Historical success

The School of Economics and Management here at Tsinghua was established in 1984, incidentally the same year that I graduated from college in Canada. A great deal has changed since then. The idea of a management education outside of the United States was still relatively new and the vision of this school was only beginning to be realized.

Looking back, it is remarkable to see what has been accomplished at the School in just thirty years. 

Under the leadership of Dean Zhu, you have built an institution well ahead of its time. The decisions to push for teaching in English and launch dual-degree programs with leading business schools worldwide such as INSEAD and MIT have positioned this school as a truly international school. You have also led the way in education reform, pioneering undergraduate general education at Tsinghua and being among the first group of schools in China to offer MBA,EMBA and post-EMBA programs.

Today, Tsinghua is globally recognized as a leader in economics and management education. The undergraduate program attracts a quarter of the top individual students and a sixth of the top ten students from each province in China. Fifty-eight percent of your EMBA students are CEOs or General Managers from influential corporations. I have personally met many of them and they are most impressive. The joint EMBA program with INSEAD is ranked second in the world.

I believe that five key factors have been responsible for the School’s success.First, you have taken it upon yourselves to learn from the best, emulating best practices from leading business schools worldwide. Second, you have been proactive in anticipating trends in China’s economic development and adjusting your programs to better fit that context,for example by establishing a network of research centers in entrepreneurship,healthcare management, retail and other areas. Third, you have recognized untapped opportunities early – leapfrog opportunities – for instance in the EMBA space, and innovated to meet that demand. Fourth, you have successfully balanced the interests of government.