RANKINGS: MBA PROGRAMMES AND PROVIDERS S P Jain main branch Online MBA programmes emerge as pandemic prompts temporary closures Some of the top MBA providers are planning to launch online programmes in the future. n this year’s Singapore Business Aventis School of Management As executives Management. Review rankings of the largest academic director Stanley Soh become Aventis is also currently in talks IMBA programmes, INSEAD told Singapore Business Review that strapped for about launching an online MBA MBA emerged on top, with a they received a spike in requests time, balancing programme, after digitising some of whopping 1,008 students enrolled in from prospective students who are their careers their Graduate Diploma programme. the programme. It is followed by S P considering taking an online MBA, and personal Further, Kaplan Higher Education Jain Master of Global Business with especially in light of the COVID-19 commitments, is considering the possibility of 239 students, and Manchester Global pandemic and the increasing online MBA launching online MBA programmes. Master of Business Administration by digitisation of business school programmes Currently, they are offering an online Alliance Manchester Business School offerings. will see a surge Master’s programme for Executive with 219. In response to such demand, in popularity. Master in Leadership and Strategy Amongst MBA providers, INSEAD MBA providers have increasingly and Innovation, in partnership with with just its sole MBA programme been bringing such programmes Murdoch University. still has the most number of MBA in Singapore. For instance, a “We believe an online MBA students, followed by S P Jain School spokesperson from the Management programme will help our students as of Global Management and the Development Institute of Singapore it offers greater flexibility in terms of National University of Singapore (MDIS) shared that they are offering managing their time and not being (NUS) Business School with 509 and five online or e-learning MBA confined to a classroom setting. This 373 students, respectively. As a whole, programmes through Edinburgh will particularly benefit professionals the overall number of students in the Napier University with different who need to travel frequently for top 33 MBA programmes and top 13 specialisations, namely Leadership work,” Kaplan Singapore COO and MBA providers fell 12.86% to 3,671 in and Innovation, Marketing provost, associate professor Rhys 2020, compared to 4,213 in 2019. & Sales Management, Events Johnson said. In contrast, online MBA Management, Hospitality and Amity Education Group is also programmes have been on the rise. Tourism Management, and Health moving towards this, Amity Global 42 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | JUNE 2020 RANKINGS: MBA PROGRAMMES AND PROVIDERS Institute’s regional director for South involves a combination of face-to- the learning for students through East Asia Prateek Nayak shared. face sessions with an online blend. anytime-anywhere accessibility of “We are fully supportive of the idea of “We’ve responded with flipped teaching materials. Information stored Online MBAs - particularly given its classrooms where students can in remote cloud servers allow students usefulness in allowing lessons to go absorb much of the simpler material to access courseware from any device on as normal despite the rise of global remotely, yet come together for more as well,” Teo said. crises such as COVID-19,” he said. complex discussions over less easily understood concepts and issues. Plus, Ignatius Teo Attracting more students Complement to traditional MBA it’s easier to progress as a cohort when The landscape is expected to become For Kaplan, an online MBA works you have a strong support group of more challenging with the rising as a complement or alternative to the classmates urging you on in the real popularity of specialised business more traditional MBA programmes, world,” he said. master programmes, the wider as it provides flexibility to those who Beyond online programmes, adoption of online MBAs and softer need it. Johnson notes that students Kaplan is also focussing on a blended demand for graduate programmes still seem to prefer the traditional face- learning approach. “Our academic partly due to weakening economy, to-face delivery and teaching model, faculty utilises a myriad of digital Rhys Johnson Soh shared. reflected by their growing MBA platforms and online resources However, Teo remains optimistic students. to facilitate their lessons, allowing about MBA programmes for 2020. “One reason for this is that they students to better absorb knowledge “This year, MBA programmes in value the networking opportunities and access learning resources on-the- Singapore will continue to attract made possible through face-to-face go,” Johnson added. students, especially as corporations interactions, which cannot be easily Aventis in particular has digitised around the world compete to attract replicated in an online environment,” all of their MBA contents, and executives equipped with solid he said. provided live Facebook recording Stanley Soh management training,” he said. MDIS believes that online MBA virtual networking sessions through According to QS Global MBA programmes are tipped to grow. Zoom of each class as a supplement Rankings, Singapore captured four “As executives become strapped to on-ground teaching. The out of the top 10 universities in for time, balancing their careers incorporation of digital materials Asia for MBA programmes, with and personal commitments, online and on-demand teaching videos INSEAD at first, ESSEC Business MBA programmes will see a surge in could help schools that lean towards School at third, NUS at fourth and popularity. MDIS is poised to ride this on-ground teaching amidst the rising Nanyang Technological University growth in demand with five online popularity of online MBA, Soh said. Prateek Nayak (NTU) seventh. Globally, these four MBA programmes,” MDIS Business MDIS is also adopting the use of universities were ranked third, 30th, School head Ignatius Teo said. cloud-based video storage platform 32nd and 43rd, respectively. Johnson sees future opportunities Echo 360, which is designed for An article by admissions in adopting the online delivery students to learn anywhere and consultancy firm MBA Crystal Ball structure, especially when situations anywhere they wish. This aims says Singapore is considered to be such as the COVID-19 outbreak to increase the effectiveness and a hub for an MBA degree due to its are expediting its use. However, efficiency of learning for their multicultural society that is open to he felt that there is still more work students. foreign nationals and offers a high to be done to be able to deliver the “Cloud computing has enhanced quality of life for MBA degree holders. curriculum online. “Programmes will have to be structured differently or undergo redesign to ensure that quality and learning outcomes are not compromised by a change in delivery mode,” he said. Either way, Soh believes that the traditionally-taught MBA programmes are not going anywhere. “The physically taught face-to-face MBAs are here to stay as graduate students still value networking, which form a critical part of the MBA proposition,” they said. Blended learning Further, Nayak expressed that the market’s appetite is geared towards a blended learning approach, which Kaplan Singapore SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | JUNE 2020 43 MBA PROGRAMMES SURVEY Total Number of Students MBA PROGRAMME PROVIDER/LOCAL PARTNER HEAD OF SINGAPORE OFFICE/DEAN 2020 2019 INSEAD MBA INSEAD 1,008*** 1,018*** Ilian Mihov S P Jain School of Global S P Jain Master of Global Business 239 173 John Fong Management, Singapore Manchester Global Master of Business Administration Alliance Manchester Business School 219 176 Lim Bee Ing James Cook University MBA James Cook University Singapore 246 210 Prof. Chris Rudd Coventry University MBA in Global Business / MBA in Global PSB Academy 180 90 Sam Choon Yin Financial Services S P Jain School of Global S P Jain Executive MBA 172 167 John Fong Management, Singapore The NUS MBA (including MBA-MPP & MBA-PhD) National University of Singapore 161 302 Andrew K. Rose Singapore Management University MBA Singapore Management University 146 121 Gerry George Murdoch University MBA Kaplan Higher Education 140 131 Professor Peter Warring University of Birmingham MBA SIM Global Education 120 120 Ho Soon Eng S P Jain School of Global S P Jain Global Master of Business Administration 98 56 John Fong Management, Singapore Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Nanyang MBA 90 100 Christina Soh Technological University The NUS Executive MBA (in Chinese) National University of Singapore 83 140 Andrew K. Rose School of Postgraduate Studies, PSB Nottingham University Business School MBA 80 80 Sam Choon Yin Academy University of Roehampton, London Aventis School of Management 79 *NEW* Stanley Soh University of Northampton - MBA Amity Global Institute 73 187 Leon Choong Management Development Institute University of Sunderland (UK) MBA 65 213 Ignatius Teo of Singapore University of London MBA Amity Global Institute 62 *NEW* Leon Choong School of Postgraduate Studies, PSB University of Newcastle, Australia MBA 60 50 Sam Choon Yin Academy The NUS Executive MBA (in English) National University of Singapore 51 96 Andrew K. Rose Nanyang Business School & Shanghai Nanyang Executive MBA (Chinese) 50 50 Christina Soh Jiao Tong University Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Nanyang Professional MBA 50