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The University of Chicago Booth School of Business announced today (August 18) that the first intake of its Hong Kong Executive MBA campus includes students representing over 25 countries, exceeding its targets for both class size and diversity.
Chicago Booth made the decision to relocate its Executive MBA programme from Singapore to Hong Kong in July 2013, as part of its Asian strategy to deepen its global engagement and influence.
The Managing Director, Executive MBA Program Asia of Chicago Booth, Mr Richard Johnson, said that students will learn from a distinguished world-renowned faculty, which has produced nearly 90 Nobel Laureates (12 in economics in the past 20 years) of which six are currently active members of the faculty including Professor Eugene Fama and Professor Lars Peter Hansen.
Mr Johnson added that the "Chicago Approach" to business education combines the very best in conceptual knowledge and academic theory with practical real world application. Chicago Booth also conducts some non-degree executive education courses for busy professionals.
He said that 16 per cent of the Asian programme students are US citizens, followed by Mainland (11 per cent) and Hong Kong citizens (10 per cent). Other places of origin include Russia, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
"The diversity of intakes shows that the decision to anchor our programme in Hong Kong was the right one. By being in Hong Kong, we are able to reach out more easily to our target groups in North Asia including business leaders from Mainland China, which is becoming a dominant economy in the world, while still maintaining a strong share of students from Southeast Asia," he said.
The Associate Dean for Global Outreach at Chicago Booth, Mr William Kooser added, "Asia is a critical region to University of Chicago faculty, students and alumni, and the University brings its distinctive intellectual approach to the region in many ways. Expanding into Hong Kong allows us to have an impact on future leaders in business and build new corporate relationships in North Asia as well, complementing our activities."
Chicago Booth operates in a recently renovated state-of-the-art campus at Cyberport. It is working with the Government to gain the necessary approvals to secure a land grant and build a permanent campus at the Victoria Road ex-detention centre site on Mount Davis.
Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion Mr Andrew Davis, said that Hong Kong's international status has been boosted by Chicago Booth's presence. "Having such a top education brand in Hong Kong focuses the world's attention on our city. In return, Hong Kong's highly international environment and its proximity to Mainland China offer Chicago Booth a good platform from which to implement its development strategy," he said.
About Chicago Booth
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is one of the leading business schools in the world. The "Chicago Approach" for management education is distinguished by how it leverages fundamental knowledge, its rigour and its practical application to business challenges. The Hong Kong campus offers an Executive MBA Program and non-degree Executive short courses. For more information, please visit www.chicagobooth.edu .
About Invest Hong Kong
Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) is the department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government established in July 2000 to take responsibility for foreign direct investment and support overseas and Mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong. It provides free advice and customised services to help businesses succeed in Hong Kong's vibrant economy. As of June 2014, InvestHK had completed over 3 300 investment projects creating more than 36 400 new jobs in the first year of operation or expansion and over HK$88 billion of investment. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.
For an event photo, please visit www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/sets/72157646575397612/ .
Ends/Monday, August 18, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:02
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