Please provide a brief overview of the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.

The Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business is Chinaas first private, independent and non-profit b-school and was established in 2002.. The founder of the b-school is billionaire businessman Li Ka-shing who is based in Hong Kong. There are three MBA programs in operation at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. These three programs are as follows: The MBA program which is a one year full-time program taught in English; An EMBA program which is a two year part-time program taught in Chinese to high level CEOs and executives in Chinese language and an executive education program which is also taught in Chinese.

One of the principles we follow as a business school is that close to 99 percent of the faculty at the school come from the West but they are of Chinese background. These faculty are familiar with Chinese business and China and have primarily been educated at top American b-schools such as Harvard, Columbia, Stanford and Chicago. This background helps the faculty in developing future business leaders in China.

How is the MBA program structured to deliver value to the students?

The program includes the traditional model of classroom studies. We also offer facilities such as industry visits. The course is broken into six modules. The first two modules consist of the core MBA curriculum which is compulsory for all and the remaining modules are all electives. For international students, one module is China based and it includes how business in China is done. This module focuses on marketing, finance. A lot of cases on China are done by the b-schoolas own professors. Starting from next year, the one year MBA program will operate out of two campuses. The first half of the program would be taught in the main campus in Beijing and the remaining portion of the program would take place in Shanghai.

What are the differentiating factors of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business?

The world class faculty at the b-school is the first differentiating factor. Just as the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad (ISB) brought quality professors of Indian background, the faculty at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business is of a high standard with professors having a China related background. Secondly, Cheung Kong is a research oriented b-school. Even though it is a young business school, Cheung Kong has been ranked sixth in the world for research according to one survey. In terms of China related content and knowledge, a lot of b-schools teach generic b-school cases but at Cheung Kong a lot of international students learn about China through the module on China. The b-schoolas professors help students in their work and do business in china through the work and cases that they have written.

What is the admission process followed at the business school?

An applicant for the MBA program should have a minimum work-experience of two years. Both GMAT and GRE scores are accepted and it is not necessary for applicants to take the TOEFL. Applicants should have obtained a four year Bacheloras degree from a reputed university or technical college. International students should have some interest in China or aspire for a China-related career post completion of the MBA. It is not necessary for them to work in China but they should have some inclination in China. It is not profitable to come to China to study and then return to oneas homeland on completion of the course. At Cheung Kong, the textbooks and knowledge of finance and marketing are the same as b-schools in other countries but the interaction with alumni, industry and knowledge of business would be China related.

How is it assessed whether applicants have an inclination towards China or working in China?

The business school follows a two step process for international applicants as compared to the direct process which is followed for Chinese applicants. The school is extremely selective while admitting international students. The selection process is rigorous not in terms of academic background of applicants but in terms of what an applicantas career focus is after completing the MBA program. There is a career management cell in place at the school which helps the students secure jobs and hence it is extremely crucial to know a studentas future plans before he or she is admitted.

I usually arrange a 30 minute conversation with a student even before he or she submits the application or is asked to appear for an interview. If the candidate is in China then the conversation would take place in person else it would a telephonic conversation. The questions I pose to applicants in these conversations relate to how exactly they got to know about Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, their reasons for studying in a unique country such as China and what is the purpose behind them doing an MBA from China. If I believe that the applicantas goals and objectives are reasonable then I tell him or her to go ahead and submit the application form.

What is the minimum cut-off score you require applicants to have secured in the entrance tests you accept?

There is no official minimum cut-off score followed for admissions. The average GMAT score for Chinese students for the batch of 2008 was 680. The average score as far as international students are concerned was approximately 630. We prefer applicants to have secured a GMAT score in the range of 630-680.

What would be an overview of the country wise backgrounds of students in the MBA class?

In the first few years there were students from Asian regions like South Korea and European countries such as Germany, France, Switzerland and a South-East Asian country like Malaysia which has a lot of Chinese ethnic people. There has been a change in the 60 students admitted in 2009. Approximately one-third of this class of students is from non-Chinese countries i.e. countries apart from Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. There are students from the United States of America and Germany too. For the past two years, two students from India have enrolled in the MBA program.

Do a lot of MBA students eventually opt to work in China?

Most of the students are Chinese and therefore they do opt to work in China after completing the MBA program. For the past couple of years, there have been four-five international students and the trend has been for half of them to stay in China and half to return to their native countries.

What are the total expenses incurred by a student enrolled in the MBA program?

The total fee for the one year MBA program is USD 35,000 and merit based scholarships are available for students. Approximately 80 percent of the MBA class of 2008 applied and secured scholarships. The monthly living expenses would amount to Rs 28,000 INR and this figure includes food, rent and entertainment.

What kind of financial assistance is available for MBA students?

The school does not provide full scholarships. The average scholarship amount secured by applicants is 45 percent of the program fee and an exceptional student may secure a scholarship amount which covers 70 pc-80 pc of the program fee. The institute does have loan tie-ups with private banks in China but only Chinese students may avail of these loans.

Is it necessary for students to know Chinese? Does the b-school teach Chinese to MBA students?

Cheung Kong offers 60 hours of one-to-one and flexible Chinese teaching. In the China module, additional hours of Chinese teaching are also offered. It is important for students to know the language in a country like China where Chinese is spoken widely unlike in India where English is prominent. It is however possible to survive with minimum knowledge of Chinese in Beijing and Shanghai.

Has the global economic slowdown resulted in an increase in application numbers for the MBA program?

Yes, there has been a 50 percent increase in applications for the MBA program. Cheung Kong usually receives about 1,000 applications for the MBA program. It is estimated that applications from international students will constitute 25 percent of the total applications.

What major changes have been observed as far as the backgrounds and profiles of applicants are concerned?

This year, a higher number of applications has been received from the finance and consulting sectors. This increase is more prominent in the finance sector due to the job cuts which have taken place in this sector.

How have salary levels been affected by the global credit crunch?

China has been relatively isolated by worldwide recession and even the financial sector in China has been relatively isolated as compared to finance in other parts of the world. Big multinational companies in the financial sector like Merryl Lynch, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and others have put a freeze on hiring because of the credit crunch. It is unclear as to what will happen next year but in terms of salaries it has not been much affected. MBAs who graduated in November are having trouble in getting jobs in multinational companies. These MBAs are weathering the storm by working in private Chinese investment banks and firms. The pay is just as well, if not more but the job is not as prestigious or what they wanted originally. Once the economy has recovered, these MBAs may choose to apply to the bigger organizations.

How is the experience of an MBA program in China different from that in the United States or Europe?

The principal difference lies in the classroom culture. In China, a teacher is highly respected and given god-like status. Students therefore tend to not question or challenge the professors in class. This is very different from the United States where students often have arguments with professors and classroom discussions can get heated at times. Students in China do debate in group discussions but these discussions take place outside the classroom.