Business school applications in Singapore are beginning to rise as more and more professionals seek to weather the global financial storms by arming themselves with a local MBA.
The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business is seeing a surge in demand this year. Now only one in three applicants lands a place on its programme.
Corinne Peiffert, manager of student affairs at the Singapore campus of French university ESSEC, is expecting an increase in post-graduate applications next year, especially for self-funded executive programs. “People want to secure their value on the job market by taking the initiative of enhancing their competences through well recognised programmes, like executive MBAs, MBAs or specialised masters,” says Peiffert.
Singapore Management University (SMU), which launched its MBAprogramme in January this year, has seen more interest from applicants recently as the financial crisis has begun to bite.
“One positive outcome that might have emerged from the financial crisis is that people are now willing to be more creative and open-minded in their career paths and are taking the opportunity to acquire new skills through further education,” says Doris Sohmen-Pao, director of SMU’s MBA programme.
But why would bankers study in Singapore rather than a more recognised business school overseas? “It is increasingly clear that Asia will play a central, if not leading role in the economy going forward. Therefore studying business and living in Asia is becoming more attractive than the more traditional US approach,” says Sohmen-Pao.
Peiffert adds: “Nowadays no one can seriously pretend to have an up-to-date business education without having been trained on Asian markets. In this respect, opting for a Singapore-based business school is a strategic move that gives students direct practical insights into their training.”
Isaac D. Gottlieb, director, international executive MBA at Rutgers Business School, says the Singapore branch of his university aims to combine Asian market exposure with US-style teaching. “Studying in an American MBA in Singapore has the best of both worlds. You get educated by American professors and you are exposed to the region’s way of business operation. Executive study in a recognised school in Singapore provides you the opportunity to be in a class with people from over 20 nationalities,” he adds.
