13 April 2021 13:19:36 IST

Management education needs a global outlook: S P Jain survey

90 per cent emphasised the inclusion of topics such as strategic thinking and business acumen 

S P Jain School of Global Management (S P Jain Global), a Forbes Top 12 ranked B-school, shared findings of its 2020 Executive MBA Survey. The 130+ participant pool comprised current students, alumni, senior executives and experts, members of the School's Industry Advisory Boards across Singapore, Dubai and Sydney, and senior executives and experts from global corporates such as Amazon, DHL, Landmark, Microsoft and UAE Exchange. Alumni and students interviewed were primarily managers or senior managers representing the aviation, banking and finance, consultancy, entertainment and media, healthcare, oil and gas, manufacturing, services, and shipping sectors.

MBA education at an executive level must evolve to train students to be intuitive and effective at managing crises and think/act on a global scale. 90 per cent of participants emphasised the inclusion of topics such as career adaptation, strategic thinking, business acumen, value creation, and entrepreneurship in the MBA curriculum. 

Reinventing curriculum

Insights from this survey have been used to design and develop a brand-new curriculum for S P Jain Global's internationally-recognised executive MBA programme. The new curriculum now includes topics such as leadership and cross-cultural management, change management, and corporate governance and ethics. The curriculum also lends an increased focus upon applied projects and soft (employability) skills, which has proven to benefit students and their organisations. 

Nitish Jain, President, SP Jain School of Global Management, said, “We believe strongly in empowering our students to lead real change and deliver lasting impact that adds value for their organisations. Our classroom consists of students from around the globe; the programme participants have the chance to work in global teams, form strong cross-cultural connections, and understand global business practices through the shared experiences of their classmates.” In 2021, the programme attracted students from 16 different countries, such as India, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Philippines, Denmark, Nepal, UAE, the Netherlands, and the US.  

Executive MBA

Dr Gary Stockport, Dean of the EMBA program, who also has experience working at top global business schools across five countries, said, “We are committed to providing education that evolves continuously in response to changing industry needs. Our renewed EMBA curriculum reflects a strong understanding of the market and industry standards, giving our students an edge when competing for global jobs.” 

The S P Jain Global Executive MBA is an 18-month part-time programme that prepares experienced managers to transition to broader leadership roles. Every intake, the programme attracts a number of candidates from the IT, healthcare, consulting, manufacturing, banking and finance, technology and energy sectors. On average, students have about 11 years of professional experience. The programme is offered in two learning formats: on-campus in Singapore, Dubai, and Mumbai and virtually through S P Jain Global's proprietary Engaged Learning Online (ELO) technology.