Zhang Qian

    zhqcindy@163.com

    Education does not stop when a person enters the work field or starts running a business. A group of ambitious students is ready to start classes this Thursday for an MIB (MSc in International Business) at Shenzhen International Business School.

    An opening ceremony was held at the university on Monday night, with deans from Shenzhen International Business School and IéSEG School of Management, a world-leading business school in France, faculty and registered students attending the ceremony.

    According to Aiden Kelly, the dean of Shenzhen International Business School, 11 students from a variety of cultural backgrounds have registered for the part-time program. It will take one and a half years for the students to complete the course and students will be granted a certificate from IéSEG.

    The business school is part of Shenzhen University and is aimed at offering an array of collaborative postgraduate programs with other international business schools around the world.

    “We are glad to have such an international program because half of the students are from overseas and all of our professors have an international background,” said Kelly at the opening ceremony.

    Many of the new students are working as managers at restaurants and big corporations or are directors of their own businesses.

    The program will be taught only in English and students can choose to go to IéSEG School of Management in France for some of their courses. Professors from the French school will also come to Shenzhen University to give lectures.

    Prerna Sarin, from India, is one of the students in the program. Coming from a business background, Sarin and her husband Rahul Chawla have been looking for such a program since they came to China about a year ago.

    “We were trying to find a program like this to promote our knowledge in international business and we found the program offered here matched with our demands,” Chawla told Shenzhen Daily on Monday night.

    Chawla said he had been to Hong Kong at least six times to look for such a part-time postgraduate program but did not find a program that fit him. He will enroll in the program in September.

    “The visa was the main problem because international students are not allowed to enroll in part-time programs in Hong Kong, but we didn’t want to quit our jobs,” said Chawla. “The degree offered by Shenzhen International Business School is globally recognized, so we decided to take the courses in Shenzhen while working here.”

    Another new student surnamed Chan is a businessperson who runs her own corporation in Shenzhen. Originally coming from Hong Kong and having spent decades in Britain, Chan now wants to further her studies in doing business globally with updated theories and knowledge.

    “The world is constantly changing and if we stop learning new things, we fall behind,” said Chan. For Chan, the content of the program matters the most because it will inspire her with new ways to run a business.

    “I have talked with the staff from the business school, checked the syllabus and I’m quite excited about the things that I’m going to learn,” said Chan.

    Chan’s company is not far from Shenzhen University and she thinks taking part-time courses while operating her business at the same time is suitable for her at the moment.