Learn mandarin - Executive education makes mark

BIZCHINA / Biz Life

Executive education makes mark

By Erin Zureick
Updated: 2007-07-13 08:44

As the PowerPoint slides flash across the projection screen, the students
in professor Ben Sopranzetti's seminar furiously scrawled in their
notebooks in an attempt to keep pace.

Equity. Debt. Hybrid financing. These are all part of the discussion as
Sopranzetti, a professor of finance and economics at Rutgers University's
business school, gives a presentation on venture financing to a capacity
crowd in Beijing's China Life Building.

Pacing around the room with his microphone, Sopranzetti mixes fundamental
business advice with recommendations tailored for those trying to seal
deals in China.

"The right choice of bank makes all the difference here," Sopranzetti
explained at one point while addressing debt financing.

The monthly seminar, which had its July meeting on Wednesday, is part of
Rutgers' international executive MBA program. Those in attendance were a
mix of foreign and Chinese students currently enrolled in the program, as
well as alumni. Some flew in from other parts of China �� and even across
the globe �� to attend.

"It's a chance for me to learn," said Linda Lin, a Chinese student in the
program who is in charge of product and commercial management at Siemens,
an electric and electronic company with strong ties in China.

"What we're learning is very close to your life, both practical or
business," added Lin, who flew in for the seminar from the eastern
province of Shandong.

Getting in the game

With China's economy booming, more international companies are setting up
shop in the Middle Kingdom. And more universities are offering MBAs, or
masters in business administration programs to accommodate the increasing
demand for executives.

The University of Maryland's Smith School of Business, which partners
with the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing,
began to offer its Chinese MBA program in 2002 and introduced an
executive MBA program in Shanghai two years ago. Portland State
University announced earlier this month that it's in negotiations with
Peking University to become the first American university to offer an
executive MBA program online for Chinese students.

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