From Bocconi to the Celestial Empire with an Eye to the Future

ANDREA CONTI AND FILIPPO FABBRONI ARE TWO BOCCONIANS IN BEIJING. THEY STUDY AT THE PRESTIGIOUS YENCHING ACADEMY


They are part of a virtual relay. Filippo Fabbroni will leave Beijing in September, which is when Andrea Conti will arrive in the Chinese capital. Both are graduate students at the Yenching Academy of Peking University, one of the most coveted and hard-to-get-into international management programs. "This school gives you an all-round approach to China," Filippo explains. He is a 24-year-old from Forlì, who graduated from Bocconi with a Bachelor in International Economics, Management and Finance (BIEMF), and then di a Master’s Degree at the London Business School. His future has already been optioned by McKinsey. "The faculty is almost completely Chinese, but they have studied at Ivy League universities in America and it shows in the fact they leave ample room for discussion." Filippo has chosen a major called Law and Society, however the school is characteristic for its multidisciplinarity, which is highly encouraged: "You can attend completely different classes like politics and archeology, while remaining focused on your major." For Filippo, who already was an exchange student in the US and Australia during high school, Bocconi further accelerated his drive to build an international curriculum, "which is important even if I decide to remain working in Italy".
 
Andrea Conti is a 24-year-old from Ravenna who grew up in Rome. He also has strong international credentials, since he earned his Bachelor in International Economics and Management (BIEM) from Bocconi in 2016, and then joined the Global Masters in Management program jointly run by the London Business School and Fudan University: «I was admitted after the usual grind consisting in writing a motivational letter, assembling a résumé, and obtaining academic recommendation letters. Finally, I was interviewed via Skype, where they insisted on the motivation I had to apply to that very program». He will also pursue a law major, which will enable him to get an LL.M. When he returns, there’s a professional future waiting for him: "After Yenching, I will join the Global Graduate Program of Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharma giant, which consists of a year spent in Dubai, six months in Zurich, and the last six months in one of the 110 countries that are part of the AAMEO (Africa, Asia, Middle East and Oceania) division of the company».
 
 

by Davide Ripamonti
Translated by Alex Foti