Together again, and stronger — Deep and sustainable relationships have brought CGI through difficult years

On the Carlson School’s commencement day in May, 61 graduates of the executive MBA programs in China and Vienna stood with their Class of 2023. They were joined by members of three cohorts unable to attend during the COVID-19 pandemic years—21 graduates from 2020, 2021, and 2022, as well as 40 from the Medical Industry MBA in Shanghai. Joy was visible in big smiles and excited conversations. 

2023年5月，卡尔森管理学院国际项目学生参加明尼苏达大学毕业礼

For the China and Vienna Executive MBA programs (CHEMBA and VEMBA), commencement is a highlight that caps the rush of their two-week residencies in Minnesota and, for VEMBA, also New York. Customized visits to top companies include many Carlson School alumni and CGI Advisory Council members. The students also spend intensive time in the classroom, together in person for the first time. Commencement is always a celebration. 

Global Team Project (GTP)

*全球商业计划项目(Global Team Project)提供了一个让欧洲VEMBA，中国CHEMBA以及美国CEMBA学员进行跨文化学习、交流和合作的平台。

This year was especially exhilarating. Students and staff from China were heartily welcomed in person after a three-year separation due to pandemic travel restrictions that ended this spring. 

“Our students coming to Minnesota are the signal to everyone that we are back,” said Susie Yu, executive director for CHEMBA in Guangzhou, who first joined the staff in 2015. 

Susie Yu

Executive Director for CHEMBA

It is because of deep and sustainable relationships with partners in China, including staff such as Yu, that CGI programs have emerged from the stress of the past years. 

Professor Lin Jiang, co-academic director of CHEMBA, cites four factors in the strong relationship with the Carlson School: the University of Minnesota’s long history of ties with China dating to 1914, the strategic importance of Guangdong province, exceptional alumni engagement, and the people-to-people nature of a collaboration deemed necessary for our countries’ successful futures. Many other programs have not survived.

CHEMBA项目学术主任：林江教授

中山大学岭南学院经济学系教授、博士生导师

“We are so happy that the CHEMBA program has lasted, even in these difficult times,” says Lin.

Yu also credits the students themselves. As classes went online and were forced to be rescheduled from two days a week to four halfdays, with some recorded and some live, the logistics proved daunting. Almost no Carlson School faculty were able to enter China for in-person teaching, and the students couldn’t participate in the U.S. residency in person when it resumed, which took a toll on enrollment. 

“I almost gave up so many times,” Yu says. “But when you see the hope in the students’ eyes, you find something inside and want to continue. I learned so much from them.” 

She was encouraged, too, by the program’s archives. CHEMBA began in 2001, when travel was restricted by an earlier pandemic and the aftermath of 9/11, at a time when communications relied on fax machines, not email. 

2000年6月22日下午三时，中山大学岭南学院与美国明尼苏达大学卡尔森学院假座岭南堂三楼多功能会议厅举行两院合作建设高级行政工商管理硕士项目(EMBA)签字仪式。

“The residency is like a period at the end of the sentence that is their program,” Yu says. “Now they can close their MBA journey and continue as alumni.” 

Alumni are a key asset of the Carlson School. They have played an even greater role during the pandemic years. 

2023年4月，“凝心聚力 · 共启新程”—中山大学岭南学院 · 明尼苏达大学卡尔森管理学院CHEMBA2023校友年会成功举办

In China, CHEMBA alumni benefit from Lingnan University’s long tradition of alumni engagement. They volunteer, support a charitable foundation, network, convene regularly, and are critical to recruitment for the program. This year, they warmly welcomed Associate Dean Steve Parente on his first visit to Guangzhou. 

2023年4月23日，美国明尼苏达大学卡尔森管理学院副院长Stephen Parente教授来访我院

“The alumni embody all that CHEMBA represents, not only study but also mind, body, and heart,” says Assistant Dean Anne D’Angelo.

Anne D’Angelo

Assistant Dean

Students in the Vienna Executive MBA program did not experience the long separation of their CHEMBA counterparts. But those who missed the residency and commencement were invited to attend, and some were able to do so. 

2020年初，VEMBA到访中山大学岭南学院

“I think for them it is a testimony to the strength of our partnership—going through these challenging times together—and a clear message to them that we care,” says Barbara Stöttinger, dean of the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) Executive Academy and academic director of the program.

2023年5月，VEMBA和CHEMBA学员参访艺康集团（Ecolab）