Perhaps this is a good time to set down in more detail why I was so determined to apply for the Nanyang MBA. Let’s start with a bit of background: I’m a bit older than the average MBA applicant, which is both good and bad – bad, because companies looking for young movers and shakers beginning a stellar career probably won’t look at me. Good, because I perhaps have a clearer idea about myself, what I want and where I’m headed than some younger applicants. As I’ve made obvious in earlier posts, my work is internet-related; I got into this intially for economic reasons, and got enthused by the possibilities of the internet – increasing communication between communities and individuals across the globe. I started working with the web in ‘94, and I still have a lot of the idealistic enthusiasm of those early years. My interest is really with the human side of things, though; I’m a competent programmer, but I don’t especially enjoy it. Before I got into I.T., my background was humanities, and I did a lot of training/personnel work.
Why an MBA, and why now? Simply, the time is right. My niche in internet work is disappearing, and I have to retrain one way or another. The choice was specialise (perhaps going into network adminstration), or generalise (management). At the same time, I was getting fed up with the work I’ve been doing, which for some time hasn’t really involved much human contact – I want to get back to the kind of work I did earlier in my career: but, at this point, my resume pigeonholes me as a ‘programmer’. I needed to break away from that. Since I happen to have saved a reasonable amount of money, doing an MBA seemed a very good idea.
Having chosen to do an MBA, why NTU? Some of my early posts listed the other business schools I considered. I had several factors in mind. As I said, I’ve got to the stage where I can look at this with a long perspective: I’m going to be retraining all my life. Even the MBA won’t be the end of it, and whatever job I get with the MBA won’t be a lifelong career. Best, then, to take courses that interest me and will assist personal growth, rather than courses that would make me most attractive to a particular employer or career sector. I want to stay in Asia, so a course that will enable that is also particularly attractive. The character of a business school is also important: I needed to feel that I would fit in and be comfortable there. Bearing these in mind, I eventually settled on NTU. I’ve had a lifelong interest in Asian, and particularly Chinese, culture, so it appealed to me that NTU offers courses like Sun Zi Business Warcraft and Chinese Classics & Business Strategy. I’m also attracted by courses such as Management of Intellectual Property Rights and Creative Thinking & Problem Solving. The advantage of these is that many of them are half-courses, which should let me get a lot of variety and – hopefully – cross-fertilization!
Since I want to stay in Asia, it’s a great advantage that NBS is building up a large library of specifically Asian case studies.
In terms of character, I’ve spoken to quite a few people in Singapore, who say NTU tends to attract creative, can-do types who tend to be articulate and individualistic. That sounds like what I want.
Both for its course intake and general environment, NBS should be a great place to study – I’ve got to know Singapore quite well over the years, and its mix of Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures and influences makes it a fascinating and stimulating place to be. Singapore is also currently undergoing a transition, as the rise of the Indian and Chinese economies forces changes in its economy, society and governance. While it’s too early to say how it will react, the early signs are quite positive (IMHO, of course) and where there’s change, there’s opportunity – so I hope that gaining an MBA from a Singaporean university may give a slight edge. We’ll see. I’ll keep you posted!
In the meantime, I’m taking advantage of my unemployed status to head of to China, with the aim of getting my Mandarin to a useable level. I can’t really afford to do this, with the MBA coming up but, well, it’s an investment. So, lots of packing just now. I can’t keep my accommodation, so I’m trying to decide what to take, what to leave with friends, and what to just throw away…
