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Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute (SAFTI)

One of the first schools to be established jointly in China by a French business school and a Chinese university, Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute (SAFTI) brings together leading minds in international business and management. It is run collaboratively by Audencia Business School of France and Shenzhen University of China, two highly ranked institutions with a history of global engagement.  

SAFTI is a gathering place for select postgraduate students, accomplished professionals, experienced executives and internationally renowned professors, researchers and industry experts. 

Founding Institutions

Internationally recognised for the career results of graduates, Audencia Business School is amongst the 1% of business schools worldwide that hold all top international academic accreditations – EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA. The school is known globally for education and research in the fields of business and management, with an emphasis on corporate social responsibility, innovation and finance.  

Audencia is one of France’s elite Grande Ecole higher education institutions, with campuses in Nantes, Paris and Beijing in addition to the Shenzhen Audencia Business School in Shenzhen.  

Learn more about Audencia

Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute (SAFTI) is located on the Houhai campus of Shenzhen University (SZU) near the picturesque coastline of the Houhai Bay. SZU has a student population of roughly 35,000. It has 25 colleges and awards bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees across a full range of disciplines.

SZU has an impressive list of graduates, including the founders of Shenzhen-based Tencent, the fourth-largest internet company in the world, and the founder and CEO of Giant Interactive Group, one of China’s largest online gaming companies. The city of Shenzhen has maintained the fastest economic growth in China for roughly 20 years, with SZU actively contributing to this hub of high-tech innovation and international business.  

Learn more about Shenzhen and life at SAFTI

Why Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute?

What Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute (SAFTI) offers is entirely new – a new level of business collaboration between Europe and China, a newly established campus and a new way of thinking about China’s incredible growth within its most innovative and economically successful city.  

SAFTI brings some of the most creative and accomplished people together from across all continents. Much like the city of Shenzhen – which was established as China’s first Special Economic Zone during the country’s reform and opening up – SAFTI is a playground for innovative business and management. It gathers the best in business and management in the high-tech hub of Shenzhen, a centre for finance, technology and logistics.  

All students also spend time in Nantes, France – a hub of green innovation and the country’s third largest industrial city – to round out the experience.  

Run jointly by Audencia Business School and Shenzhen University, SAFTI offers a welcoming international environment and acts as an incubator for further collaboration between China and countries across the globe.  

Learn more about Shenzhen and life at SAFTI

Programmes

Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute (SAFTI) currently offers the following advanced programmes and is actively growing its offerings each year. Check back regularly for updates.  

International Master in Management (in English, full-time)

MSc in Supply Chain and Purchasing Management (in English, full-time)

MBA (in Chinese, part-time)

DBA (in Chinese, part-time)

Faculty members

Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute (SAFTI) benefits from renowned full-time research and teaching faculty, visiting faculty members and industry experts from a wide range of top institutions and businesses round the world, such as Tsinghua University and Fudan University.

Included in this roster are a select team of Audencia faculty members who are on-site in Shenzhen, China, full-time.

SAFTI has ambitious faculty recruitment goals for the next three years.  

Contact us about current opportunities

Campus

Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute (SAFTI) is located on the Houhai campus of Shenzhen University (SZU) in the town centre of Shenzhen, near the coastline of the Houhai Bay. The beautiful Houhai campus is 1.34 square kilometres and includes rolling hills covered with lychee trees and flowers, two lakes, a forest and an abundance of green space and works of art. SAFTI offers modern classrooms and comfortable on-campus housing to international students and faculty members.

Learn more about life at SAFTI

Mission

Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute (SAFTI) helps form and enable innovators who hold responsible values. In collaboration with stakeholders, we produce and disseminate knowledge designed to transform teaching and inspire new business practices. 

A message from Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute leadership

“Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute (SAFTI), jointly established by Audencia Business School and Shenzhen University (SZU), is one of the first business schools in China brought about through collaboration between a Chinese university and a French business school. SAFTI is committed to enriching the fields of business and management through responsible leadership, with emphasis on finance, innovation and entrepreneurship. 

“SAFTI is a platform for the innovative research of Chinese, European and international experts. The school also offers advanced international programmes for executives, professionals and postgraduate students. SAFTI is a gathering place for leaders of business and management in the centre of Shenzhen, one of the world’s most important high-tech hubs and a global leader in financial services, foreign trade, shipping and creative and cultural industries. 

“SAFTI offers world-class faculty members and researchers access to all of the resources of Shenzhen – China’s first and most successful Special Economic Zone. SAFTI students have the opportunity to study with the leading authorities in their field in one of the most exciting environments for business and management in the world. 

“All members of the SAFTI community are supported by the knowledge and experience of Audencia, a triple-accredited and internationally renowned business school, and SZU, a large and respected university with the status that comes from being the only university based in this important international city.” 

Qingquan Li, President of Shenzhen University

A message from the dean

“The unique identity of Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute (SAFTI) is tied closely to the city of Shenzhen, in which SAFTI is based. It is a highly international, creative and enterprising place. 

“Our ambition is to have a global impact through developing and disseminating knowledge for managers, companies and society by producing high-quality research and graduating responsible and ethical leaders. We also aim to support the development of the city of Shenzhen and its region in the fields of finance, innovation and entrepreneurship. 

“Students and faculty members of SAFTI benefit from the long-standing experience and know-how of a triple-accredited French business school, and the knowledge base and vibrancy of SZU, which includes 25 colleges and 35,000 students. 

“We invite you to come live the SAFTI experience.” 

Christophe Germain, Dean of Audencia

History

Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute (SAFTI) was founded through a joint venture between Audencia and Shenzhen University (SZU) in 2016. It is one of the first partnerships of its kind, uniting a French business school and a Chinese university to form a new international school in China. As a member of the SAFTI community, you’ll benefit from the long-standing history and strong reputation of the founding institutions – as well as the forward-thinking culture of SAFTI.  

Audencia’s history  

Established in Nantes, France, in 1900, Audencia – from the Latin audientia, meaning “listening”, and audacia, meaning “daring” – is part of a very select group of schools holding all three international accreditations for business and management education: EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA.  

Learn more about Audencia’s history and quality 

Shenzhen University’s history  

The city of Shenzhen was opened as China’s first Special Economic Zone in 1980, and SZU was founded shortly after, in 1983, with the accreditation of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. SZU has undergone rapid growth and expansion in the past three decades, just like the city of Shenzhen – China’s most successful Special Economic Zone.  

Learn more about Shenzhen and life at SAFTI  

Council

Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute (SAFTI) is both established and managed in true collaboration between Audencia Business School and Shenzhen University (SZU). The Council of Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute is the decision-making and supervising body of SAFTI. Composed of four representatives from Audencia and four representatives from SZU, the Council of SAFTI provides a platform for data-driven and equitable decision-making.  

Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute Council Chair

Qingquan Li, President of Shenzhen University  

Dean of Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute

Christophe Germain, Dean of Shenzhen Audencia Financial Technology Institute and Dean of Audencia