For more than a century, eager, intelligent Chinese have been going abroad to study, leaving indelible impacts on the countries where they learned. But while Chinese continue to go overseas for education, drawn by outrageous economic growth, hundreds of thousands of people from around the world are now coming here to study.

Sankar Mohan, a 27-year-old Indian, came to China in September 2008. After spending a year learning Chinese at Beijing Language and Cultural University, he became an MBA student at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing last October.

"I met barriers in my career as a software engineer in India and wanted to move up fast. Getting a master's degree would facilitate this," he said. "China is doing well in the world economy, and personally I am a risk-taking person. When everyone is going to the United States or UK, I want to do something different."

After two years of studying and living in China, Mohan can speak intermediate Mandarin and enjoys the local alcohol products, often spurned by most foreigners for their harshness. He also plans to bring his Indian fianc��e to China and hold a wedding ceremony in Shanghai this November.

"An increasing number of overseas students have applied for our international MBA program since 2008, as the global financial crisis hit the US and Europe hard, while China is an emerging market which has kept up fast growth," said Liu Weiyu, senior manager of CKGSB's MBA Department.

Booming overseas students

Cheung Kong's overseas student percentage has grown to 30 percent in 2009 from just 10 percent in 2008, with students coming from the US, Europe and other Asian countries. Tsinghua University's business school has also seen a 42 percent increase in its overseas students since 2008.

China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) has enrolled overseas students since 2005. "Around 37 percent of the student population comes from abroad, and we try to keep it close about 40 percent," said Lydia J. Price, academic director of the MBA Program in CEIBS.

Price said the profiles of their overseas students have changed in the past few years. "Our applicants have become more experienced in China, many of whom can speak Chinese or have Chinese family members. Many also have spent years studying or working in China," she said. "We are enrolling students who are dedicated to China and getting well prepared."

Alex Quintieri, a 32-year-old Spanish-Italian, was an IT security officer at GE Money Bank in Barcelona, before he asked to be transferred to China in June 2009 to live in a more challenging and growing country.

"I used to lead a team of nine people and manage an annual budget of �400,000 ($510,280) in the company," he said. "As I worked in a vertical field, I wanted to go to a top business school, where I could leverage my managerial skills and build up a strong business network."

With a master's degree in EuroAsian International Business Management at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and a "La Caixa" Bank Scholarship that covers full tuitions and living expenses totaling about $70,000, he became a full-time MBA student in CEIBS's Shanghai campus last August. "We have a talented and diverse global faculty and my classmates are mainly from the US, Canada, Western Europe and Asian countries," he said. "They are all open-minded, eager to share their experiences and very helpful."

Filling in the gap

Price said for overseas students like Quintieri and Mohan, bridging cross-cultural differences is a challenge.

Quintieri said China's business culture is very different from Europe's. "In Europe we are more direct, and try to change people's opinions at meetings," he said. "In China, negotiations in more relaxed environments facilitate business decisions, and reinforcing relationships is a critical part to success."

CEIBS has opened a series of China-focused courses on the country's economy, society, politics and human resources, helping students develop a deeper understanding of the country. "Fast economic growth requires us to constantly revise, improve and update everything that we deliver in the classroom," Price said.

Basic Chinese language competency will also be compulsory for overseas students in CEIBS. "We realized that if our students want to do well in China's job market, they need to be able to speak Chinese," she said.

According to Mohan, building a local network is as important as studying in the classroom. He established a Sino India Club with three Indian classmates in June. Now the club has 15 regular members, including Chinese and Indian students and businessmen, as well as those interested in the two countries.

"We hold events every month, and hope to recruit more members outside the school to share and help with each other," he said.

Coming and going

Mohan will soon finish his one-year MBA program in Cheung Kong and graduate in October. He's going to stay in China rather than go back home. "I have invested a lot of time in China, and China is at the growing stage of the IT outsourcing industry, so my effect will be bigger here," he said.

He has contacted with two Indian IT companies Infosys and Wipro, who have branches in Shanghai and Chengdu respectively. His salary prospect is about 15,000 yuan ($2,200) per month, nearly twice that of his former job in India. "As it's my first job in China, choosing a suitable company and position is more important than earning a high salary," he said.

Liu from Cheung Kong said about half of their overseas students will stay in China, and half will go to other countries. "Some students need a master's degree to be promoted in their companies, and experience related to China would help boost their careers," he said.

CEIBS's career report on its MBA 2007 graduates also reveals that half of overseas graduates stayed in the Chinese mainland and half left. But the average annual compensation of overseas students who work in the mainland is 105,829 yuan ($15,567) higher than those working outside the mainland.
Quintieri will graduate from CEIBS as early as next January. He said he hasn't decided his next job location, but probably in China or other Asian destinations. "I expect to work in management consulting or a strategic role in the IT sector related to China," he added.

Liu said that Chinese firms are missing out on opportunities to snag these foreign grads. "Domestic firms do not recruit enough foreigners, so most graduates end up at multinationals or leave."