The aim  is to develop students into well-rounded leaders, sensitive to the different value systems operating in different parts of the world. The programmes are also intended to inspire innovators that respond to the needs of people through their businesses. 

Truly Chen, SJTU graduate

“Innovation is always about people,” Tian says.  “It is about the ability to perceive and respond to the needs of humankind.”

The EMBA programme,  which spans two years, is comprised of an opening module, a methodology module, a management practice module, an international module, and the SJTU Features Module. 

The SJTU module is a special feature which covers innovation, finance, and the internet. It requires students, who are mostly high-flying executives, CEOs and entrepreneurs, to delve deeply into real-life businesses to complete the three projects: profit model, performance improvement, and leadership reflection. In these projects they are required to review corporate development in terms of market opportunities, scrutinise and improve internal management in order to enhance performance, and embark on thorough strategic planning. 

This module also helps students explore the relationship between commerce, engineering and industry against the backdrop of the university, which has been educating elites across 120 industries for the past three centuries. 

“The way we teach is always based on the real-life experience of enterprises while taking into account societal differences,” says Tian. “It is about pooling together the experience, wisdom and innovation from these real-world examples, and from the excellent interaction among teachers, students, and alumni.” 

Students also benefit from the networking opportunities in academic clubs and forums, and access to the extensive alumni network. They are also offered career guidance and opportunities for internships and full-time employment.

ACEM currently offers full- and part-time MBA programmes, including two full-time courses: International MBA, and China Leaders for Global Operations (CLGO), and three part-time programmes: Finance MBA, Technology MBA, and General MBA. Classes are held at ACEM’s campuses in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Singapore. 

CLGO is the only dual-degree, graduate-level academic programme in China. Modelled after the highly successful “Leaders for Global Operations” programme offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), CLGO is an international programme jointly operated by SJTU, MIT and many leading multinational companies. It focuses on developing a special type of leader for China – one who can apply both managerial and engineering expertise to global manufacturing and operations for sustainable profitability and success.

Truly Chen, who graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2012, holds a MBA and a Master of Engineering degree under the CLOG programme. Boasting 10 years’ experience in sales, supply-chain management and marketing in the IT industry, he is currently an IT project manager at Esquel Group, a Hong Kong-based textile manufacturing group known for its dedication to sustainable development, which currently employs 50,000 staff worldwide.

Chen was drawn to ACEM’s CLGO programme because of its integration of commerce, management and engineering, and the partnership between ACEM, MIT, and both Chinese and multinational enterprises. 

“Thanks to the training I have received from CLGO, I have gained a better understanding of what manufacturing industry in China really needs as it undergoes structural changes,” says Chen, who is responsible for improving business productivity through internal promotion of essential office software and services. “By combining my IT background with business thinking, I am able to integrate the vision of management with technology expertise in a way that enhances factory productivity. I can also communicate the needs of the factories to management, which helps enhance the performance of the entire group.”

Tian says that as technology advances rapidly transform our everyday lives, it has become all the more important for business schools such as ACEM to train up business leaders who are able sail through challenges with confidence. 

“In the future, there are going to be technology breakthroughs that change our lives beyond our imagination,’ Tian says, quoting  from the  top-selling book Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction.

“It is our goal to equip our students with the right mindset and methodology where you can predict the predictable, but also prepare them to deal with the unpredictable.”