Nottingham University Business School (NUBS) Malaysia recently organised a study tour to Shanghai, China for its MBA students. A group of 14 MBA students gained first-hand experience on global business culture through visits to pioneer companies. This included learning about data strategy at Dow Jones Consulting Shanghai, the positioning of international financial services in a highly competitive service industry at BDO China, and how Worldmark, a UK-based manufacturer of labels, lens products, display windows and die-cuts, competes in mainland China.
Students also had an opportunity to learn about the synergy of Eastern principles, including Confucianism, and Western methodologies in the production and distribution of high-end kitchenware for home-grown brand Fotile, in the Zhejiang Province.
“As part of our MBA curriculum, we bring business leaders and industry experts into the classroom to expose our students to ideas, philosophies and viewpoints. The study tour helps students to substantiate, appreciate and synergise what they have learned in the classroom,” said Professor Khong Kok Wei, Director of the MBA Programme.
“In Shanghai, one truly gets an appreciation of the Chinese proverb where ‘walking ten thousand miles in the world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls of books’ – this is what the study tour is all about.” Other highlights on the tour were the visits to The University of Nottingham Ningbo Campus and Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, where participants attended a lecture, campus tour. Students also visited the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, which is one of the largest industrial parks in the Jiangsu province. The stops culminated at the legendary West Lake in Hangzhou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed for its natural scenery that has been the inspiration of poets and artists; while they learned about the international positioning and marketing of West Lake to the the world.
"The MBA study tour to China provided very good learning opportunities to see concepts learnt in our modules being applied in real-life business situations. Visiting the various companies, factories, other MBA schools, and cultural attractions helped us to form a better understanding of the Chinese market. The tour also offered precious networking opportunities." said Yuko Kawasaki, an MBA student.
"Apart from the beautiful sights at the historic sites we visited, I was impressed by the company visits - from Dow Jones to Worldmark which provided glimpses into the practical aspects of business, beyond our readings. I would definitely recommend the study tour to future MBA students," said Foong Xiao Thoong, one of the MBA students who participated in the study tour. The tour also involved a networking session with MBA alumni of the Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiaotong University.
NUBS Malaysia's international business study tours offer a unique and invaluable business and cultural programme for Nottingham MBAs, allowing students to gain direct experience of business and insights into current hot topics through meetings with executives, company visits, and cultural excursions. Study tours are organised every year in January, where the destinations focus on emerging markets such as China, Taiwan and Vietnam. The study tour is available to full-time and part-time students, as a separate activity from those covered by the programme's academic fees.
For more information on the MBA programme at NUBS Malaysia.
More information on MBA Previews for the September 2015 intake (Full-time and Part-time).
UNMC's 15th Anniversary
One of the world's truly global universities, with campuses in Malaysia, the UK and China, 2015 marks the 15th year since setting up as UK's first full-fledged international campus in Malaysia and all three campuses continue to enrich the lives of students across the world through global education, ground-breaking research and community engagement.
(Thumbnail Image Caption: MBA students at Dow Jones)
(Article Image: The MBA students with Dr Lau Chee Kwong , AssociateProfessor of Accounting (6th from right) at UNMC in Shanghai during the study tour.
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More information is available from Professor Khong Kok Wei, Director of the MBA Programme, at kokwei.khong@nottingham.edu.my or +6(03) 8725 3757. or Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager at UNMC, on+60(3)89248746, josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my.
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with campuses in China and Malaysia modelled on a headquarters that is among the most attractive in Britain’ (Times Good University Guide 2014). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of‘ Research Project of the Year’ at the THE Awards 2014. It is ranked in the world’stop one per cent of universities by the QS World University Rankings,and 8th in the UK by research power according to REF 2014.
The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) is holding events throughout 2015 to celebrate 15 years as a pioneer of transnational education. Based in Semenyih, UNMC was established as the UK's first overseas campus in Malaysia and one of the first world-wide.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
Posted on 24th June 2015