China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

CEIBS is expanding its European offerings out of a campus in Zurich. Sponsors have purchased the Lorange Institute of Business Zurich (LIBZ) to provide CEIBS, which is headquartered in Shanghai, better access to Europe.

CEIBS has campuses in China’s economic and political capitals – Shanghai and Beijing – as well as operations in Shenzhen to the south of China and Accra in Ghana. The school was established in 1994, as a joint venture between the Shanghai government and the then European Commission. Among the school’s more than 24,000 alumni around the globe, the majority are in leadership positions. As the needs of its students and alumni have changed over the years, CEIBS has adapted to better fulfill its goal of educating responsible business leaders. The acquisition of the Lorange Institute of Business Zurich, made by the non-profit organization Friends of CEIBS Foundation (FCF), is a milestone in the school’s internationalization strategy.

"An increasing number of our alumni are doing business globally, so we have to better serve this group,” explains CEIBS European President Professor Pedro Nueno. “At the same time, the Chinese economy is growing larger and more complex and its impact on the rest of the world is undeniable; so it’s time to better summarize and develop business theories and models, based on Chinese practices, and convey those messages worldwide.”

According to DING Yuan, Vice President and Dean, Cathay Capital Chair Professor in Accounting at CEIBS, the branch in Zurich will be part of an interactive exchange: "We will bring Chinese executives to Zurich to visit selected companies and interact with European experts. Our goal is for our Chinese students to understand how they can adapt European practices to their local context in China; and for Europeans to better understand Chinese issues in the context of similar problems they may have faced in the past. This will be interactive, two-way communication."

The excellent business environment and the central location were among the reasons of CEIBS to choose Zurich as access point to Europe. "We needed a good location that would make strategic sense to the type of clients we will have. This was very important. The diverse business environment of Zurich, including the banking or manufacturing sector, will attract our executives. Moreover, Zurich is easily reached with direct flights from Asia, and places like Munich or Stuttgart are easily accessible.", says DING Yuan.

The Greater Zurich Area AG, the international contact partner for promotion and marketing of the Greater Zurich Area economic region, supports CEIBS to further globalize their businesses. GZA provides a bridge and free services to Chinese companies with an interest to do business in Switzerland and connects them to relevant companies, authorities and institutions in industry and academia.