SHENZHEN’S newest business school is starting a master’s program with international ambitions. The first students will enroll in January next year.

    The business school, which is under Shenzhen University, will be the city’s first school to offer international business programs taught by the school’s faculty and a partner university’s faculty.

    “The motivation for this comes from… concern that Shenzhen — as one of the four largest cities in China — doesn’t have a well-known international business school,” said Prof. Aidan Kelly, the dean of the Shenzhen International Business School.

    According to Prof. Kelly, the school is taking the “international” label seriously.

    “What we mean by international is the use of the English language in everything we do, teaching an international curriculum, hiring international faculty or faculty with international experience and engaging in partnerships with well-known international universities,” said Kelly.

    The school has already inked an agreement with the IESEG School of Management, a well-known business school in France.

    The one-year master’s program for a degree in international business will be partially taught by French faculty.

    “The French faculty will come to Shenzhen University for half of the program. The degree will be the same as the degree that students in France get from IESEG. Our students have the option to go to France for a few weeks to take some courses there with no additional fee,” said Prof. Kelly.

    This upcoming graduate program will accept both full-time and part-time students. Tuition is around 100,000 yuan (US$15,670) with scholarships around 25,000 to 30,000 available for outstanding students, according to the dean.

    The Shenzhen International Business School is in talks with other European universities, including the respected Henley Business School in the U.K.

    The dean said the business school is targeting students who have just graduated, employed people who want to advance their careers and expatriates.

    “We are targeting the expatriate community because there are lots of international companies in Shenzhen and we would expect that there are a lot of young people who want to advance their education,” said Kelly.

    Graduate students are required to have completed their undergraduate degrees and have good English language ability. The dean said that working experience will be taken into account when accepting students.

    Located on the campus of Shenzhen University, the Shenzhen International Business School’s four lecture rooms are especially designed for business classes.

    Kelly said four instructors with international experience have already been hired. The school will hire another four professors by the end of this year.

    The school is preparing to recruit students for a program being run jointly with the French business school. Recruitment for the Masters of International Business, which will begin in January next year, is now underway.

    It will organize events like Open Days and information session during the next few months.

    An informational session will be held at Shenzhen University this Saturday afternoon in the Science Building, for more information please check the website: www.SZIBS.cn.

    (SD News)