The two co-presidents of the club combine work, school and motherhood. They want business women in Asia to be seen and heard.
This week the two Co-Presidents of Nanyang Business School's Women In Business Club - the first of its kind at Nanayang - tell us i their own words what they hope to achieve for their members.Nanyang Business School's Women in Business Club has a mission to nurture female leaders for the near future. Founded in August 2011, it is led by two female MBA students, Filda Yugianstoro from Indonesia and Clarie Kwa from Singapore.
Starting with 12 members, it has now expanded to 18 and is awaiting the next batch of MBA participants. The club is structured around knowledge, skills, visibility and social responsibility. Members join the club because they get the benefit of being exposed to knowledge and skills not taught in a traditional MBA curriculum. We invest substantial time and effort in soft capital such as building charisma during presentations and understanding your personal leadership style.
Running a club that counts several nationalities among its members has been a beautiful experience for us. Of course, it was not a bed of roses especially since we had no predecessors to rely on for advice. The two co-chairs wear multiple hats. One is a full-time student and a full-time mother (mothers cannot take leave, can they?). The other is a part-time student with a full-time job.
However, we share the vision of seeing the club take off and understand the service required from leaders. We are privileged to have help extended by club members to source for senior professionals and the school for supporting its activities in logistics and finance.
A special characteristic of our club is its inclusiveness. We recognize that men and women must learn to work alongside one another. Hence many of our events are open to the guys too. Similarly, our club mentorship programme includes male mentors.
Being a small organization with big dreams, we constantly seek collaborations to benefit our members, the school and even the society. A fine example is the Nanyang MBA Olympics which we jointly organized with the school’s CSR club. Ultimately, network is an asset and networking is an ability which we leverage heavily on to nurture this budding organization and its members.
The biggest challenge for women in business at the moment is making their presence known – seen and heard. The business setting has traditionally been male-dominated, even in the MBA class. As observed frequently, few women speak up. There has even been research that suggests women’s unwillingness to speak up is biologically influenced.
We are not sure how useful this piece of information is but we do know one thing for sure - women who can overcome any inner doubts or fear are able to stand out more than others. Women have come a long way since our grandmothers’ and mothers’ time. With each generation, women have achieved milestones for themselves and our generation will not be an exception.
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Good campus life and extra-curricular activities
This is a great place to learn and interact with more like-minded people. The campus is something that stands out to me. The infrastructure is great and the university is very well-built. There is lots to do on the high campus, from a large number of eating joints to the numerous clubs and sports activities. I also quite like Singapore as a country, as there is so much to do around not very far from campus. The educational facilities are extremely good, there are lots of opportunities to take on research projects and do industrial projects, which I really enjoy. The only thing I dislike about NTU is that the number of international students is really low and I would like to see a larger international intake in the future. Definitely recommend for the amazing educational facilities and on-campus social life.
An international campus that provided diverse choices for students
It's a beautiful campus with a high degree of internationality, providing diverse choices for students in terms of research opportunities and career consultation. Also, scholars are knowledgable and very inspiring, and are good at motivating the thinking of students.
Great University
In overall, the university has met my expectations with its wonderful lectures and research staff. However, there are some issues with the administrative side, i.e. administration may give you different answers on the same question. Also, the university’s website often provides outdated information and it takes time to get what you need; perhaps there is not enough people for managing it.
Good resources
I would recommend. Good resources for research. Knowledgeable professors and instructors. Conducive environment for studying and doing assignments. Helpful staff and faculty. Food options are good. An overall good place to study.
inefficient communication and lack of transparency
The administrative team at the university is slow to respond and is often inadequate in their responses and solutions. The uni is also unclear and resistant to explain their actions and motivations when carrying out policies or when questioned
Formative experience for success
NTU prioritizes giving students ample time for independent research. The academic schedule consists of 6–7 weeks of study, followed by a week without classes, allowing students to catch up on any material they may have missed. This is succeeded by another 6–7 weeks of study, culminating in a week dedicated to final exam preparation and exams.
The curriculum is designed to be student-friendly, minimizing burdens such as excessive assignments, projects, exams, quizzes, and attendance requirements. This approach affords students the freedom to pursue personal interests and self-development. In my experience, each of the four courses I took had a comparable workload, typically comprising 2 assignments, 3 easy labs, 2–3 quizzes (some without), and 1 final exam.
In contrast, comparable courses at other universities often entail significantly heavier workloads, including 3 homework assignments, 5 projects, 5–6 pop-up quizzes, mandatory attendance, 2 midterms, and 1 final exam. Moreover, each project typically demands 3–4 days of work.
It is hard work, but it pays off.
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