On February 26, 2024, The Case Centre announced the full list of winners of The Case Centre Awards and Competitions 2024, which recognise outstanding case writers and teachers from across the globe and celebrate worldwide excellence in case writing and teaching. We are excited to announce that Professor Shimin Chen, Zhu Xiaoming Chair Professor in Accounting, Associate Dean and Director of the Case Center at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), has won the Outstanding Contribution to the Case Method Award. Professor Chen is an award-winning case author and a seasoned teacher with over 30 years of experience in delivering degree and executive education programmes at universities in China, Hong Kong SAR, and America. He is also dedicated to advancing the use of China-focused cases at CEIBS and in business schools across China and the world.

The Outstanding Contribution to the Case Method Award was first introduced in 2011. It is evaluated by The Case Centre's Board of Trustees and recognises individuals who are not only committed case writers and teachers but have also gone the extra mile “above and beyond the call of duty” to promote the case method. Professor Chen has been selected for this award by the Board from a list of nominees made by the case community. This prize marks the first time a person from China has received this honour. Ruth Bender, Chair of The Case Centre's Board of Trustees, said, “Professor Chen is an extremely deserving winner. The impact he has had on advancing the case method in China, and on bringing China-focused cases to the global business education sector, is extraordinary. His dedication to, and enthusiasm for, the case method is evident throughout his work.”

A passionate case teacher, writer, and ambassador, Professor Chen has won an array of case writing awards, and his case teaching expertise is much admired by students. He is also dedicated to promoting the case method. Under his leadership as Director of the CEIBS Case Center since 2016, the volume, quality, and impact of CEIBS cases has grown tremendously.  CEIBS now develops roughly 100 new cases annually, and distributes a steady number of selected entries annually through Harvard Business Publishing - Education, Ivey Publishing, and The Case Centre. Developing high-impact cases has become part of CEIBS’ core competitiveness. With support from the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and other top-tier business schools in the city, CEIBS has operated a China-focused case library, ChinaCases.Org, since 2013. As of the end of 2023, ChinaCases.Org has collected 2,763 cases. Cumulatively, case usage has reached one million copies used in classroom teaching.

In terms of the promotion of the case methodology, Professor Chen has expanded the Case Master Development Camp, in which CEIBS professors demonstrate best case teaching practices and share relevant experiences in case development, from two to four classes a year since 2017. Open to faculty members worldwide, 24 camps have taken place so far with over 1,630 participants from 330 business schools in 20 countries. In addition to organising and leading, Professor Chen has taught at 14 camps since 2019. In 2022, he worked with CEIBS’ case writing team to initiate the Case Co-creation Community, a training programme for faculty members of business schools in China. It brings together case companies to provide projects on-site, aiming to build an ecosystem conducive to case development, use, and publication.

Furthermore, Professor Chen has been instrumental in expanding ChinaCases.Org’s user base to increase case usage in China. He has visited countless schools and conducted workshops and talks on case teaching, writing, and publication. As a result, at the end of 2023, 8,000 faculty members from 100 schools and institutions now enjoy access to the case library, compared to 2,400 faculty members from 23 schools in 2019. The work of Professor Chen and his team has seen the usage of cases in classroom teaching in China grow from 100,000 case copies in 2019 to 300,000 in 2023.

Professor Frank Bournois, Vice President and Dean at CEIBS, also recognised Professor Chen's achievements, noting, “Over the past six-and-a-half years since serving as Director of the CEIBS Case Center, Professor Chen has contributed significantly above and beyond the call of duty in promoting the case method, including gaining the school’s strong support and commitment, expanding the size of a China-themed case library while ensuring the quality and diversity of included cases, serving management education in China, and strengthening international collaboration in case studies.” 

Upon receiving the award, Professor Chen said, “I am thrilled and honoured to receive the Outstanding Contribution to the Case Method Award. This award is not just for me but is a true celebration of hard work by the entire school and our case community over the years, particularly CEIBS' Presidents and Deans, the CEIBS faculty, our Case Center colleagues, our supporters (the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, the Shanghai Academic Degrees Office and the Shanghai MBA Education Steering Committee), and our community stakeholders (case companies, CEIBS alums and students, and case reviewers). We are very grateful to The Case Centre for recognising our unwavering efforts in promoting the case method in China. We will continue on this path and empower more faculty members with case pedagogy.” 

Regarding the power and importance of the case method, Professor Chen explained, “There is a natural alignment between the case method and the CEIBS mission of educating responsible leaders versed in 'China Depth, Global Breadth.' Over the 30 years of CEIBS' history, the case method has contributed significantly to improving teaching effectiveness by connecting theory to practice and empowering students with meta-skills like no other form of teaching. Furthermore, our engagement with the business community through case studies also motivates and helps companies examine and reflect on their practices, leading to a positive and broader societal impact and enhancing the thought leadership and prestige of CEIBS and its faculty.” Discussing the prospect of demand for the case method in China, Professor Chen added, “Thanks to years of effort by business schools in China with guidance from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and support from regional Education Commissions, the case method has grown in popularity. As a practical approach to improving education quality, the case method has become a priority in response to the national demand for management education reform. Without question, China has enormous potential for case usage and development. We firmly believe that more renowned business schools and institutions worldwide with solid track records in the case method will recognise the vast opportunities in China's management education market. We are willing to work with them to serve the growing needs for diversified cases with global perspectives.”

As the independent home of the case method and distributor of the world’s largest and most diverse collection of cases, The Case Centre celebrates excellent cases, authors, and teachers every year through its recognition portfolio of annual bestselling and classic cases, awards and competitions, and bestselling case authors initiatives.

For The Case Centre Awards and Competitions 2024, click here.