IBSS Successfully Held the 2024 Master Induction

On 6 September, the International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) held the 2024 master induction. This induction was divided into three sessions. The first two sessions were specially designed for full-time master students, and the last session was for part-time postgraduate students. A total of 560 new postgraduate students participated in this grand induction event, which was hosted by Dr Jiang Yue, the director of IBSS postgraduate programmes.

The induction kicked off with a warm welcome speech by Professor Jorg Bley. He elaborated on the important achievements and core values of the school and emphasised that IBSS would provide them with excellent high-quality education. He said, "IBSS is developing extremely rapidly. The school has successfully obtained triple accreditation from AACSB, EQUIS, and AMBA. The school attaches great importance to sustainable business education and has become the only PRME Champion School in China in 2024. It is also the first business school in China to have a mindfulness centre. In addition, the school also provides many facilities such as the upcoming trading floor to fully support students' research and learning. The school has many international partners, providing students with a wide variety of opportunities, including participating in competitions and internships. At the same time, there is a professional team to help students find ideal jobs smoothly after graduation."

Subsequently, Dr Nimesh Salike, the Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching at IBSS, introduced to the students that the teaching goal of IBSS is to provide world-class education, create an intellectually stimulating development environment, adopt advanced and innovative teaching methods, and actively promote research. With top-notch, experienced faculty and an effective professional management support system, the school aims to achieve the goal. Dr Salike mentioned that IBSS teaching focuses both on theory and practice. Through field trips, case studies, and inviting guest speakers, market practice knowledge is integrated into teaching. He also underscored the importance and challenges posed by AI and sustainable development in contemporary business education. IBSS is continuously working to integrate these factors into the curriculum and teaching structure to improve curriculum quality. Dr Salike hopes students can participate in diverse teaching activities, maintain communication with project leaders and module leaders, and utilise the school's resources, including the library and various laboratories. Thus, they can deeply understand academic knowledge and improve personal skills.

Then, Professor Ewout van der Schaft, the Associate dean of internationalisation at IBSS, highlighted the QTEM (Quantitative Techniques for Economics and Management) programme to the new students. He introduced that IBSS has more than twenty QTEM places every year. Students who successfully apply for the QTEM programme will go to another country for an additional semester of study. During their study abroad, they are exempt from tuition fees and can also obtain the master's degree from their own school and the QTEM degree certificate. IBSS hopes that postgraduate students can actively participate in the QTEM programme, go to other top business schools around the world for exchange studies, enrich their life experiences and international perspectives, and gain additional professional experience. In addition, the school has two summer programmes, including the company consulting project and the virtual business competition. Students have the opportunity to intern in well-known multinational companies to improve their employment competitiveness, including McKinsey, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Bain, etc.

In addition, IBSS has established a Work placement, Employability and career Development (WEC) Team to help students gain an advantage in the practical battle of finding internships and jobs. Hailu Hou, a career counsellor at IBSS, introduced to students how the WEC team cultivates and develops students' employability and enhances their future employment competitiveness. Students can plan their careers by taking steps such as participating in self-awareness training, understanding industry information, analysing gaps, and improving skills. In addition, the school will also invite senior managers from industries such as finance, accounting, consulting, e-commerce, and manufacturing to hold a series of activities to provide students with industry insights. In order to provide targeted help to students, the team regularly designs and holds employment lectures, seminars, trainings, career counselling and other activities to cultivate students to possess transferable skills, self-management skills, career development skills, and job search skills. The IBSS also provides students with abundant internship and full-time job opportunities. Every spring and autumn, IBSS will regularly hold job fairs to create opportunities for students to communicate with enterprises in different industries and explore their future career development paths more broadly. In addition, IBSS regularly organises enterprise visits, career development training camps and other projects to help students familiarise themselves with corporate culture and environment, formulate clearer job search goals, and improve students' workplace social skills, self-promotion skills and other professional skills.

Yiling Guo, Lingyun Li and Shibo Gao, three student development advisors of the IBSS, introduced the student development advisor service. The school’s development advisor team provides students with comprehensive support, advice, and information in addition to academic issues. The goal of the team is to promote students' academic progress, growth and development, and ensure a pleasant campus experience. They also encouraged new students to actively communicate with them in their future study and life.

After the orientation, the new students of 14 postgraduate programmes met and communicated with the directors and deputy directors of their respective majors. According to the professional requirements and characteristics, the directors and deputy directors of each major introduced the course information, learning tasks, practical activities, channels for obtaining services and help in detail to the students, and patiently answered the students' questions. They encouraged students to communicate more with the teachers and the teachers of the IBSS support team to gain more knowledge and experience in the limited time.

This IBSS postgraduate orientation provided comprehensive information and support for the new students, demonstrating the school's advantages and characteristics in teaching, internationalisation, career development, and student growth. Through this orientation, the new students have a deeper understanding of the college, laying a solid foundation for their future study and development.