Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management hosts one of the university’s 28 programs where courses are offered in English. It’s the Tsinghua-MIT Global Masters of Business Administration (MBA) Program. The program offers what it calls four core modules to its students – Analytical Foundation, Management Fundamentals, Soft-Skills and China and the World. Students are also free to choose amongst 9 tracks of elective courses or an exchange semester abroad in one of the 58 exchange partner schools in 26 different countries. Students can also apply to spend their second year at one of dual degree program partner schools including MIT Sloan School of Management, Columbia University and HEC Paris.
When asked about their program, three students interviewed for this profile were unanimous: the element that they like best about the program is its diversity, with MBA candidates not just from other countries but from many previous employment backgrounds and cultures.
「At Harvard (in the United States), they like to say how diverse they are, but really people mostly came from the same background, just from different countries, they probably did the same things growing up, excelling in the same things,」 said Tian Zeng, a first-year Chinese MBA student who is a Harvard alumnus in comparative literature. 「But here, people not only come from different countries, they also had different careers and did things I wasn’t familiar with, so it’s a very interesting mix of people.」
Tian worked for a Hollywood talent agency and in the movie industry before deciding to come back to China. The film industry is in a transition, he says, so he decided to take a break, giving him a chance to get a new degree.
Tian Zeng’s overall impression of the program is that the students in the program have different skills, so sometimes it is challenging for the professors to teach in ways that interest the entire class.
German student Moritz Bartsch is also a first-year, having just started the program in the Fall of 2018. He is very enthusiastic about China and the Chinese culture. Moritz decided to pursue an MBA to develop his soft skills in communicating with people better. After receiving a science degree at Oxford University and working in software development in London, he admitted that he lacked those people skills.
「Having this international class of half Chinese and half International students challenges you in a non – class situation, as well to develop some intercultural skills that I wouldn’t have developed in Europe or America,」 said Moritz.
Born to a Syrian father and a Hungarian mother, Olga Kasabdji from Venezuela is definitely one of the program’s more culturally diverse students. Having worked in the event planning industry and also in the product design sector, she wanted to further develop her business skills.
Recently married, she and her husband were interested in experiencing China AND Chinese culture. They both decided to go back to school and, fortunately, they both got accepted in Tsinghua Masters programs, her in the Global MBA program and him in the International Master in Engineering Management (IMEM). 「We both got in, same year and both (programs) last two years, so perfect,」 she said.
The MBA program has a class committee that tries to bring people from different backgrounds and ethnicities together. They even have a 「weekly blind date」 system which randomly pairs a Chinese student and an international student to allow them to bond outside of their usual groups and discover each other’s culture.
All three students interviewed say the program brings a new perspective to them and helps to shape their minds in a more business-oriented direction. The career development opportunities offered to these MBA candidates at a top international university such as Tsinghua are a big draw. But upon arrival, the students discover so much more about global education.
清華大學經濟管理學院開設的清華-MIT全球工商管理碩士（Tsinghua-MIT Global MBA）項目是清華目前在辦的28個全英文授課研究生學位項目之一。該項目提供四個核心課程模塊，分別是軟技能模塊、分析基礎模塊、管理基礎模塊以及中國與世界模塊。學生可以選擇9個方向的眾多選修課程，或赴26個不同國家的58所合作學校之一，完成一學期的交換，或申請第二學年攻讀雙學位，目前雙學位的合作院校包括美國麻省理工學院斯隆管理學院、哥倫比亞大學和法國巴黎高等商學院。
我們採訪了三名該項目在讀學生。當被問及對項目的看法時，他們的觀點高度一致，都認為多元化體驗是最吸引人的特色。項目的入選者不僅來自不同國家，同時還具有多樣的職業和文化背景。
「哈佛大學一直宣稱自己的學生群體有多麼的多元化，但實際上大多數人都有著類似的成長經歷，區別僅僅在於此經歷是在不同國家發生。他們的成長經歷相仿，甚至連優點都很相似。」 來自中國的2018級學生曾天這樣說道。他本科在哈佛大學主修比較文學。「但在這裡，同學們不僅來自不同的國家，更有著截然不同的職業經歷，很多人從事過我完全不熟悉的事情。這是由一群有趣的人組成的多元化集體。」
在決定回到中國之前，曾天在美國一家好萊塢經紀公司工作。現在美國電影業正處於轉型期，所以他決定給自己一個職業休整期，並利用這段時間來清華攻讀碩士學位。對於在清華的學習體驗，曾天指出項目同學的不同專業背景會讓教授面臨眾口難調的挑戰。
德國學生Moritz Bartsch在2018年秋季入讀該項目，之前他畢業於牛津大學，在英國倫敦從事軟體開發工作。他非常熱衷於了解中國以及學習中國文化。Moritz入讀全球MBA項目的主要目的是為了提高自己的人際溝通能力。在之前的工作經歷中他意識到自己比較欠缺這方面技能。
Moritz說：「項目中中國學生和國際學生各佔一半。這為國際學生課下鍛鍊跨文化適應能力提供了一個具有挑戰性的環境。這是我在歐洲或美國求學所無法獲得的。」Moritz同時表示在適應北京的新生活方面中國同學為他提供了很大幫助。
出生成長在委內瑞拉的Olga Kasabdji絕對是項目中最能體現多元文化特色的一名學生。她的父親來自敘利亞，母親來自匈牙利。她曾從事大型活動策劃及產品設計相關工作，希望在項目中進一步拓展自己的商業技能。Olga最近剛剛結婚，她和丈夫都對中國和中國文化非常感興趣。婚後他們決定一起回到學校繼續深造，並且他們幸運地被清華大學同時錄取，分別就讀於全球MBA和國際工程管理碩士（IMEM）項目。她說：「我們倆同年被錄取，並且就讀的項目學制都是兩年，這簡直太完美了。」
清華-MIT全球MBA項目有一個班委會， 將來自不同背景和國家的學生凝聚在一起。他們甚至建立了一個夥伴機制，每周隨機將一名中國學生和一名國際學生結成夥伴，讓他們能夠與自己日常朋友圈以外的同學建立聯繫並深入了解彼此的文化。
接受採訪的三名學生均表示他們從此項目中受益良多。此項目不僅為他們打開了嶄新的視角，同時也幫助他們在更加商業化的導向下塑造新的思維模式。並且，在清華這樣一所國際知名高校的學習經歷能夠為項目學生帶來豐富的職業發展機會，這也是此項目能夠吸引眾多優秀學生的原因之一。加入該項目也讓學生加深了對全球教育的理解。
供稿：【新聞與傳播學院】清華大學國際教育傳播實踐教學探索教改項目組
編輯：【研究生院】呂敏知 劉麗霞 孫傅 李文
【經濟管理學院】荀多多
【社會科學學院】王俊良
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