UBC Reports | Vol. 47 | No. 03 | Feb. 8, 2001

Commerce plans MBA with China

Proposed program aimed at senior managers

Business students in Shanghai could soon graduate with a University of British Columbia degree after the university unveils plans for a co-operative MBA program with a Shanghai university during the Team Canada trade mission to China this month.

UBC's four-person delegation, led by the university's vice-president, Research, Indira Samarasekera, will be among the more than 550 participants accompanying Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and nine of the 10 provincial premiers on the nine-day trip to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong which starts Feb. 9.

"UBC's participation in Team Canada is in line with the strong emphasis on internationalization in our vision document, Trek 2000," says Samarasekera. "As Canada's leading university in Asia-Pacific affairs, our participation in the trade mission will further strengthen our reputation in teaching and research in this very important region."

The university's Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration will sign a historic agreement to work with Shanghai Jiao Tong University for a cooperative MBA program between the two institutions on Thursday, Feb. 15 in Shanghai. Business students in China would be able to attend classes taught by UBC faculty and graduate with a UBC MBA degree.

"We would be the first major Canadian business school to offer a program in Shanghai where students would take the majority of their coursework in China yet would be able to graduate with a North American degree," says Prof. Stanley Hamilton, senior associate dean of UBC Commerce.

An expected 50 students would be accepted into the program as early as this year, pending university Senate and Board of Governors' approval. Dubbed the International MBA or IMBA, the degree will focus on developing managers for the international business environment.

"The joint IMBA program will target senior managers in Chinese enterprises, joint ventures, operations of foreign multinational companies, and Chinese government departments," says Hamilton.

Hamilton and Grace Wong, the faculty's assistant dean of International Programs, will be on hand for the signing in Shanghai.

China has been a focal point for UBC Commerce for some 20 years.

Programs with China began in the faculty in 1980 with the visit of Rong Yiren, formerly vice-president of China.

Since that time, the faculty has developed strong academic links with leading universities such as Shanghai Jiao Tong University for teaching and research, and strong partnership links with key business and government enterprises throughout China for human resources development.

More than 300 senior Chinese enterprise and government officials have come to UBC for short-term executive training programs, offered in Chinese.

UBC will join more than four dozen B.C. educational institutions, high-tech firms, transportation companies and consulting firms on the Feb. 9-18 trip which is aimed at fostering trade and investment between the two countries.