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The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)’s Executive MBA Program scored another success in the Financial Times 2013 ranking of EMBA programs released today.

In its latest global survey of 100 EMBA Programs worldwide, the London-based Financial Times ranked CUHK’s EMBA Program No. 13 in 2013, jumping from the rank of No. 17 achieved last year. The program has been ranked top amongst all independent programs in the Asia-Pacific region over the years. This year it was ranked No. 1 again.

Among all independent EMBA programs in the world, the program’s alumni salary is the highest. The average annual salary is as high as HK$2,172,000. The program’s alumni also achieved a high salary increase rate of 56%. The program scored high in areas such as research publications, work experience, international course experience, international students, international faculty and international advisory board.

‘We are very pleased to see the good ranking results,’ said Prof. Andrew C. F. Chan, Director of the EMBA Program. ‘We were the first EMBA Program in Hong Kong, and it is a truly made-in-Hong Kong product. As always, ranking is not our foremost pursuit. What is important is to maintain our ability of nurturing top-notch management talents to meet the needs of Hong Kong, the mainland and the world. We follow CUHK’s global vision and mission “to combine tradition with modernity, and to bring together China and the West” as our motto. We formed the “six pillars*” (Theories, Practices, Internal Network, External Network, Strategic Perspectives and Social Contribution) as our program’s core value to positively influence the business community and society. We keep on being innovative to keep pace with the dynamics of the marketplace.’

CUHK EMBA program places emphasis on important Greater China and international issues and affairs through the ‘EMBA Insights’ forums. The past topics include sky-rocketing oil price in early years, global financial tsunami occurred in 2008, and Euro Issue occurred in 2012. Since 2002, the program has organized the ‘Talking to CEOs’ and the ‘New Thinking in Management’ TV/radio programs as well as the EMBA Forum series. Distinguished leaders, academics and government officials were invited to these programs to share their experience and insights with the alumni and students. These programs have been conducted over 700 times over the years. Recently, Peter Wong Tung Shun, Group Managing Director of HSBC Holdings plc. has delivered a talk on Hong Kong and the role it plays in RMB internationalization; Ronnie C. Chan, Chairman of Hang Lung Properties Ltd., shared his views on the impact of core beliefs/values on the success of business; Joseph Yam, Former Chief Executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority talked about the core belief and values to make HK a better international financial centre; Tom Mehrmann, Chief Executive of Ocean Park Hong Kong used Ocean Park as an example to enlighten us how to develop a culture of innovation.

To enable students to develop a global perspective and interact with senior executives in different parts of the world, the program has constantly organized global study trips. In early summer of this year, the students visited some large corporations such as Philips and Rabobank in the Netherlands and learned from them how to create a happy working environment for their employees. In August, the students completed an intensive 5-day program on ‘From Technology to Business’ at the Stanford University in the USA. 

The program partnered with the EMBA Programs of Peking University and the National Taiwan University to conduct the ‘Greater China EMBA Elite Study Week’, which was the first of its kind conducted worldwide. Top management and senior executives from the Quanta Computer Inc. and HTC of Taiwan, as well as the White Collar of Beijing were invited to share their experience and insights with participants. The program strategically provided a platform for the three groups of EMBA students in Greater China to interact and develop friendships. 

Regarding class schedule, Prof. Chan said, ‘Since executives nowadays have to frequently travel to the mainland and overseas or stay there for a long period, our program, in order to suit their travelling schedule, schedules our class on Saturday and Sunday (two consecutive days) and students only need to attend class once every two to three weeks.’ 

About CUHK Business School

CUHK Business School comprises two schools – Accountancy and Hotel & Tourism Management – and four departments – Finance, Decision Sciences & Managerial Economics, Management, and Marketing. It is Hong Kong’s first business school to offer MBA and EMBA courses. Today, the school offers 10 undergraduate programs and 31 graduate programs (10 MBA/EMBA; 15 Master, MSc and MPhil; 6 PhD).

CUHK has the largest number of business alumni (27,000+) in Hong Kong, many of whom are key business leaders. The School currently has more than 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Prof. Tak-Jun Wong is the Dean of CUHK Business School.

*Note on the six pillars:

1. Theories which explain and predict phenomena. New courses such as Leadership, Entrepreneurship were offered to nurture top-notch business leaders.

2. Practices as actions for applying theories into different cultures, societies, industries, organizations, teams, and individuals.

3. Internal Network among current EMBA participants and alumni through sharing and exchange in courses, group projects, case studies, conferences and social activities.

4. External Network with CEOs, community leaders, and executives through different activities including EMBA Insights, forums, seminars, global trips, and, radio and TV programs. 

5. Ability to identify different strategic perspectives to determine possibilities and priorities before one makes an important decision. 

6. Recognition of the importance of social contribution, and devotion of one’s time and energy to creating a better world. The EMBA alumni formed the charitable organization ‘Flywheel’ to help and care for the needy by raising funds through ‘running to your home’