IBSS-BI exchange shows internationalisation at its best

For many students, a year abroad becomes a collection of photographs, passport stamps and funny anecdotes. For the latest cohort from BI Norwegian Business School, their year at the International Business School Suzhou (IBSS), part of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), became something more enduring: a lesson in cultural understanding, adaptability and global citizenship.

Exchange students from BI Norwegian Business School celebrate their graduation at IBSS.

For many students, a year abroad becomes a collection of photographs, passport stamps and funny anecdotes. For the latest cohort from BI Norwegian Business School, their year at the International Business School Suzhou (IBSS), part of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), became something more enduring: a lesson in cultural understanding, adaptability and global citizenship.

The recent graduation ceremony for the IBSS-BI Business School Exchange Programme marked the culmination of an action-packed year for 27 exchange students from Norway; the largest cohort so far. It also celebrated another milestone in one of XJTLU’s most successful international exchange partnerships.

Since launching in 2016, around 150 Norwegian students have exchanged to IBSS and, at a time when international cooperation can often feel uncertain, the programme continues to demonstrate what internationalisation at its best can look like: practical, personal and culturally immersive.

The ceremony brought together students, academic staff and supervisors to reflect on a year shaped as much by cultural discovery as academic achievement. Among the attendees were Kirsty Mattinson, Director of XJTLU Global; Professor Eddy Fang, Dean of IBSS; and Ewout van der Schaft, Associate Dean for Internationalisation and Global Partnerships. They were joined by academics and Final Year Project supervisors including Filippo Garini, Anna Hsu, Xiangyu Hu, Nuno da Camara, Daniel Hampson, David Dufour along with Yiyuan Chen, Study Abroad Team Leader.

Ambassadors for globalisation

Opening the ceremony, Professor Eddy Fang reflected on the wider significance of the Norwegian students’ experience in China. He described the graduates not simply as ambassadors for IBSS or China, but as ambassadors for globalisation itself.

He spoke candidly about the changing international landscape facing today’s students.

“For our generation, globalisation felt inevitable,” he said. “The world seemed to be becoming smaller and more connected. But today, you are entering a world with growing tensions and divisions.”

Against this backdrop of uncertainty, he said, the students’ decision to spend a year studying in China carried particular importance.

“What you have experienced here, crossing borders, cultures and perspectives, matters more than ever,” he said. “You are helping to build bridges between markets, societies and people.”

Professor Fang rounded off by saying that the relationships and understanding developed through the IBSS-BI exchange would not only shape the students’ future careers, but also contribute to greater international cooperation in an increasingly “dislocated” world.

From right to left: Dean of IBSS, Professor Eddy Fang pictured with a BI Student and her supervisor Dr Nuno da Camara.

A year that will stand out

If Professor Fang’s speech focused on the global picture, Associate Dean Ewout van der Schaft brought the audience back to the realities - and quirks - of student life in Suzhou.

Referencing the cohort’s penchant for Suzhou and Shanghai nightlife, Taco Wednesdays and their “luxurious” accommodation choices complete with “lake views and jacuzzies”, his speech struck just the right tone, between humour and sincerity.

“You solved everything yourselves,” he joked, describing the cohort as “low maintenance” before quickly realising this was perhaps not the compliment students had hoped for. Realising the reaction, he quickly laughed and added: “Fine. You are the best cohort ever” prompting loud applause and cheers from the room.

He praised the students for solving problems independently, supporting one another and embracing the experience wholeheartedly.

“This is a year you will not forget,” he told the graduates. “Years later, when you look back on your life, this one will stand out.”

Speaking on behalf of the Final Year Project supervisors, Xiangyu (David) Hu encouraged students to carry forward the “curiosity, courage and teamwork” they had developed during their time in Suzhou. Describing graduation as “not the end, but a fresh start”, he reminded the cohort that the global vision and resilience gained through the exchange would stay with them long after leaving IBSS.

Associate Dean Ewout van der Schaft (centre) pictured with some of the BI cohort.

Finding solace in one another

Delivering a vote of thanks on behalf of the BI students, Eva Sofie gave a heartfelt and humorous reflection on the cohort’s year in China – a year she described as scary, exciting and an “absolute adventure”.

Her speech captured many of the moments that had come to define the year abroad: the warmth of the Chinese people, backpacking trips across Asia, random strangers handing them babies for photographs, late nights in Shanghai and countless coffees up on the fifth-floor of the BS building.

She also thanked IBSS and XJTLU-Global team for supporting the students throughout the year, alongside the final year project supervisors who, she joked, had patiently adapted to the cohort’s “Norwegian work-vacation balance”.

Reflecting on life as a cohort, Eva said the students had “found solace in one another, perhaps too much at times”, prompting laughter from the audience. What began as a group of strangers quickly became a close-knit community of roommates, classmates and travel companions navigating life far from home together.

Such sentiments were captured perfectly in Eva’s closing remarks, where she quoted Confucius: “By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection; second, by imitation; and third, by experience”. For the latest BI cohort, their year in Suzhou embodied all three. Through academic study, travel, friendships and daily life in China, students did not simply learn about another culture, they lived it.

In doing so, they became part of a partnership that has become a gold standard for international student exchange and one built not just on institutional agreements, but on curiosity, openness and shared experience across cultures.

Eva Sofie (third from the left) with some of her peers from BI Norwegian Business School.

Find out more

To find out more about internationalisation projects and global partnerships at IBSS, visit: https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/study/departments/international-business-school-suzhou/internationalisation