The University of Hong Kong and Fudan University Master of Business Administration (International) program (HKU-Fudan IMBA program) is a long established educational brand with a history of 11 years.

Now, however, the Executive Stream of the program, first launched in September 2007, has just seen its first intake of students graduate.

Dr Benjamin Yen, the course's program director, said: "It is not only an important personal achievement for them, but also a critical milestone for the program."

Over the last two years, the program has been extended to include an executive component aimed at preparing future business leaders for senior management roles.

The curriculum has been enhanced in both breadth and depth. The variety and intensity of the courses have been increased, while both the core curriculum and the course options have been especially tailored to the needs of the sector.

The program's organizers have also sought to improve the coordination between the universities and the classes, enhance the connection between students and alumni and strengthen collaboration between the program and the business sector.

In addition to providing seminars and networking events, the organizers have also worked closely with students to establish several special interest groups.

Dr Yen said: "The one-week Hong Kong study tour program has been developed to include subgroups in finance, marketing and logistics/IT. These changes have been made accommodate the interests and needs of the student base."

Unforgettable study

Zhan Limin, a senior manager in the Shanghai textile industry and a recent graduate from the program, has a high regard for his two years of study there.

At the time he applied for the course, Zhan had just been appointed as a deputy director in the president's office of the Shatex Holding Group Corporation. After 10-years working in the Shanghai textile industry, his new position required him to look at a much bigger picture in terms of the company's development. Fortunately, he believes, he chose the right place to acquire the requisite skills and develop his competency."

He said: "Both students and faculty members worked hard to find innovative approaches to high-end management education. We were among the first groups to truly try something new."

Zhan sees his 700 days of campus life as giving him the opportunity to overcome his career logjam, but also as a time that has left him with a lasting legacy from his tutors and fellow students.

He said: "My time there was enormously useful. I really appreciate the program's understanding and caring approach to students and its emphasis on practicality.

"The school arranged an appropriately compact program structure for us and secured a series of highly reputable lecturers for the course. The workshops conducted in Hong Kong were also a great learning experience.

"The Executive Stream course is quite different from the weekly class model used in the General Stream program. The Executive Stream program is a module-based course, where students have four consecutive days of classes every month. I appreciated the modular teaching approach as it allowed knowledge to be acquired systematically on one hand, whilst maximizing our flexibility to organize our own work on the other."

The Executive Stream program has been designed for business executive with at least seven years work experience, at least three of them at a middle to senior management level.

This fitted perfectly with Zhan's motivation to apply for the program.

He said: "Initially, a number of my friends recommended the program to me. I was delighted that the program offered both an Executive and General Stream. I realized it was ideal for me and offered exactly what I wanted."

Unique opportunity

With a background in economics, Tao Yi, one of Zhan's fellow students, has been working in the chemical industry for the last 10 years.

She said: "After working for many years, I found it necessary to systematize my professional knowledge and enhance my management thinking."

After reaching this conclusion Tao decided on enrolling at the Management School of Fudan University. This followed a recommendation from a number of her colleagues. She was subsequently admitted as one of the first intake of students on the new program.

Tao said: "Compared with the General Stream, the Executive Stream sets a higher standard. Students are normally required to have more than seven years working experience. This means the Executive Stream students enjoy a peer network of people at a similar stage in their careers."

The Executive Stream model has also allowed the program organizers to tightly focus the curriculum on the needs of senior management. This has seen it offer such tailor made options as Entrepreneurship Practices and Financial Strategic Management.

Tao also confessed that she had been highly impressed by the quality of the faculty members supporting the course. Not only, she said, did the lecturers introduce cutting-edge business theories, they also incorporated topical themes into their teaching, considerably enhancing each student's learning experience.

Assessing the future potential of the program, Tao said: "Combining theoretical teaching with practical experience is very effective. I hope the HKU-Fudan IMBA team will continue to review the program and strive to promote relevance and timeliness as integral aspects of the course."

As one of the first joint programs initiated between the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao universities and approved by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, the IMBA program was formally established in 1998.

Together with students from a similar business background, leading academics from both universities have been utilizing their expertise and practical management skills to ensure the program represents the highest level of MBA education, combining the best of Western and Eastern educational practices.

(China Daily 11/09/2009 page6)