Recently, the 2026 Annual Conference on MIB Graduate Case Studies and the Award Ceremony of the 5th National MIB Graduate Case Competition were held in Nanjing. Members of the National Steering Committee for Professional Degree Education in International Business (MIB), along with hundreds of experts, scholars, instructors, and students from 54 universities across China, attended the event.

The original teaching case,Insights from Satellites’Vision, Shaping New Skies Overseas: GEOVIS Digital Earth Pioneering Platform Ecosystem Going Global,developed by Professor Yi Jingtiao’s team at Renmin Business School (RMBS) (authors: Yi Jingtiao, Zhang Qianru, Liang Jiaxu, and Su Zhenmin), won First Prize, the highest honor of the competition.

Open to MIB programs across China, this year’s competition focused on the theme of “Digital Trade Reform and Innovative Development.” It aimed to promote the development and exchange of business case studies, enrich China’s indigenous repository of business case studies, and support high-quality education for MIB students.

Professor Yi’s team has long been committed to developing original teaching cases. After winning First Prize in both 2024 and 2025, the team turned its attention to the rapidly evolving commercial aerospace sector for this year’s case. The case examines the evolution of China’s commercial aerospace industry from technology validation to ecosystem development. It combines international business theories with industry practice, and its analytical perspective and research framework received high recognition from the judging panel.

Professor Yi noted that during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Renmin University of China on April 25, 2022, President Xi emphasized: “Accelerating the development of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics ultimately means building China’s independent knowledge system.” Professor Yi said this mission continues to guide RMBS’s academic development.

RMBS has been deeply engaged with China’s business practices and is committed to building an independent Chinese knowledge system in business and management. RMBS strives to become a world-class business school with deep expertise in Chinese management.

Professor Yi also noted that Chinese companies are adopting new models for global expansion in sectors such as commercial aerospace, artificial intelligence, and new energy. Management research should be grounded in industry practice to better understand the distinctive approaches Chinese companies take in global expansion and business transformation, while integrating technological innovation, business practice, and China-based theoretical frameworks.

Since 2023, the team has conducted extensive field research in key industries, including cross-border e-commerce, new energy, and commercial aerospace. The research has identified emerging patterns of digital transformation and international expansion. Drawing on Professor Yi’s theory of platform ecosystem competitive advantage, the team developed an analytical framework to identify the distinctive evolution of Chinese industries through field research. The case also incorporates elements of Chinese history and culture, creating teaching materials that combine academic rigor with local relevance and providing valuable China-based resources for international business education.