Source: Lingnan College
Written by: Lingnan College
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On June 16, 2017, the Deans of ESADE Business School, the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and Sun Yat-sen University’s Lingnan (University) College in China met in Barcelona for the Graduation Ceremony of the inaugural class of their joint Master’s program: the MSc in Global Strategic Management. They awarded diplomas to 58 new graduates from a wide range of backgrounds, 14 different nationalities (37% from Europe, 34% from North America and 25% from Asia) and an average age of 23 years. The programme, which is the result of an alliance between the three academic institutions, targets recent college graduates. It is designed to train future executives to manage the complexities of the global business environment by drawing upon rich exposure to North American, European and Asian perspectives.

A true global model

"The global business environment is becoming more complex and interconnected than ever”, commented Josep Franch, Dean of ESADE Business School. “New multinational companies are increasingly demanding young executives with an international outlook, who are capable of successfully implementing global strategies and managing diverse multicultural teams”, he said. In response to this trend, “our three schools work closely together with an aim to train future business leaders who can meet society’s demands with excellent global acumen and cultural awareness”, noted Jun Lu, Executive Dean of Lingnan (University) College. “This program and our first graduates should serve as a true global model”, asserted Carl Zeithaml, Dean of the McIntire School of Commerce.

"This first year has proven the success of bringing together participants from a wide range of cultures–working in teams and doing fieldwork in different regions of the world”, commented Mr. Franch. “It has broadened their understanding of the world’s different cultural and social realities; while the program has also fostered a common ‘culture’ among the group”, he said. “Students have had an exceptional opportunity to be immersed in three different cultures and business environments to develop academic and professional abilities, which will be a valuable asset to their future careers”, Mr. Lu added.

"Commerce can be a tremendous catalyst for bringing people together in positive, productive ways”, said Mr. Zeithaml. “I truly believe that, through programs which create real, thoughtful, and meaningful engagement with other people, we can build not only better businesses, but a better world”.
One programme, two degrees and three continents

This dual master’s program consists of four months at the top-ranked University of Virginia; two months in Guangzhou, at one of China’s top universities; and four months at ESADE’s Barcelona campus. The program allows students to experience the cultural immersion of living on three different continents over the course of an academic year while being surrounded by students from different cultures and professional fields. Students enrolled in the master’s programme receive an M.S. in Global Commerce from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, a Certificate in International Business from Lingnan (University) College and an MSc in Global Strategic Business from ESADE.

Find out more about the programme:
http://www.lingnan.sysu.edu.cn/mib/