As Asia plays a continuously larger role in international business and governance, professionals from Europe and other western countries have an increasing need for training on the political, commercial, technological and cultural issues inherent to the continent. The new Executive Master in Asian Affairs provides an overview of the topics that executives in the private, public and non-profit sectors must understand when working in or with China, India and Southeast Asia.

The Graduate Institute’s Executive Education department and the Centre for Asian Studies have launched the new Executive Master in collaboration with the Centre for Area and Cultural Studies (CACS) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Geneva. The first group of participants will begin the programme in Geneva in November 2011. Applications are now being accepted.

The nine month part-time programme is designed for professionals who aspire to work or are already working in Asia or on related issues from the public and private sectors, the science and engineering fields as well as any others that are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the continent.

Through four modules: culture and history; business and good governance; cross-cultural situations and negotiation; as well as science, technology and health, the programme aims to give participants analytical and practical skills to be able to participate effectively in the shifting business and governance horizons in Asia.

The Executive Master in Asian Affairs programme also offers participants three optional summer schools in Bangalore-India, Shanghai-China and Ho Chi Min City-Vietnam giving them the opportunity to get first hand experience working in Asia. The schools include visits of enterprises, projects, public institutions and more.

The master builds on the latest research and expertise of the faculty at the Graduate Institute, the CACS-EPFL and the University of Geneva. The partners’ large networks also allow for exchanges with practitioners and academics from several countries.

Detailed information on the Executive Master in Asian Affairs is available on the Graduate Institute’s Executive Education website.