The joint venture Executive MBA (EMBA) program between Washington University and Fudan University in Shanghai was ranked eighth on Financial Times’ list of 2006 international EMBA programs, and ranked top on the 2006 list for programs in Mainland China.

“The joint venture program started in 2001. We were the first joint venture program in China, and Fudan is one of the leading, authorized universities in China,” said Jim Little, Donald Danforth distinguished professor in the Olin School of Business and the academic director of University EMBA programs.

Fudan, among the oldest and most prestigious universities in China, and the Olin School of Business started the joint venture in 2002. Taught in English, the program lasts 18 months and largely resembles the EMBA program at Washington University.

“The EMBA degree at the time was very new to China; Chinese universities weren’t allowed to offer it at that point,” said Little. “We modeled the program after our curriculum here. They’re very similar.”

Faculty from both universities will share responsibilities, according to Little, although those from Olin take up the bulk of the work because of the usage of English in the program.

“[Teaching] it is also done with a co-teacher. We actually share administrative resources and ideas,” said Little.

So far, the program has found success in finding students, despite its relatively high tuition.

“We’ve been very successful in recruiting students, [although] in Chinese terms, we’re very expensive.”

With China’s increasing economic potential, a demand for trained managers has soared accordingly.

“Many of the companies here have indicated [a need for] quality management training in China. To my mind, people often talk about science and engineering, where China is desperately short in trained managers. The economy is growing so fast that the need for managers is growing exponentially.

“China is a rich opportunity. We found an absolutely first-rate partner. The key to this [program] is having a good and savvy partner,” Little said.

When asked about teaching challenges between the two universities, Little stated that a primary concern involved Chinese emphasis on vertical learning – from the teacher to the student – and the Western use of horizontal learning, where students are encouraged to discuss and evaluate a subject material.

“Traditional Chinese education is more based on rote learning than ours. Even now in an undergraduate class, the professor lectures and the students take notes. That was a real concern. What you teach in a business school is discussion-based, particularly at executive levels,” said Little.

The differences in teaching methods, however, proved less of an obstacle than expected.

“It turns out it wasn’t a problem at all. It may be a matter of self-selection; it may be that these people are in Western companies. These students had a thirst to learn this way. It was much less of a challenge than we thought it would be,” stated Little. “The most difficult thing is, basically they’ve got to be working full-time and as full-time students.”

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