I moved from Indonesia to China for My MBA: Here’s how I built a global career

After five years in the tech industry in her home country of Indonesia, Vania Utami Gunawan realized that her best opportunities for career growth were tied to China. Her experiences spanned operations, business development, and product development at leading tech firms such as JD.ID, Gojek and ByteDance. 

 Vania had already spent a year in Beijing after her bachelor’s degree, where she witnessed the scale and pace of business in China, as well as the influence Chinese firms had across Southeast Asia. So, when she decided to pursue an MBA to pivot her career, returning to China felt like the most direct way to build the expertise that was increasingly in demand at home. 

“There is not enough talent that understands the Chinese context and is able to speak the Chinese language, so it gives you a strong competitive advantage in the job market. This is what drove me to go back to China,” she says. 

With that in mind, Vania settled on the Global MBA at Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management—ranked the best MBA in China by QS—which aligned well with the goals she had set for herself. 

Here’s how studying one of Asia’s top MBA programs helped boost Vania’s career by offering deep regional insight, global exposure, and the experience and connections she needed for a new career path. 

Understanding China’s business culture to gain a competitive advantage 

During her previous roles at leading tech companies, including JD.ID, Gojek, and ByteDance—the parent company of TikTok—Vania (pictured right) often connected Chinese and Indonesian teams and helped manage the communication differences involved. This showed her how valuable cultural and business insight into China could be for her career. 

For example, she says, “In Indonesia, people are not very direct, so sometimes a ‘yes’ doesn’t always mean they really know what to do.” Additionally, she says that the work ethic in China is very strong and business is faster paced than in Indonesia. 

Vania describes understanding such differences as a missing link between the two cultures, where she saw that Chinese and Indonesian teams often worked with different expectations and needed someone who understood both cultural contexts.  

Studying the Tsinghua MBA and spending time in China allowed her to develop this valuable skill, while also seeing how Chinese companies grow and expand into international markets. Vania highlights a class jointly taught by professors from Tsinghua and MIT Sloan, where students compared cases from companies such as Disney and Lululemon with Chinese firms including CATL, a Chinese battery manufacturer supplying electric vehicle manufacturers worldwide. 

Living in China and study at Tsinghua also allowed her to gain a deep and valuable understanding of the country. The courses provided in-depth insights into China’s macroeconomic landscape and the key drivers behind China’s tremendous growth over the past 20 years. The internships at China immersed her in real-world exposure to China’s working environment and deepen the understanding of local business culture. 

Discussions with her cohort added a global perspective. At Tsinghua, Vania had the opportunity to network and work with students from China, Europe, and Southeast Asia, all bringing diverse cultural backgrounds and industry experience. 

“My Chinese classmates knew their country’s market well, but we also heard from classmates from other countries, so we could see things from different points of view,” she says.  

As well as bringing new perspectives, Vania’s classmates helped her to create an international network.  

“The MBA is not only experienced through the academics or the lectures, but it’s also about the cohort, the friends that you meet there, and how you can exchange ideas.” 

Leveraging the career services to make a career pivot

Pivoting from private-sector tech to working within international organizations (IO)—global institutions formed by multiple countries that work across borders on development and policy—was one of Vania’s long-term goals. 

Vania explains that her interest in global issues began during her undergraduate studies in International Relations, where she saw how approaches used in different countries could be applied to social and economic development. While her early career in tech was driven by the belief that digital solutions could scale impact, she eventually concluded that she wanted to work more directly in development. 

Furthering her education was central to this pivot, as Vania learned that most IOs require a master’s degree. With five years of experience under her belt, an MBA matched her experience level, and the program at Tsinghua offered the experiential learning she was looking for. 

Though she had an unusual MBA career pivot in mind, Vania says she experienced personalized support through Tsinghua’s Career Development Center (CDC), including one-to-one consultations and advice on tailoring her CV for public sector and development roles. 

“The career counselor gave me good advice: she said that a career switch is not easy, but advised me to find a position in an international organization that combined both public-private partnerships, where I could leverage my private sector experience. So, I used her advice to tailor my CV,” says Vania. 

Vania also joined the CDC-IO WeChat group, a channel dedicated to students aiming for careers in international organizations, which shared internship opportunities, public lectures, and events from institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. 

During her MBA, she completed three internships: at the World Economic Forum, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and at a private company. Since moving back to Indonesia post-MBA, she has continued working with IFC, and today works as an associate operations officer. 

 These experiences helped Vania build a set of experiences that aligned with her long-termgoal of working in development.  

“The career consultation and the opportunity to experience a different type of working environment in China throughout my internships were very valuable parts of the MBA,” she says. “Tsinghua’s reputation and resources really helped me to access to these opportunities, it’s like a steppingstone to your next career.”

Making the most of Tsinghua’s resources and experiences

Living in Beijing added an experiential layer to the MBA that couldn’t be gained from coursework alone. The city’s proximity to organizations such as the World Bank and UNESCO, alongside international and Chinese companies, offers practical exposure to a wide range of career pathways.

Day-to-day life in China also became part of Vania’s learning experience.

“When you travel in China you see how things work there, how the people are, the culture, how advanced the technology is. For example, you can pay for things with your hands—I’d never seen that.”

Vania joined the Tsinghua Global Youth Dialogue, a sponsored study tour that brought together students from Harvard, Yale, and schools across India, Saudi Arabia, and Bangladesh. Over several days, the group traveled to cities including Chengdu and Shenzhen—known as the Silicon Valley of China—visiting companies and seeing local approaches to innovation and clean tech. 

“I don’t think there’s many universities that offer such a unique experience. And when we went, it was not only for MBA students, it was a really diverse group,” she says. 

Reflecting on the value students can gain from studying such a diverse and renowned MBA, Vania advises those considering applying to focus on preparing well.   

 “The program is in English, but if you want to maximize your exposure in China, then it’s very important to learn the local language,” she says. 

Vania adds that speaking English alone won’t set graduates apart in Indonesia, where strong English skills are already common, but Chinese language skills, coupled with an understanding of Chinese business culture, can provide a strong competitive advantage.

She also encourages MBA students to take advantage of the full range of opportunities Tsinghua puts within reach.

“Make sure you’re aware of all the resources Tsinghua has and make use of them,” says Vania. “Two years is very short, so know your goal for the MBA. Make use of the career development services, and the clubs and activities on campus."