Igniting leadership potential through the power of an MBA

Today’s fast-paced and constantly evolving business landscape calls for more business graduates to step up. Remaining stationary in the market may cause a loss of market share, a decline in competitiveness, and, ultimately, obsolescence. More advanced knowledge, skills and experience are necessary — the degrees of yesterday are no longer sufficient to drive innovation.

In this, one popular postgraduate programme stands above the rest. Studying an MBA programme is a chance to equip yourself with the skills, knowledge, and ethical compass necessary to address today’s ever-evolving, increasingly complex challenges.

The best MBA providers know this well and have earned their reputation for producing strategic, confident, and capable leaders. Companies take note of this too; it’s why MBA salaries in 2023 in the US are predicted to be higher than 2022 projections, even after accounting for inflation, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council’s Corporate Recruiters Survey.

Here are four of the most renowned business schools worldwide with MBA programmes that will ignite your leadership potential:

From 2024, the best MBA in New Zealand will be offered online. It will include in-person events, such as a boot camp and an overseas study tour, to name just two. Source: The University of Auckland Business School

The University of Auckland

The University of Auckland Business School has 40 years of expertise in delivering the best MBA in New Zealand. The MBA is the first triple crown accredited MBA in New Zealand at the country’s number-one-ranked university. It is also the first internationally triple crown accredited MBA to have a “Te Ao Māori Business’ course,” developed by world-leading experts in the area of indigenous economies, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). More than just a way to learn new skills, the MBA includes many experiences rarely offered elsewhere. These include week-long innovation sprints that are run in conjunction with Queensland University of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, subsidised participation in National and international case competitions, and the hosting of a visiting MBA cohort from Stanford.

It’s been a long time coming, but from 2024, this excellent programme will become more accessible, drawing students beyond the country’s largest city by going online. More flexible and “remote-first,” the accelerated 18-month programme will be creating brand new bite-sized digital assets to allow seamless integration with a student’s professional and personal commitments. You can study anytime and anywhere, with no need to pause your career and life.

But making things more accessible does not always mean sacrificing value. The best elements of the MBA will remain in its new online version. The latest online learning mediums, such as video, project work and moderated discussions, let you interact and engage with faculty and peers. There’s a strong sense of online community too, with comprehensive support offered through student advisors and academic staff. In-person events, such as a two day Wānanga during the Te ao Māori business course, Optional In-person Intensives (OIIs) such as a two-day maths refresher and Excel boot camp and, of course, the school’s renowned one week overseas study tour, ensure you’ll get to connect and network with a (now much wider) cohort of industry leaders and innovators.

Always looking towards the future, the revamped programme will include several new courses. These include a redesigned business decision-making course that includes big data, analytics, AI and digital transformation and a “Global success: Scaling Up” course that combines state-of-the-art research in internationalisation and entrepreneurial growth.

For more than 50 years, NUS Business School has offered a rigorous, relevant and rewarding business education to outstanding students from across the world. Source: NUS Business School/Facebook

National University of Singapore

Increasingly, with Asia currently experiencing an explosion of value creation, the world is demanding managers and business leaders who can lead Asian businesses to the forefront of the world economy and those who can steer global businesses towards Asian success.

Be ahead of the pack by studying for your MBA at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The university has a top research faculty known for its focus on providing global management, thought leadership and deep Asian insights.

The NUS MBA, offered by NUS Business School, can be studied either full- or part-time and is ranked eighth in the world by QS World University Rankings 2024. You will benefit from NUS’ long tradition in excellence and first-rate reputation, as well as a connection to Singapore, one of the best-connected cities in the world for business.

Plus, the NUS MBA programme provides an unequalled opportunity to build your international network, while providing a rich platform for cross-cultural learning and exchange of ideas. As one of the best MBA programmes in Singapore, NUS attracts students from a diverse range of backgrounds, skills, and experiences.

University of Queensland (UQ) Business School is one of the first business schools in Australia to gain accreditation from AACSB International and EQUIS — the most prestigious standards an institution can attain. Source: UQ Business School/Facebook

University of Queensland

Educate, inspire, engage and enable — that’s what the University of Queensland (UQ) Business School aims to do. Based at the UQ St Lucia campus as part of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, it brings together over 170 subject experts with over 11,000 students and offers a wide range of degree programmes and Executive Education.

UQ Business School MBA programme can be completed in as little as a year. The 24-unit programme consists of four core units, 18 flexible core courses, and two capstone courses. You can choose from two out of three capstone options, which cover entrepreneurship, an industry engagement project, and a core management discipline.

Your learning experiences will consist of a mix of delivery methods that suit the learning outcomes of your chosen course. What’s more, ongoing personalised support from a team of experts, industry mentoring, exclusive career events, and one-to-one career consultations will help you achieve your career goals.

Subsequently, a community of resilient business leaders and accomplished executives emerges, equipped with the determination and tenacity to excel within a competitive landscape. They take their first steps at UQ Business School — and graduate with the expertise to change the world.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School is a global institution that embraces innovation, nurtures entrepreneurial mindsets, and promotes social responsibility. Source: CUHK Business School/Facebook

Chinese University of Hong Kong

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) aims to develop global leaders for the Asian Century. To this end, it offers a pioneering education in the Pearl River Delta. Graduates are equipped with an entrepreneurial mindset, a global perspective and a keen sense of social purpose.

CUHK Business School offers several master’s degrees in accounting, business analytics, finance, information and technology management, management, management of real estate & hospitality assets and marketing — but it is the MBA that is its most illustrious offering.

The 12-month MBA programme equips you with Asian insights. You can expand your global perspective with business field trips and exchange programmes with distinguished universities worldwide. The best part? More than 7,000 alumni from 40 countries provide an enviable network for both current and graduate students.

Asked about his CUHK MBA experience, MBA graduate Jianchun Zeng said: “The business tactics and knowledge that I acquired at CUHK MBA helped me transform myself from an engineer into a business leader. The financial concepts and negotiation skills even enabled me to solve my company’s cash-flow shortage.”

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