Both Sharon Xia and Lance Zeng made a very deliberate choice when they started the BI Norwegian School- Fudan University MBA program.

-        Working in a European company, it was a strong motivation for me to do a European program that focuses on innovation, critical thinking and leadership philosophy, said Sharon Xia , a director of English online education in EF.

Both the reputation, the course design, the teachers and the big group of alumni played a role when Sharon Xia and Lance Zeng finally chose the MBA program.

Overseas Courses

-        I personally like the course design very much, and the possibility I can take elective modules in Singapore, Spain , or USA and the graduation in Norway. I feel it is customized for me and my ambitions to work in or with western companies and culture, said Sharon Xia.

Complimentary skills

-        In China today I think we need to learn skills that are complimentary to the aggressive short term and manufacturing oriented economy that has been dominating. Doing a MBA program that is partly Nordic will give me a lot of input of Nordic economy, soft skills, green tech areas and other aspects that we will need here in order to have a healthy growth in the economy. It was very inspiring to learn about Norwegian business and mind-set at the opening ceremony, said Lance Zeng, Quality Director in Wittur Elevator Components.

Trip to Taicang
After the opening ceremony the new MBA students went for a weekend to Taicang for the orientation module and get to know each other. This year the module was run by Jan Ketil Arnulf Associate Dean of BI Norwegian Business School-Fudan University MBA program and professor Miha Skerlavai from  Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo.

-        I am very proud and humble to be doing this on my first trip to China. One of the activities is the Reciprocity Ring, based on the reciprocity theory. This exercise builds on the principle of network and sharing advice and resources, said  Prof. Miha Skerlavaj.

The Reciprocity Ring: A group is gathered for the purpose of members asking for something important for them in their personal or professional lives.  The request is put out to the group and participants make connections, offer introductions, contacts or more tangible help with achieving member’s goals.

-        In China where networking and relationships play a vital role in business, I think this will be very interesting, he said.

Getting the Sharing mindset

-        I really enjoyed this exercise.  It extended the single pattern of giving and taking between two persons to a network of multi-loops to realize the perspectives of one for all and all for one. It also emphasizes the importance of information sharing and feedbacks during our studies, said Lance Zeng. 

Felt the energy

-        During the trip to Taicang, I could really feel the energy and shining spirits of my new classmates. It will be a challenging program, and I will need to push myself. But I believe that after two years' study, we will build up strong connections and trust with all the teachers and classmates. We set the tune at the beginning of the program. The Reciprocity Ring made us all understand that we will benefit more from sharing and that it will create a Win-Win-situation. I am excited and looking forward to June 11 when the first class begins, said Sharon Xia.