Originally from Beijing, Matt has travelled across the world but decided an MBA in China was the next step to launch his tech career
There are few regions across the globe as commercially exciting and fast-moving as China. As one of the major exporters of tech products in the world, and home to multiple innovative e-commerce platforms, China serves as an attractive launchpad for business school careers in tech.
Matt Situ is one alum who leveraged his MBA to build a career at China’s leading internet and technology company Tencent.
Find out how Matt benefited from his business school experience, and why an MBA in China is useful when forging high-flying careers in tech.
Ambitions of joining an MBA in China
Having worked at Deloitte as a senior consultant in digital transformation projects for six years, Matt already had a strong basis from which to build his career in tech. He felt that an MBA would be the best move forward to enrich his understanding of the business world and this was when he set his sights on the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in China.
“China is a fast-growing country with many opportunities. I wanted to be in the action on, and thought that the Tsinghua Global MBA program would provide me with a much needed education in China’s culture and business style,” Matt says.
Matt was born and raised in Beijing but moved to Canada for middle school and university.
Tsinghua University is based in Beijing—a major financial and technology hub that connects much of Asia. Like many ambitious business school grads, Matt knew that being immersed within this economic center would be a great place to develop his skills and gain valuable industry experience.
The Tsinghua University MBA is formed in partnership with MIT Sloan School of Management, offering a mix of classes taught by faculty across the two top business schools.
Connecting the business dots in a fast-paced MBA
The Tsinghua Global MBA program emphasizes the value of practical learning initiatives alongside the traditional MBA courses in marketing, operations, finance, and leadership.
“What I enjoyed the most were the guest lecturers that were invited to speak on their real-life experiences, business challenges, new ideas, and provoking thoughts. This gave a real look through the lens of someone that’s in the action,” Matt says.
During an MBA course on ‘Creation and Growth of Technology Enterprises’, Matt was impressed to find that the vice president of Microsoft in the Asia region was invited to speak with the cohort about the challenges of creating artificial intelligence (AI) products.
“We were shown some incredible paintings, music, novels that were all created by AI—to the level that they sometimes exceeded human capabilities,” he says.
The Tsinghua MBA has links to several other tech companies, including Google, Samsung, and IBM. Many alums go on to launch careers at top firms in China.
Matt also had the chance to dive into a real-world business project during the Integrated Practical Project (IPP) in the second year of his MBA. Alongside his group, he worked with a company to analyze their growth strategy and provide competitor analysis.
The Tsinghua MBA is comprised of 40% international students with around 4-5 years of work experience on average.
From an MBA in China to a tech career at Tencent
Armed with industry knowledge of the business sphere in Asia and beyond, Matt says he felt ready to launch into an exciting new career in the Chinese job market.
Following his MBA in China, he landed a place on the MBA scheme at top internet technology company Tencent within Cloud solution products.
“My role is similar to an internal consultant. By analyzing market data, product performance, and customer feedback, I provide strategic recommendations on how Tencent Cloud's solutions can improve and gain an edge among industry competitors,” he says.
When applying for the role, Matt sought advice from the Tsinghua MBA Career Development Center, which he believes helped prepare him tailor his application and feel prepared for the interview process.
He says he’s now looking forward to advancing his tech career in one of the largest economies in the world.
There are more than 12,000 Tsinghua MBA alums and 51 regional clubs worldwide, which means there’s always plenty of people to connect with after graduating from the program—no matter where students settle.
“A global MBA from China allows you to see the differences between business industries in the East and the West. We’ve learned how to leverage this difference, and combine it with our own experiences, carving out our unique edge in the business world,” Matt concludes.
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