- John Lee among distinguished speakers at series of events, including management conference and gala dinner, to celebrate degree programme’s continuing success
- Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University’s academic partnership with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School has topped FT’s EMBA rankings 11 times
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There was double cause for celebration for all involved with the Kellogg-HKUST executive master of business administration (EMBA) degree programme as this year’s graduation ceremony coincided with a series of special events to mark its 25th anniversary.
This saw a gathering of more than 300 friends, partners, professors, alumni, students and business luminaries, many of them jetting in from around the world.
Some were speakers at the high-profile Management Conference on July 8, which was organised in parallel, or took part in lively panel discussions on the business challenges and opportunities of the post-Covid-19 economy. Others were honoured with Distinguished Alumni Awards, presented for outstanding achievements in their respective professions.
However, everyone attending was in agreement about the success of the programme – offered jointly by Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, in the United States, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Business School – its transformative impact, and the vision and ambition of the team that came together back in 1998 to set things in motion.
“Over the years, the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA has nurtured about 1,200 senior business leaders who are now part of a robust, expanding alumni network that connects new opportunities worldwide,” Professor Kar Yan Tam, dean of HKUST Business School, said at the gala dinner held to mark the occasion.
“Thanks to the great partnership with Kellogg, the programme has been consistently ranked as the best in the world for its shared vision and the commitment to excellence of its stakeholders.”
Tam added that, while it is always difficult to predict how the world of business may look in future, one thing was relatively sure.
“Graduates of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA will have the skills and connections to continue to excel and make an impact on society.”
In her remarks, Professor Francesca Cornelli, dean of Kellogg School of Management, reflected on the history and growth of the joint programme and the extent to which it has proved to be groundbreaking.
“When it started, there was nothing like this, there was no pressure and no particular demand,” Cornelli said. “The founding deans did it because they saw that it was the future, and they felt that business education should be global.”
“I’m really grateful to HKUST for this partnership. We are completely aligned in terms of incentives, and that’s what makes this programme so special. I really look forward to the future and what we can do together.”
As the first of many distinguished speakers during the conference sessions, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu noted that The Financial Times has ranked the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA programme the best of its kind in the world 11 times – most recently in 2022.
“This remarkable achievement is testament to the outstanding partnership between two world-class institutions and your unwavering commitment to excellence in education,” Lee said.
He indicated that this ties in with the Hong Kong government’s commitment to enhancing the education system with a view to nurturing quality talent for a fast-changing world and making the city an education and talent hub for China’s Greater Bay Area development zone.
Subsequently, keynote conference speaker Nicolas Aguzin, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, pointed to the continuing development of China’s onshore capital markets and how Hong Kong’s unique role in connecting China and the world makes it even more globally relevant as an international financial centre.
“We are anticipating and preparing for the exponential growth of China’s onshore capital markets and how this will drive and shape global mega trends, such as innovation and sustainability,” he said.
“Capital always wants to connect with opportunity, so China’s growth story will continue to be as compelling as ever to the world – and Hong Kong is the right place at the right time to share that story with the world.”
The event’s main panel discussion focused on two hot topics which will only grow in importance: environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues and the rapidly expanding scope of artificial intelligence (AI).
The consensus was that Hong Kong is ideally placed to take a lead in ESG-related areas such as the issuance of green bonds and must be ready to capitalise on the benefits of AI rather than fearing the risks.
The Kellogg-HKUST EMBA programme has, in recent years, added new courses to address these global trends.
“ESG and AI are shaping the world and its future,” Tam said at the conference. “They will have far-reaching consequences for not just the business world, but for humanity as a whole.” Cornelli shared the sentiment. “That is what we need to prepare future business leaders for,” she told the conference.
