Esade and Guanghua to launch full-time dual degree MBA in 2015

Esade has become the latest western business school to launch an MBA degree with a blue-chip Chinese institution. The Spanish business school will launch a dual degree with the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University in September 2015.

What distinguishes the Esade-Guanghua Dual MBA from many other degrees between Chinese business schools and those in Europe and North America is that it will be a full-time residential programme – most intercontinental MBAs are in a part-time or executive format, designed for working managers.

In February, Guanghua announced an agreement with the Kellogg School of Management from the US to run an EMBA programme in the Chinese capital.

Although Chinese business schools have been signing partnership arrangements with US and European business schools for nearly two decades, the past year has seen an upsurge in relationships, particularly for dual degrees, where participants receive degrees from both institutions.

In June this year, Cornell University’s Johnson school and Tsinghua University in Beijing announced they would launch a double degree MBA programme for those working in finance. And just days later London Business School and Fudan University, in Shanghai, announced that they would teach a double degree Masters in Management (MiM) programme for pre-experience students from September 2015.

Guanghua dean Hongbin Cai said the Esade-Guanghua degree would enable participants to learn about doing business in Europe and Latin America as well as in the rapidly developing Chinese economy. “This programme gives students….. the chance to experience the splendid culture and long history of China and Spain and to learn about the unique business environments of China and Europe.”

The first year of the programme will be run on Esade’s Barcelona – Sant Cugat campus, covering general management with on-site consultancy projects and Spanish language classes. The second year, taught on Guanghua’s campus in Beijing, will include courses on core business practices as well as specialist China-focused subjects. Students will also be given the opportunity to learn Mandarin.