It was not an inspiring lecture or challenging case assignment that has helped to change the MBAs path, but a six-week immersion in one of Asia’s emerging economies.
“I’m from India, so I wanted to understand from the perspective of other people. I learnt a lot of things which if you were in Europe, you won’t have,” says Saurabh, who joined ESSEC Business School last year.
“When I joined the MBA, my decision was based in-part on the fact that [you get to visit] Singapore. I was looking forward to learning about Asian markets.”
Saurabh’s cohort have just flown back from a term spent studying in Singapore, part of the Global MBA programs’ timetable. The school believes that to succeed in today’s business world, global perspectives and cultural competencies are essential.
During the course of the entire Global MBA, students get to spend nearly three months outside of France, ESSEC’s base.
When Saurabh wasn’t studying at the school’s Singapore campus, he was visiting companies and established alumni – including KPMG, the leading audit firm. “We also had a lot of companies that visited us at careers fairs who spoke about how to apply for jobs and how things work in Asia,” he says.
“We have a lot of people working in Asia and always had alumni that we could get in touch with; there were a lot of good networking opportunities.”
A business school’s global reach is an important measure of its success. ESSEC’s Global MBA cohort also get a week-long field trip to an emerging market, the location of which changes year to year, and a team consulting project centered on a four or five week immersion in an emerging market. Exchanges to other schools are also an option.
“ESSEC is a French school but when you arrive in Singapore, the course is taught by Asian professors. It’s an amazing experience and makes me feel it’s a global program,” says Ting Ting Zeng, a Global MBA student from China.
She enrolled at ESSEC in 2013 after working as an area manager in Shanghai and Beijing, and is considering a finance career after graduation. Ting Ting says that the opportunity to network with financiers in Singapore were very important to “understand the job opportunities in Asia”.
“Before this trip I never considered working in South East Asia. But after this trip I have found it might be a good idea to find my career there. That’s the biggest change I have made,” she says.
Ting Ting thinks the relatively strong economies in the region translate into good job prospects for MBAs. An emerging market, Singapore is set for just below 4 per cent GDP growth this year, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It “amazed” her that Singapore’s economy is still growing strongly, which is a more positive situation than some regions of China, she says.
It is a sentiment echoed by Saurabh. “Singapore is always the first option for [my career]. Singapore is booming,” says Saurabh, who hopes to work in either banking or marketing when he graduates in 2014.
He says there is a tendency for companies to hire Singaporeans, but that in banking he is confident he can land an MBA job – and the visa process for international graduates is “not that tough either”.
For Ting Ting, the trip has opened up plenty of opportunities in the emerging economy. Her highlight was developing closer connections with the region. “I was very happy to learn more information about Asia and develop my knowledge,” she says.
“And secondly, it has let me come closer to the South East Asian economies, and opened more opportunities there for the future.”
Saurabh says that you need to understand the business mentality in Asia. But Singapore is thriving and he sees plenty of good opportunities for MBAs to work there.
“Singapore is a commercial place and people are working all the time. Europe has a nine-to-five, five-days-a-week culture, but Singapore is not the same,” he says.
“It’s always moving and it’s never shut. You learn a lot of things in Singapore – and being able to stay there for six weeks was the best part.”
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