MBA with the IT edge
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JCU Singapore course is only 16 months long
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Mere MBAs are no longer enough. Something extra is needed, something that gives the candidates an edge. And so, institutions are increasingly offering specialised MBAs. James Cook University (JCU), an Australian university with a full-fledged campus in Singapore, offers a dual master’s programme in Business Administration (MBA) and Information Technology (MIT) on its Singapore campus.
Shorter duration
Jeremy Histon, Head of international marketing, JCU, explained that the course was only 16 months long. This was because holidays had been cut short to offer students a chance to finish the programme quickly and enter the burgeoning Singapore workforce.
JCU Singapore was started in 2003 and offers undergraduate as well as postgraduate courses in business, IT and psychology. Tuition fees at the Singapore campus are lower than the fees in Australia. Also, the courses are accelerated so that students can finish a bachelor’s course in two years and a master’s in one, he said.
Gigeo Sakkaryas, Director of Institute of Management Training and Placement (IMTP) Consultancy Services, a Singapore Government-recognised organisation that offers counselling for education in Singapore, said students with an undergraduate degree from India are eligible to apply for the master’s programme. Work experience is not a must. Also, students need not write any international English language tests if their medium of instruction in college was English.
As the demand for an MBA was high both among Indian students as well as those in Singapore, the university offered four specialisations in the MBA programme — marketing, international business, accounting and finance, and human resources management — apart from its dual master’s programme, Mr. Histon said.
Employment
“This dual programme will improve the student’s employability skills,” Mr. Sakkaryas said, adding “It is an MBA with IT skills for e-businesses.” The tuition fee for the programme is about Rs. 8.5 lakh. Living costs in Singapore would be around Rs. 15, 000 a month. The courses at JCU have three intakes a year — in October, March and July. Visas are relatively easy to obtain and the entire process is fast – a student is informed of his acceptance around two weeks after applying. The visa would take another two weeks. With Singapore looking to increase its student intake by 50 per cent, there is a 97 per cent chance of visas being granted to Indian students, Mr. Sakkaryas said.
IMTP has networked with banks to help students obtain loans. Students can either apply directly or through IMTP which offers free counselling and helps with the application process.
ZUBEDA HAMID
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