On September 16, 2007 to 25, 17 MBA students and four professors from Pontifacia Catholic University of Chile visited Tsinghua University as part of the short-term exchange program started by the two schools one year ago. On September 16, the exchange started with a welcome ceremony. Professor Chen Guoqing welcomed the guests from afar, including the Bank of Chile, who is the main sponsor of the program.

On September 19, 2007, Chilean and Tsinghua International MBA students participated in a luncheon. Over lunch, Tsinghua students discussed the business backgrounds of the Chilean students and what the probability was for Chilean goods and services to enter the Chinese economy. Many Chilean students were surprised at the level of internationalization in the Tsinghua Student body.  This year, Latin American students from Columbia and Mexico are  represented in the Tsinghua International MBA body.

During the 10 day exchange, additional activities include company visit, lectures, and student immersion programs. The students will visit the Shougang Group, Lenovo Group, Tongrentang (a representative of Chinese enterprises in Tianjin and the Bohai Sea area).  In addition, Chilean students will tour the Tsinghua Science Park, a hot spot for companies receiving venture capital and private equity funding.  Lectures will include the influence of Chinese history and culture on business, China’s macro-economic outlook, financial markets, marketing management, human Resource management, entrepreneurship and management education. Courses will be administered by Tsinghua University professors.

About the Tsinghua-Pontifacia Short-term Exchange

An agreement between Tsinghua SEM and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, signed on November 21, 2006, will send 15 Tsinghua students and faculty for a 10-day-course exchange based in Santiago, Chile. Later in the year, Chilean students will come to Tsinghua University for a 10-day-course exchange in China. This is the first student exchange agreement Tsinghua SEM has signed with a South American educational institution. Business and economic ties between South America and China are growing at a rapid pace. The opportunity for Tsinghua SEM to be the first MBA program in China to work closely with a top tier college in South America is a breakthrough in business education.

The program is sponsored by the Bank of Chile and has been organized by its Vice-President, Mr. Luksic, one of South America's most famous entrepreneurs. In the 1980s he began to invest in China and continues to promote long-term Sino-Chilean exchanges. One of Mr. Luksic’s accomplishments is summiting the peak of Mt. Everest.