Dipak Jain Seeks U.S. Partner For CEIBS

CEIBS students study in the library – Ethan Baron photo

‘GOING INTO A CLASSROOM FOR ME IS LIKE GOING INTO A TEMPLE’

“I will teach the last module of this global EMBA program before they graduate,” he says with enthusiasm. “I want to be in the classroom. Teaching to me is something I really worship. I always tell people that going into a classroom is like going into a temple. It is a place of worship.”

Jain sees the Zurich location, which will likely be renamed CEIBS Europe, as a place to incubate an entire portfolio of degree and non-degree executive education programs for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He believes the Zurich location could eventually support a one-year MBA program. In any case, Jain believes that in all of CEIBS’ MBA programs, there should be three modules in Shanghai, Zurich and the U.S. to achieve a truly global mindset.

“Right now, I am spending more time on understanding CEIBS and China and Zurich. In a year, I will make a presentation to the board on new programs and new partnerships moving forward. I am also trying to connect with the alumni community. In the U.S., we would need funding from alumni in the U.S. and Europe. I have always been a fan of the power of the alumni network ever since Sept. 11 when I was dean at Kellogg and alumni helped us achieve a 91% placement rate. Any school can say they can do this thing, but we have such powerful members of the alumni network and they are committed. The campus in Zurich was funded by a CEIBS alum in Europe. For any alum, the best thing that can happen is the reputation of their school goes up.”

‘I SEE A RENEWED SPIRIT AMONG CHINESE EXECS & ENTREPRENEURS’

CEIBS’ ambitious plans for expansion, thinks Jain, will coincide with the growth of the Chinese economy and its influence on world trade. “China will continue to grow so we need to determine the country’s educational needs for the next two decades to prepare those graduates for the future,” says Jain. “We are also evolving. We will see what we need to do.”

This May, CEIBS is launching a dual-degree program in the form of a hospitality Executive MBA between its Shanghai and Zurich campuses with a school in Lausanne. “The four areas that will be important are hospitality, healthcare and private wealth management, and media and entertainment. I think, personal wealth is going to be a big deal. Not everyone can have an account at Goldman Sachs. If people are going to live longer we need to see how to best keep them engaged. there are lots of new programs we can come up with.”

In the three months that he has lived in China, Jain says he has been impressed with just about everything he has seen and touched. “Things are so professional here, and I have been very, very impressed. It is a fascinating place. Another good thing is that everything is fresh. Everything started in the late 1990s. So it’s only the last 25 years or so and there is this very strong entrepreneurial spirit. They don’t have any baggage to start with. Sometimes you have old family members who resist new ideas. Here everything is fresh and there is a renewed spirit I see among Chinese executives and entrepreneurs. They want to be as good as anyone in this world. They have this drive for excellence. And we will help them get to the next steps.”

DON’T MISS: WHAT’S IT LIKE TO GET AN MBA IN SHANGHAI? or FROM NORTH CAROLINA TO RUSSIA, WOULD-BE MBAS DESCEND ON CEIBS