APAC Business leaders: 4 schools preparing graduates for the global market

29 Jan 2018

Studying business in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region offers many fantastic graduate opportunities. For a number of years now, the region has seen spectacular growth within many industries, and now leads the trend within a number of business and technology sectors. Just recently, The Telegraph placed Business and Administrative studies among the Top 12 most employable degrees of 2017, highlighting a market that continues to evolve.

High levels of employability can be linked to the fact that business knows no borders; it is a truly universal playing field. Graduates looking to enter the world of business can find themselves with global job opportunitie and a career path that spans many countries. The APAC region is not short of fantastic cities. Destinations such as Melbourne, Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore have all been cited by Top Universities as the best cities for business students.

Business degrees are also known to instil crucial transferable skills, opening a diverse range of roles across many sectors. Utilising both theoretical and practical learning aspects, business-focused programmes supply the experience needed to thrive. From working in commerce, finance, accountancy, marketing, HR and personnel management, these jobs are just the tip of the iceberg when considering where your business degree could lead…

MONASH BUSINESS SCHOOL, MONASH UNIVERSITY

Monash Business School is part of Monash University, Australia’s largest international university and a member of the Group of Eight – a noted coalition of the nation’s leading research universities.

The 2018 QS rankings place Monash in the Top 100 universities worldwide, while the Monash Business School stands among the top one percent of global business schools with accreditation from AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA – three of the most influential bodies in business education.

Monash Business School is a deeply internationalised, enterprising and inclusive academy, welcoming students from around the world. The School prides itself on providing a first-rate education that prepares graduates for the challenges of the global employment market.

Undergraduate and graduate students have access to a wealth of activities that put learning into practice from study abroad opportunities with over 100+ partner universities across the globe, to international study tours, internships, and industry and community projects. Students can further upskill through the Business School’s extensive graduate development program offering workshops, webinars, industry engagement opportunities and career support resources.

Commerce student, Andrew Craig, gained a rare insight into the functioning of the US government through an internship in the US House of Representatives. A speech he wrote was read out on the House floor and reported across US media. Andrew said, “Having a speech I wrote get press coverage was a great experience and one I will remember forever.”

At the graduate level, outstanding opportunities include the QTEM exchange and internship program offering high-quality Master’s students studying Econometrics, Economics or Finance the chance to gain two Master’s degrees simultaneously, together with a global network of like-minded professionals..

To further support graduates working in the complex global marketplace, Monash Business School offers a range of multidisciplinary degrees including the Master of Environment and Sustainability, Master of Financial Mathematics, Master of Project Management, and Master of Global Business (from 2019), as well as the prestigious Monash MBA, and Global Executive MBA programs.

LEE KONG CHIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY (SMU)

Founded in 2000, the Singapore Management University (SMU) is an autonomous university located in downtown Singapore. Specialising in business and management studies, SMU offers an American-style model of education to ensure a truly international learning experience. The university also prides itself on being one of the youngest universities in the world to receive accreditation from leading business bodies, including AACSB International and EQUIS, covering all programmes from undergraduate through to PhD.

The Lee Kong Chian School of Business is a dynamic Asian business school that takes its name from the late Dr Lee Kong Chian, a well-known southeast Asian businessman, philanthropist and community leader who made a significant donation to the department in 2004. Today, the school has over 120 full-time faculty and more than 4,000 students offering a number of undergraduate, masters (including the MBA), doctoral and executive education programmes.

Undergraduates can pursue the Bachelor of Business Management (BBM) programme aimed at developing well-rounded students who are schooled in a range of subject areas. Students here master the fundamentals of business management and leadership, gaining an insight into the major fields of global business. Students can choose from a choice of seven business specialisations; corporate communication, finance, strategic management, marketing, operations management, organisational behaviour and human resources, and quantitative finance.

The programmes on offer are affiliated with a number of research centres at the frontline of cutting edge business research. These include the Centre for Marketing Excellence which supports the development of new knowledge on marketing issues, with an emphasis on Asia, as well as the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics which works with leading international organisations and industry experts in the fields of quantitative financial analysis.

INSEAD, THE BUSINESS SCHOOL FOR THE WORLD

With campuses in Europe (France), Asia (Singapore) and the Middle East (Abu Dhabi), INSEAD (an acronym for the French “Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires”) is a global graduate business school that has climbed the ranks since being founded in 1957. Over the past few years, INSEAD has gained a number of excellent accolades, including its MBA being named the No.1 in the world for two consecutive years in 2016 and 2017 by the Financial Times.

The Asian campus is situated in the Knowledge Hub district of Singapore, set just 15-minutes from the busy financial district. INSEAD offers graduate students a choice of courses that range from the full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA), the Executive MBA (EMBA), the Master in Finance programme, the PhD in Management and a variety of Executive Education offerings.

INSEAD is also affiliated to a number of ground-breaking research institutes including the Blue Ocean Strategy Institute, an institute dedicated to the focus of what is needed for strategic success. Further to this is the INSEAD-Wharton Alliance (the latter university based in Pennsylvania) which is a commitment from both schools to enable and encourage mutual collaboration in MBA’s, executive education, PhD’s, faculty exchanges, R&D, and in Alumni activities to drive excellence and innovation amongst students.

HKUST BUSINESS SCHOOL, HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Founded in 1991, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is a public research university situated in Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong. Despite being relatively young, HKUST has consistently ranked among the top-tier universities in Asia, with the university taking the top spot in The Times’ 2017 Top 200 young universities in Asia.

The HKUST Business School offers a wealth of degree options, including seventeen undergraduate programmes, four MBA modules, two EMBA’s, 10 Master programmes, seven research PhD’s and numerous Executive Education disciplines.

The HKUST Business School is fully-accredited, and was the first business institution in the region to receive accreditation by both the US-based Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).

There are also plenty of opportunities within the school to gain an understanding of the international business market. HKUST Business is the only Hong Kong school to be included as part of the Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM) – a network of 29 leading international business schools, dedicated to driving innovation and creating value through exchange and engagement.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International