Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) successfully hosted the Western China MBA Professor Training Program in collaboration with the China National MBA Education Supervisory Committee and Shantou University School of Business on December 17 and 18, 2024. 58 professors from over 40 universities in China nationwide, mostly western China, attended this training.
Since 2007, CKGSB has been aspiring to address the pressing disparities in management education between eastern and western China with its MBA professor training program. As of 2024, the program has trained 372 professors from 155 universities across 22 provinces, 4 autonomous regions, 3 direct-administered municipality in China, indirectly impacting tens of thousands of MBA students.
This year, the training focused on social innovation and business for good, a topic many participating professors found lacking in their day-to-day teaching and research. Professor ZHU Rui (Juliet), CKGSB Professor of Marketing and Director of the ESG and Social Innovation Center, led the training. She introduced how CKGSB has been innovating with the integration of business for good in management education to educate responsible and ethical business leaders, and how our relevant practice-based course has already helped 2,800+ students integrate ESG into their businesses. Professor Zhu also hosted an interactive workshop with the training’s participants on how they may build this idea into their teaching.
Business schools and universities in relatively underdeveloped regions in China tend to teach their MBA students about how to do well, rather than how to do good. Participants shared in their post-program survey that Professor Zhu’s teaching and her ESG Assessment map gave them a new perspective on how to balance profits and social responsibilities. Many participants felt inspired on how to bridge their gap between research and practice. Some expressed interest to co-develop cases with CKGSB around SMEs in western China to provide more applicable best practices to small-scale enterprises.
YI Zhihong, Vice Chair of the China National MBA Education Supervisory Committee and former Vice President of Renmin University of China, HAO Zhifeng, President of Shantou University, Frieda Law, medical consultant of the Li Ka Shing Foundation to Shantou University, and WANG Neng, Senior Associate Dean and Dean’s Distinguished Chair Professor of Finance of CKGSB joined the training’s opening session chaired by WANG Ping, Director of the General Affairs Office of the Secretariat of the China National MBA Education Supervisory Committee and LIANG Qiang, Dean of Shantou University School of Business and Director of the MBA Education Center.
Aligned with CKGSB’s commitment to social innovation, the Western China MBA Professor Training Program integrates ESG principles to advance equitable and sustainable management education. As a proud signatory to the UN PRME since November 2008, CKGSB remains steadfast in upholding PRME’s Seven Principles, dedicated to serving society and safeguarding the planet through responsible management practices. Recognized in CKGSB’s 2022 and 2024 ESG and Social Innovation Reports and honored as a finalist for the 2021 China Social Impact Award by the United Nations and British Chamber of Commerce, the program exemplifies CKGSB’s impact in this critical area. Through partnerships with the government, NGOs, and business schools, this initiative has made significant progress in promoting quality education and reducing inequalities. By empowering educators to champion socially-responsible business practices, CKGSB continues to lead in aligning academic excellence with sustainable development.
Looking forward, CKGSB remains committed to expanding and enriching this initiative, and nurturing future business leaders to champion sustainable development in China. For more information on CKGSB’s ESG and social innovation efforts, visit our ESG and social innovation website.
