MBA at Asian schools (Japan, HK, Singapore)

[lucapaolo]

Hi everyone,

I'm a Political Science + Social Policy graduate (BS+MSc from a world-class school), now into work. I spent 8 months in full-time internships overall, and will have 12-14 months in full-time paid work (in the socio-economic research field) at the time of the program starting, which all sum up to 20-22 months of work experience (provided that internships add to the count). I do have some international experience: 1 year in exchange study programs, 1 year postgraduate studies + 2 internships in 2 different locations (US and Indonesia).

I am now considering applying to some MBA programs, which I wanna do in Asia for both career goals and personal reasons.

After some research I've come up with the supposed-to-be top-ranked schools in the area (obviously they vary depending on the source).

I've narrowed the choice down to 3 countries (from most to least favorite): Japan (Tokyo), Singapore, and Hong Kong.

The schools that seem to best match my preferences are: Hitotsubashi ICS (which would actually be my 1st choice as of now) and Waseda Business School (Tokyo), National University of Singapore and Nanyang University (Singapore), and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Now, here's my questions:

1) most schools demand 2-3 years work experience, but I understand there is some flexibility. How do you see my profile in that sense? Do you think that owning a Master degree might help? Lastly, do full-time internships normally count toward the overall work experience?

2) does anyone have a direct/reported experience of any of the programs above?

3) would you suggest other schools that you attended/know for the quality of their program?

Any thought would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Luca Paolo

[herobolt]

Hi everyone,

I'm a Political Science + Social Policy graduate (BS+MSc from a world-class school), now into work. I spent 8 months in full-time internships overall, and will have 12-14 months in full-time paid work (in the socio-economic research field) at the time of the program starting, which all sum up to 20-22 months of work experience (provided that internships add to the count). I do have some international experience: 1 year in exchange study programs, 1 year postgraduate studies + 2 internships in 2 different locations (US and Indonesia).

I am now considering applying to some MBA programs, which I wanna do in Asia for both career goals and personal reasons.

After some research I've come up with the supposed-to-be top-ranked schools in the area (obviously they vary depending on the source).

I've narrowed the choice down to 3 countries (from most to least favorite): Japan (Tokyo), Singapore, and Hong Kong.

The schools that seem to best match my preferences are: Hitotsubashi ICS (which would actually be my 1st choice as of now) and Waseda Business School (Tokyo), National University of Singapore and Nanyang University (Singapore), and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Now, here's my questions:

1) most schools demand 2-3 years work experience, but I understand there is some flexibility. How do you see my profile in that sense? Do you think that owning a Master degree might help? Lastly, do full-time internships normally count toward the overall work experience?

2) does anyone have a direct/reported experience of any of the programs above?

3) would you suggest other schools that you attended/know for the quality of their program?

Any thought would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Luca Paolo

I can't give you specific advice on the programs themselves, apart from the fact that work experience is valued, and that most programs are of comparable standard, and people choose based on networking opportunities.

But about singapore - having lived there for years, i can tell you it won't be a good place to go if you want a liberal academic environment. It's a dictatorship and tightly controls free speech and academic freedom, to the point that it trickles down to how students/instructors think and work.

[zerolife]

I can't give you specific advice on the programs themselves, apart from the fact that work experience is valued, and that most programs are of comparable standard, and people choose based on networking opportunities.

But about singapore - having lived there for years, i can tell you it won't be a good place to go if you want a liberal academic environment. It's a dictatorship and tightly controls free speech and academic freedom, to the point that it trickles down to how students/instructors think and work.

I would disagree with the above poster. Dictatorship - yes. If you can't live without election then Singapore is the wrong place for you. However in terms of freedom, I think they are doing a much better job than the US.

I think NUS has a MBA program where you take classes at three universities in three countries (NUS in Singapore, PKU in China, and one in Japan I can't remember). You also ended up getting a degree from NUS and either PKU or the Japanese one. Not sure about the reputation but it sounds like an interesting one and I'm sure the whole Asia coverage will be a big advantage.

[charliep]

Just to add something about CUHK, it

offers Asia's best established MBA Programs, with its advantageous twin locations in both Hong Kong and Shenzhen, rich heritage and unparalleled intellectual insights into China's business scene, CUHK's Business School is uniquely positioned to help students succeed in the Pacific Age. All full-time students admitted to the MBA Programs are automatically considered for an entrance scholarship. This year the school pledged to make a double-digit percentage improvement in scholarship offerings. We especially wish to offer scholarships to those applicants with multinational work exposure, as well as to international applicants who demonstrate Chinese language capability.