Proactively integrating into the world and letting the world see us - A 40 year documentary on the internationalization of School of Business Administration, JUFE

During the Mengchun season, 86 teachers and students from 15 countries across three continents gathered on the campus of Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics to compete for the championship of the Network of International Business Schools (NIBS) Worldwide Case Competition through a 5-day intense competition. This is the first time that this high-level international case competition has come to Asia and is hosted by a Chinese university. It is also the first time that the university has held such a large-scale and high-level international event. Behind this event is the continuous efforts of the School of Business Administration (SBA) at Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics(JUFE) since joining NIBS in 2013, from an active participant to the event organizer; It is also a microcosm of the school's 40 years of commitment to international education since its establishment, from point to surface, from shallow to deep, from passive connection to active integration.

The international exchange of School of Business Administration, JUFE began in 1986. Teachers from the Department of Industrial Economics (predecessor of the School of Business Administration) visited Canadian universities with the Ministry of Finance's financial and economic education inspection team, taking the first step towards international exchange and cooperation. In the following decade, the school steadily advanced its internationalization process, introducing teachers with overseas study backgrounds, offering related majors such as international enterprise management, and exploring cooperative education with overseas universities. It embarked on a path of international education from cultivating international talents to gaining international recognition, and then to deepening its system.

Project Foundation Building: Expanding Talent Perspectives through International Cooperation in Running Schools

1998 was an important year in the history of the internationalization of the school and even JUFE. The school was approved by the Ministry of Education to cooperate with the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) in the United States to hold an MBA program. This was the first batch of Sino foreign cooperative education programs in the country and also a breakthrough point for the school to comprehensively open up international education with projects as the starting point. As one of the exemplary Sino foreign cooperative education programs, this program has been successfully running for 27 years, cultivating more than 2500 composite international senior management elites, and has been continuously selected as the "Best Sino foreign Cooperative Program" by China Business School for the past 5 years (2020-2024).

The positive effects of the Sino US MBA program have accumulated experience for the school to cultivate international talents. Since then, the school has actively applied for the Global Operations Management (GOBA) interdisciplinary and innovative talent training program, and has received funding from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) for three consecutive periods. It has cooperated with universities such as Aalborg University in Denmark, Nantes Business School in France, Alexander Yang Kuza University in Romania, and Brunel University in London. Nearly 30 teachers and students have gone abroad to study, pursue doctoral degrees, and participate in joint doctoral training through this program. As the leading unit, the school has successfully applied for the International Organization Reserve Talent Training Project, initiated the China Central and Eastern European Countries Joint Education Project, and undertaken the school's first International Organization Reserve Talent Training Camp... Multiple international projects have become powerful tools for the school to cultivate international talents. The school has also established cooperative relationships with universities in Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia and other countries, initiated the establishment of the Global Digital Empowerment Research Alliance (DERN), the Sino British International Business Joint Research Center (SBRCIB), and founded the "Management Change and Corporate Sustainable Development (MC&SD)" international academic conference, further expanding the international perspective of teachers and students, and driving more students to go global from JUFE through various cooperative projects. While realizing the internationalization of the school's education from point to surface and initially taking shape, promoting the school's output of international teaching and research achievements, and accelerating its pace towards the international stage.

Achievements Bloom: Winning International Peer Recognition with High end Case Studies

Harvard and Yiwei Case Libraries, as core authoritative resource libraries in the field of international management education, have deeply influenced the global business education model through their case development and teaching methods. In the process of deepening internationalization, the school has anchored high-level international cases and jointly initiated the establishment of the International Case Study Association (ICRA) with universities in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries. It hosts SPS case study method seminars, high-quality case studies and case teaching international seminars, and insists on telling the world the story of Chinese enterprise management. In 2019, the English cases targeting local enterprises in the school were selected for the first time in the Harvard and Yiwei case databases, achieving a breakthrough of "zero" international high-level cases. Since then, the school has continued to produce high-level international cases. As of May 2025, the total number of cases has reached 18, ranking among the top universities in China. The case themes cover digital transformation of enterprises, innovation and entrepreneurship, global development, service transformation, brand marketing and other fields.

With a solid foundation in case development, the school actively combines case studies with talent cultivation, not only frequently excelling in domestic case competitions, but also achieving excellent results in international case competitions: the school representative team has won the global championship of Emerald/CRA International Student Case Competition, the first ICRA Ivy Biz Case Debate Asian university championship, and achieved excellent results in Rotterdam Carlton International Case Completion; He has advanced to the final 16 of the NIBS Global Business Case Competition 9 times and the semi-finals 3 times, with the best result being 6th place globally.

The research team of the school, using case studies as a carrier, has achieved remarkable results in carrying out digital literacy for children in rural areas of China, attracting international attention and winning the first AIS Impact Award from the Global Information Systems Association (only three globally); The school has promoted local enterprises to win the Outstanding Award of "Ram Charan Management Practice Award" (the highest honor in China's management practice) for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023; We have achieved outstanding results in collaborating with the case enterprise on industry education education and have won the AACSB Global Inspirational Innovation Project Award (the third award-winning university in China); Nominated for AMBA&BGA Best Business School Partner Award in 2023 for cooperation with Lidu Liquor Industry (the only nomination in China and only 5 globally); The book 'Chinese Management Principles', which contains a large number of management cases with Chinese characteristics, is published by Spring Publishing and included in the Springer Series: Management for Professionals. We are delighted to see that the voice of SBA,JUFE echoes frequently in the process of the school going global.

Deep cultivation of the system: integrating authoritative international accreditation into global business education

The gradually accelerating pace of internationalization requires more proactive actions. The school actively benchmarks against the three major international business accreditation and further integrates into the international business education system. From 2019 to 2022, SBA has successively joined the Business Graduates Association (BGA), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) as formal members. In February 2022, the school became the first BGA independently accredited gold medal school in Chinese Mainland and the only school in the university to obtain international business accreditation; By 2024, it became the only financial and economic institution in China to receive the QS Stars Business School five-star rating international accreditation; In November 2025, the school will undergo on-site visits for AACSB initial accreditation. In addition, the school actively promotes the United Nations World Tourism Organization Educational Quality accreditation (UNWTO TedQual) and the Central and Eastern European Management Development Association IQA International Quality Certification. In the process of benchmarking against international first-class standards, the school has achieved iterative upgrades of its mission and vision, and clarified its international sustainable development goals. In terms of talent cultivation mode, the school deeply cultivates the modern business education system, continuously improves the teaching staff, innovates teaching methods, and strives to cultivate international talents that better meet market demand. As a result, the school has significantly enhanced its international reputation and competitiveness, further expanded international exchanges and cooperation, and comprehensively promoted the school towards a higher development platform.

The school adheres to the concept of openness, communication, and co creation, and has successively joined international organizations such as the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the Asia Academy of Management (AAoM), the Association of Asia-Pacific Business Schools (AAPBS), the Central and Eastern European Association for Management Development (CEEMAN), the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), and the Latin American Council of Management Schools (CLADEA). It has hosted the finals of the NIBS Worldwide Case Competition... Through exchanges with scholars, teachers, and students from around the world, it has gradually built a multi-level and wide-ranging international cooperation network, established a platform for cross-cultural academic competition and case innovation, continuously deepened global education concepts, and promoted the two-way empowerment and mutual learning innovation of Chinese management and international standards.

From a slow start to deep integration, the School of Business Administration at Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics has steadily advanced in the journey of international education, with an open and inclusive attitude, continuously building cultural and academic exchange bridges that cross national borders and eliminate cognitive differences. Looking towards the future, the school has proposed the "5S Action Plan" for outstanding development, which includes systematicity, synergy, service, sustainability, and scalability. Through adhering to integrity and innovation, the school will continue to deepen reforms and actively integrate into the international business education system, allowing the world to hear the voice of SBA,JUFE and see the wisdom of Chinese management and attracting global attention to the vigorous vitality of Chinese business practice.

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