The Tsinghua-INSEAD Executive MBA (TIEMBA) dual degree is certainly an impressive programme. Jointly run by two of the world’s leading academic institutions, it was no surprise when the TIEMBA went straight into theFinancial Times’global ranking of EMBA programmes at number four, a few months ago.

But who are the people behind this most elite of business degrees?

Meet one of them, Stella Cramer, Head of Legal and Compliance (Data Technology and Operations) for Standard Chartered Bank. Based in Singapore, she is originally from Scotland and has worked in the UK, US and Asia, as well as studied law at the College of Europe in Belgium. In short, she is typical of the high-flying, international participants who study for the TIEMBA.

So why does a successful banking executive – with a busy family life and many academic qualifications to her name – take up a new educational challenge like this?

“My background is entirely legal,” she explains. “And although I’ve always worked in commercial law, increasingly I was coming across issues concerning finance, corporate finance, strategy and marketing, that I couldn’t fully appreciate.” An EMBA degree, designed to work in synergy with her challenging role, seemed exactly what her career needed. However, with the proliferation of business schools in Asia, a certain amount of due diligence is required to choose between them.

“My strategy was to go for a top-branded school,” says Stella. “But the traditional western business-school approach just wasn’t enough. Because of the nature of my work, it was also important for me to have a better understanding of China.” So the TIEMBA, with two top-branded schools was appealing, especially as the programme offered a degree and alumni status from both.

Welcome to Beijing…

The attraction of Tsinghua for Stella, as someone who does business with China, was clear. Its economics professors are not just first-rate academics; they are some of China’s major policy influencers. “I’d come back from China and see my professor quoted on the front page of the FT,” says Stella.

However, she also wanted insights into the Chinese way of thinking. Used to studying law and business through case studies and western-style classroom interaction, Stella also wanted to glimpse the traditional Chinese learning methods from the inside and sit alongside Chinese classmates. “It was such a fascinating experience,” she recalls. “And I discovered Beijing through people who actually lived there.”

Singapore, France and Abu Dhabi…

The programme also held some surprises. “I thought I’d be chained to my desk,” confesses Stella. “And it was hard work. But I just didn’t realise how much fun it would be too – moving with this amazing group of people to study in a very different Asian city, then Europe and the Middle East.”

As well as three campuses and a highly international faculty of world-experts, INSEAD also contributes the uniqueLeadership Development Programmeto the TIEMBA. This is a group-based approach to developing leadership skills, which uses innovative coaching and peer-feedback techniques to enable participants to step back, reflect and see themselves as others see them. It runs throughout the programme alongside the modules on economics, marketing, strategy, finance, accounting, organisational behaviour and the rest – and acts as much as a “support network” according to Stella as another subject to study.

And friends the world over

Stella graduated in January 2013, after 18 months and 10 modules, along with her 47 classmates. And for her, it is these peers who are the biggest TIEMBA highlight of all. As she says, “The content is rich, the teaching is hugely strong, but it’s just impossible to put a price on the value of my classmates in terms of both learning and friendships. The diversity of industries, talents and backgrounds – and the sheer quality of these people – really carried the whole experience.”

Looking back, does she have any regrets or doubts? Stella hesitates for a moment. She admits that balancing work, study and life wasn’t always easy. And she concedes that it is too early to quantify the real return on her investment in the TIEMBA (although she already has a more senior role and a place on the bank’s gender diversity committees, thanks to her final thesis on this topic). “I just loved it!” she finally says. “I know we’ll always stay in touch as a group but I do have one regret: that the programme itself is over.”

Just like Stella, you can embark on your own TIEMBA adventure:click herefor more information about the programme and how to apply.

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