Despite - or maybe because of - the ongoing global financial downturn, business schools across China are reporting a sharp rise in applicants for MBA courses. Even soaring tuition fees haven't dampened the enthusiasm of candidates looking to hone their business skills.

The China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) is claiming an increase of 37 percent among those looking to sign up for their first master's course. This is despite the fact it has raised its tuition fees for Chinese applicants from 186,000 yuan to 218,000 yuan.

According to Yang Meng, CEIBS' enrolment marketing director, it is not just first-degree-ers who are clamoring to go back to school: "We are also finding an increasing number of applicants who already hold a master's degree or who are coming from other major universities or corporations."