme but the main focus is on the EMBA, with its 500 participants. A large percentage of the intake are either chairmen or chief executives, adds Prof Xiang, and this makes the teaching very challenging.
According to the Financial Times such senior students are used to dealing with complex issues. Consequently, they are demanding. They are aware of the opportunity costs: their studies are taking them away from their companies.
Everything CKGSB offers must be global, adds Prof Xiang. ‘If you don’t have a global view, you don’t understand China. You have got to have a global perspective; you have got to see the whole picture.’
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