New York Times (May 18, 2012)
Business Schools: Looking Local for a Global Reach
By PETER SAALFIELD and REBECCA APPEL
NEW YORK — Alix Chen earned a scholarship to HEC Paris, a top business
school, and then turned it down. Instead, she chose the Shanghai branch
of the China Europe International Business School, or CEIBS, in her
home country.
Students at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where
the number of applicants from North America and Europe doubled between
2006 and 2010. The students are playing with giant Jenga blocks meant
to represent a marine balance.
Ms. Chen, a 29-year-old third-year marketing student from Zhejiang
Province, is planning to pursue a career in China and did not want to
miss out on opportunities by being away for three years.
“The economy here is booming and changing so fast — I was afraid I
would lose so much if I left for so long,” she said by telephone.
Business schools in developing nations are getting more attention from
both domestic and foreign students.
Thomas Hyland, an American who began his career at Goldman Sachs in San
Francisco, decided to attend the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad
with the intention of starting a venture capital fund in India.
“For me and for a lot of foreign students, it is the entry strategy
into this market,” he said. “India is a tough place to show up from the
outside and try to do business. So much of business and daily life here
depends on relationships.”
Prospective business school students are starting to look beyond
traditional destinations in the West. And those who are originally from
the BRIC developing nations — Brazil, Russia, India and China — are
increasingly exploring the possibilities at home.
This group already has a name. In a column for University World News
last month, one higher education specialist, Rahul Choudaha, called
them “glocal students,” or “people who have global aspirations, but
need to stay local.”
Meanwhile, the number of Westerners studying at BRIC programs is
rising, though the total number is still low. According to the Graduate
Management Admission Test, the number of U.S., Canadian and West
European students sending GMAT scores to programs in BRIC nations
increased from 381 in 2007 to 639 in 2011.
In 2007, Brazilian business schools received only 12 GMAT test reports
from outside the country. In 2011, that number rose to 58, about one
for every five candidates.
In 2009, China made the list of top-10 countries to which American GMAT
test-takers sent scores for the first time.
At the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the number of
applicants from North America and Europe more than doubled between 2006
and 2010.
“The exodus from Asia to the West is far less pronounced, and as
schools like ours grow in reputation, it’s actually a reverse trend,
where we are seeing Westerners come here,” said Steven J. DeKrey,
senior associate dean at HKUST. “In 2001 our business school only had
16 nationalities and almost all of them were Asian, with only a couple
exceptions. Now we are at 28 nationalities and half are from outside of
Asia.”
The United States remains the top M.B.A. destination for students from
BRIC countries. Still, the demand for Western degrees is leveling off,
while demand for local programs is showing signs of rising. The number
of score reports sent by BRIC citizens to home country programs grew 50
percent between 2007 and 2011.
The allure of better job prospects in the emerging markets,
particularly China, is frequently cited as a major factor.
India, China and Brazil are ranked in the top 10 countries to have the
largest expected increases in M.B.A.-related jobs over the next 12
months, according to the 2011-2012 QS TopMBA.com Jobs and Salary Trends
Report
In India, job openings for M.B.A. holders increased 43 percent from
2009 to 2010. During that same time period, similar job opportunities
increased in Brazil by 25 percent, in Russia by 22 percent and in China
by 19 percent.
Comparatively, M.B.A. graduate hiring in the United States increased 9
percent between 2009 and 2010 and only 3 percent in Western Europe.
According to a GMAT study, the majority of Indians who chose to stay
home intended to pursue work in India. They also cited affordability as
a top factor. Tuition at the Indian Institute of Management in
Ahmedabad is $38,000. An M.B.A. at an American business school can cost
about $100,000. But students who choose to study in China seem less
motivated by cost and more by career opportunities.
American and European M.B.A. programs are responding to these changes
by internationalizing their curriculums, expanding their study-abroad
options, offering joint degrees with foreign campuses and recruiting
students from developing nations.
“We go to those countries multiple times a year to market the program,
to interview candidates, and we’ll be back in the spring, summer, fall
time frame in all of those countries,” said Ankur Kumar, director of
M.B.A. admissions and financial aid at The Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania.
Students are also drawn by the improving quality of M.B.A. programs in
developing nations.
When The Financial Times first began ranking M.B.A. programs in 1999,
20 of the top 25 schools were based in the United States; this year,
that figure was 13. While BRIC nations had no representation in the top
25 in 1999, there are now four programs that make the cut: The Hong
Kong University of Science and Technology (No. 6), The Indian Institute
of Management-Ahmedabad (No. 11), the Indian School of Business (No.
13) and CEIBS (No. 17).
Top programs in China, India, Brazil and Russia have been around only
since the 1990s and are just now developing the faculty and facilities
needed to compete for top international students.
“High-end applicants will not take a risk for an M.B.A., because they
need a brand name,” said Dr. DeKrey of HKUST. “It’s very hard to
reconcile an option of a top-10 Western school unless you can get
comparable or close to quality brand in Asia. Because we are now able
to make that argument, we are now on the list of those best applicants.”
Rebecca Appel reported from Paris.
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
