Shanghai 2016: Bocconi Splits in Three in China
Three different dates in one week: this is how Bocconi capitalizes its presence in China, the result of an intense network of partnerships with companies and institutions (there are 21 partner universities) and a well-established alumni community. Over 500 Bocconi and SDA Bococni graduates in fact currently live in China and are gathered around the three alumni chapters of the Bocconi Alumni Association in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
It will be the alumni who will be the protagonists of the first date in Shanghai where on March 11 the fourth edition of the Bocconi Alumni Global Conference will be held (globalconference.bocconialumni.it). The gathering is the international event that the Bocconi Alumni Association organizes each year in a city between Asia, Europe and the Americas (Singapore, New York and London were the venues of the first three editions) to rally its members. Attending in Shanghai will be Mario Monti and Andrea Sironi, President and Rector, respectively, of Bocconi, along with BAA's chairman, Riccardo Monti. There will be many names from the worlds of finance, entrepreneurship and institutions, including Marco Bizzarri, President and CEO of Gucci, Ren Jianxin, Chairman of China National Chemical Corporation (who will be guest speaker at the gala dinner), and the Italian Ambassador to China, Ettore Sequi. 'Silk Road: Eurasia Connectivity', the title of the event in Shanghai, will be an occasion for networking among alumni and at the same time an opportunity to reflect on the economy and finance that travel the modern Silk Road.
"China is an important market for Bocconi, both as a talent pool and for our alumni community, which in recent years has continued to grow", explains Bocconi Rector Andrea Sironi. "The collaboration with Fudan University for China MIM, which this year celebrates its tenth anniversary, and with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology for the World Bachelor in Business, are two excellent outcomes of our strategy of internationalization and penetration in Asia. The choice of Shanghai for this edition of the Global Conference was born precisely of the solid relations that we've built over the years at various levels".
The second date is on March 12 with the 10th anniversary of the China Master in International Management program (China MIM), whose inception was promoted by the Italian and Chinese Ministries of Education in order to strengthen ties between the two countries and to train graduates with an exposure to the respective economies and cultures. Over the past ten years, the program, in collaboration with Bocconi and Fudan University, has seen some 500 Italian and Chinese students take the two-year course between Milan and Shanghai. Currently 76 students are in the 2nd year of the 9th edition of the program at Bocconi while the 78 students of the 10th edition have started their first year in Shanghai. On March 12 in Shanghai, at Fudan University, the tenth anniversary of the program's establishment will be celebrated with a conference as well as networking initiatives between alumni returning to Fudan for the occasion.
The month of March for Bocconi in Shanghai will conclude on March 18 with Bocconi&Jobs, the career event that the University organizes every year in Milan, Paris, London and Mumbai and, since 2012, in Shanghai. The event is open to all Bocconi students (currently in China on exchange, internship or in a Double Degree program) and to Bocconi graduates (within three years from graduation) interested in working in China. Participants will have the chance to meet a mix of Chinese and international companies and obtain information about selection processes, undergo preliminary interviews and learn about job and internship opportunities. Companies taking part will include Almax By Global Visual Group, Club Med, Dolce & Gabbana, Dezan Shira & Associates Shanghai, Diacron Business Consulting, Emerging Asia, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Gucci, Infinity Group, Italmenu, ITG Group China Division, Jesa Investment & Management, LIU JO, Luxottica, Maserati, P&P, Pinko, RsA Asia, Taipan CBS, The Blenders Communications, TOD'S, Yoox.
In 2015 140 Bocconi students and graduates completed an internship in China, thanks to the extensive network of companies with which Bocconi has collaborative relationships.