ZURICH, Sept. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the global operations management team at a financial technology (fin-tech) company that supports over 200 international businesses and their 1.5 million employees, Turkish national Turan Akgül needs to have a strategic view of how the world does business, and he is especially interested in emerging markets. He is based in Switzerland so he signed up for the China Europe International Business School's (CEIBS) Global EMBA Program which began its Zurich cohort on September 26.
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"I believe this century will belong to China," 42-year-old Akgül said hours before classes officially began at the campus nestled along the shores of Lake Zurich. For someone in his field, China's fin-tech market could have vital lessons to offer as it includes the likes of major players such as Alibaba's Alipay and Yuebao, plus Tencent's WeChat Payment.
Akgül is also eager to learn more about Africa. "I consider Africa a fast growing continent, where the opportunities are huge. I wanted to have a truly international EMBA experience with a focus on emerging markets. That is why I chose the CEIBS Global EMBA. In addition to studying in Europe, I am also really looking forward to the electives we will do in Shanghai and Accra."
The program, offered from CEIBS' European Campus, the Lorange Institute of Business in Zurich, has Akgül studying alongside 28 peers from Europe, China and Africa. Participants are about 39 years old, on average; almost 28% are females; 24% have Masters Degrees or above and they have decades of experience in a wide range of industries. There is a mixture of participants from private companies, state-owned enterprises and government. Classes will be available in Zurich, Accra and Shanghai with electives in major cities around the world.
Akgül has spent his entire career in the international banking sector, and is working out of Equatex Ltd.'s Zurich office. He is in charge of business process management for the company's global operations. He has extensive expertise in client relationship management and change process management, but is still eager to expand his knowledge in these and other related areas.
Change management, for example, is an area that fascinates him. He is convinced that change should be an integral part of any company strategy, as only companies which are agile and innovative will survive. "At the personal level, I would like to have new insights in international business management," he added. "At the same time I would like to learn about innovative tools, with which I can master challenges within a company's management cycle and add value to the business. I would also like to further enhance and develop my soft and management skills in order to be better prepared for today's challenging business world."
The Zurich class is the second cohort of the CEIBS GEMBA. Its curriculum is identical to the one offered to participants in Shanghai, ranked among the Financial Times Top 20 for the last six years, where the latest class began on September 4.
For more information on the CEIBS GEMBA Program click here.
About CEIBS
Headquartered at its largest campus in Shanghai, China Europe International Business School is mainland China's leading business school, with three programmes globally ranked by the Financial Times. CEIBS offers MBA, Finance MBA, Executive MBA, Executive Education and PhD programmes. Established in 1994 as a non-profit joint venture between the Chinese and European governments, CEIBS also has campuses in China's political capital, Beijing, and Zurich in the heart of Europe. CEIBS also offers programmes from its facilities in Shenzhen to China's south and Accra in Ghana.
