Since launching last year, the CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) has quickly become one of the most prestigious courses at CKGSB, with a highly-influential group of senior executives coming together for a five-year degree program. 35 new students assembled in Beijing recently for the program’s second intake, where they met their new classmates and got their first taste of the journey ahead.
A Place Where Dreams Begin
It all began with a vision, a concept and a strong belief. A dream began within CKGSB, and we continue to embrace our glorious CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) mission.
On October 22, 2014, 35 new students assembled in Beijing for the second class of the CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, marking the beginning of the pursuit of a dream and a new journey of learning. These students will have the chance to feel the pulse of the business world, and write a new and glorious chapter in their lives.
CKGSB’s second Business Scholar Program (DBA) class, Oct 2014
Class Begins
At the Opening Ceremony held to mark the start of classes CKGSB Professor of Strategy Cho Dong-sung said, “In the near future, the Chinese standard will become the global standard, and your influence will be felt across business circles around the globe. As a brilliant manager of a world-leading enterprise, you must always keep in mind the eternal ethical code of business and shoulder greater social responsibilities. This is essentially what we teach through CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA).”
“In the CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA), you will have the chance to study successful case studies from the past, and transform them into theories of universal applicability. This will also transform you from a student of theory into a creator of theory, and allow you to bring about even greater value and contributions to society and to the business world.”
Cho Dong-sung, Professor of Strategy at CKGSB, addresses the students at the Opening Ceremony
Chairman of Vantone Holdings Feng Lun, an alumnus of CKGSB’s CEO program and monitor of the first CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) class, said, “You will study among a very influential group of people who will challenge your values, as you unconsciously compare the differences between the way they do things and the way you do them.”
“We are looking to find what we call ‘ming bian’, which means to search to the bottom of the things in the past, so we can set our minds at rest. It is also about summarizing what you have learned throughout your experience through discussion and analysis, so it can guide you in your future decisions, and help you stay alert as you look for the future direction of trends. For this reason, having ‘ming bian’ (明辨) helps you broaden your horizons, and calms your spirit throughout the process. It is also the greatest guide to help improve our judgment, our moral compass and our sense of history. Of course, to merely see things clearly is not enough, and we must also do the right thing. This is what we call ‘du xing’ (笃行). The success of life relies largely on the cultivation of emotional intelligence, or EQ, therefore we need to do the right thing at the right time, and act according to the current situation and the external environment. Only by doing so can we effectively incentivize ourselves and become more successful. Learning at CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) helps improve our EQ and our understanding about actions. It also enables us to apply the knowledge we learn to our daily activities.”
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Welcome remarks at the Opening Ceremony by Feng Lun, a student in CKGSB’s first Business Scholar Program (DBA) class
Cheng Wei, a student in the second CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) class and CEO of taxi-hailing smartphone app Didi Dache has this to say: “My own experience with DiDi Dache has been filled with ups and downs over the past three years, when we witnessed unprecedented market competitions at home and abroad, dramatic changes in the capital environment and strict regulatory policies from the government. That is why I am now pondering questions related to the internal governance of companies, differentiated competition, countermeasures under the new policy environment and the operating model of an enterprise. CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) offers me a great platform where I can further my research and gain more knowledge about corporate development. I hope all the students in the second CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) class can benefit from such learning and embrace an even brighter future with an endeavoring spirit.”
Cheng Wei, student of the second CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) class at CKGSB, and CEO of Didi Dache
Team building activities
Students from CKGSB’s second CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) class posing for a photo on the Great Wall
The second CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) class kicked off with an initial four-day module for the students. Over the next five years, they will create business management theories that can be applied to China and to the whole of Asia at large. They will pioneer the development of the Chinese economy, help lift Chinese enterprises onto the world stage, and set up new business standards that can be accepted by the whole world.
Guest speaker Prof. Yukon Huang, former China Head at the World Bank and senior researcher of Asian Programs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, lecturing on “Looking at the Theory of Growth from China’s Perspective”.
Chief Strategy Officer for Alibaba’s Ant Financial group and former CKGSB Professor of Finance Chen Long, shares his views on “Capital in the 21st Century and China’s Economic Growth”.
Prof. Zhang Yuyan, Head of World Economic and Political Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, lecturing on “International Relations from the Perspective of Political Economics and China’s Future”.
Students from CKGSB’s second CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) class
From the students
“I hope to earnestly acquaint myself with the overall curriculum system of the CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) over the next couple of years. I also hope that with the high quality teaching at CKGSB, we can better understand ourselves and the society we are living in, and that all the students can make common progress on this brilliant platform.”
Chen Yidan, Core Founder and Advisor Emeritus of tech company Tencent
“Having obtained three degrees at Tsinghua University, I thought it was time go out and find something different. CKGSB leads its competitors no matter whether it’s their MBA, EMBA or CKGSB Business Scholar Program (DBA) and has been highly recommended by friends around me. I think it is the best choice one can make.”
Wang Xiaochuan, CEO of tech company SouGou
“I hope to take another step and combine the theories of the past with practice, so that I can look at my business, country and economic development from a higher perspective, and thus realize even higher personal advancement. I hope that my learning at CKGSB can positively impact my company and that I can make more contributions to society. I also hope to meet a group of classmates at CKGSB who share the same vision and objectives as I do over the next five years of study.”
Tang Kui, CEO of FountainVest Partners
