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A Field Study Trip of Leadership to Dunhuang 1

Nov 26-2019   



Today the classroom of some 30 MBA students of BiMBA moves to Dunhuang City, 2,200 km to the west of Beijing and once one of the most important hubs along the Silk Road.

 

For years, Prof. Gong Yuzhen’s course Leadership Lessons of the Silk Road has only been available to doctor programme students. As the Belt and Road initiative gains steam, there comes growing calls for it to be opened to MBA students.

 

The course spans four days and consists of lectures by Prof. Gong and other experts as well as field trips to historical sites. Prof. Gong gave the first lecture today and presented a historical overview of the Silk Road, from its inception in the Han Dynasty to the heydays of Tang Dynasty, and all the way to its decline in Song, Yuan and Qing Dynasties.

 

Undeniably, Han and Tang Dynasties encapsulated the prime eras of the Silk Road: unrivalled prosperity of China and unparalleled trade, cultural, religious and artistic exchanges between the East and the West.

 

The leadership lessons of these prime eras can be boiled down to planning big, open-mindedness, enterprising endeavors, and advanced institutions, said Prof. Gong.

 

Mr. Steve Xu of the PKU-UCL MBA program said this is the first field-based course for him and he’s already learned a lot from the first lecture. “First of all, I come to learn in a systematic way China’s historical efforts with regard to the Silk Road; Secondly, as far as national strategy is concerned, if we give up on shaping the external environment, we might as well lose our control of it; Thirdly, is an organization (including countries) destined to decline?” With more knowledge come more questions, which begets more knowledge.

 

Today’s Dunhuang has a population of 200,000 and yearly tourists at over 3 million. It’s home to many historical sites related to the Silk Road, including the Mao Gao Grottos which exemplifies the fruit of religious exchanges. A field trip there will be arranged tomorrow, coupled with a lecture by an expert.

 

A Field Study Trip of Leadership to Dunhuang 1

Nov 26-2019   



Today the classroom of some 30 MBA students of BiMBA moves to Dunhuang City, 2,200 km to the west of Beijing and once one of the most important hubs along the Silk Road.

 

For years, Prof. Gong Yuzhen’s course Leadership Lessons of the Silk Road has only been available to doctor programme students. As the Belt and Road initiative gains steam, there comes growing calls for it to be opened to MBA students.

 

The course spans four days and consists of lectures by Prof. Gong and other experts as well as field trips to historical sites. Prof. Gong gave the first lecture today and presented a historical overview of the Silk Road, from its inception in the Han Dynasty to the heydays of Tang Dynasty, and all the way to its decline in Song, Yuan and Qing Dynasties.

 

Undeniably, Han and Tang Dynasties encapsulated the prime eras of the Silk Road: unrivalled prosperity of China and unparalleled trade, cultural, religious and artistic exchanges between the East and the West.

 

The leadership lessons of these prime eras can be boiled down to planning big, open-mindedness, enterprising endeavors, and advanced institutions, said Prof. Gong.

 

Mr. Steve Xu of the PKU-UCL MBA program said this is the first field-based course for him and he’s already learned a lot from the first lecture. “First of all, I come to learn in a systematic way China’s historical efforts with regard to the Silk Road; Secondly, as far as national strategy is concerned, if we give up on shaping the external environment, we might as well lose our control of it; Thirdly, is an organization (including countries) destined to decline?” With more knowledge come more questions, which begets more knowledge.

 

Today’s Dunhuang has a population of 200,000 and yearly tourists at over 3 million. It’s home to many historical sites related to the Silk Road, including the Mao Gao Grottos which exemplifies the fruit of religious exchanges. A field trip there will be arranged tomorrow, coupled with a lecture by an expert.