Andrea Conti, a Bocconian at the Yenching Academy in Beijing

With an admissions rate of around 3% (140 students were selected this year out of approximately 4,000 applications), the Peking University's Yenching Academy is one of the most difficult and coveted international programs. Among those who "made it" is Andrea Conti, 24 years old, from Ravenna who grew up in Rome and graduated in International Economics, Management and Finance at Bocconi in 2016. He then entered the Global Masters in Management of the London Business School and Fudan University.

"I was admitted after the traditional process that required a motivational letter, curriculum vitae and references. Finally, an interview via Skype, in which they insisted on hearing the motivation that prompted me to choose that program, which is basically that it stands out for its interdisciplinary nature". In fact, every scholar can decide from among 6 planned paths, but with ample room for maneuver, as Andrea explains: "For example, I chose the path called 'Law and society', at the end of which I will receive an LLM. But aside from three compulsory courses, the rest is completely customizable. I could choose art, archeology, engineering and more, even the program managers push for students to diversify as much as possible ".

Andrea gathered some significant internship and work experience during his studies, such as the one at Groupon in South Africa and the one in Leopard Capital, an American private equity fund in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. The near future, however, is already decided: "Regarding the post-Yenching period, I have been selected for the Global Graduate Program of the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, which involves a year in Dubai, six months in Zurich and the last 6 months to be defined later, but they will be spent in one of the 110 countries of the company's AAMEO area".