RANKINGS: MBA PROGRAMMES
Top MBA providers in Singapore shares trends amongst MBA candidates
MBAs in hot pursuit, as pandemic ignites demand for future skills
More MBA students upskill as they anticipate a high post-pandemic competition.
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ntrepreneurs and professionals looking to competitively position themselves in the fast-changing business landscape amidst the pandemic have driven the MBA scene this year. Not only did they prompt MBA providers to develop innovative approaches, their selectiveness also paved the way for new tech-focused courses. In this year’s Singapore Business Review rankings, the INSEAD MBA once again emerged as the largest MBA programme with 915 students enrolled in 2021. The multi-campus educator likewise snatched the top spot amongst MBA providers in Singapore last year. Ranking second is the James Cook University MBA with 240 students, nearly landing on a tie with the SP Jain Master of Global Business, which came in as the third largest with 239 students. 42
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | JUNE 2021
As for the MBA providers, INSEAD was followed by SP Jain School of Global Management (SP Jain Global) with a total of 637 students from its four programmes and the National University of Singapore (NUS) with 374. The overall number of MBA students fell slightly by 6.9% to 3,418 this year, compared to 3,671 students in 2020. It must be noted that the 2020 numbers took into account 33 different programmes, and this was reduced to 25 this year. Future-proofing careers Top providers have observed MBA applicants are largely interested in taking courses that centre on technology and digitalisation. Such skills are becoming more and more relevant as the world gravitates toward contactless and online solutions. “There is a small but growing
There is interest in MBA programs with an emphasis on entrepreneurship
proportion of MBA applicants looking to further their studies due to the job market. Interest has grown for MBA programs with a focus on Industry 4.0 including technology, digitalisation, and analytics,” said Andrew Chew, Chief Commercial Officer of James Cook University, Singapore (JCU). “Also, despite the pandemic some young people are starting their own businesses and there is interest in MBA programs with an emphasis on entrepreneurship.” Starting 2020, JCU has offered six new majors: namely, Analytics and Business Solutions, Creative Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Global Talent Management, and MICE, Tourism and Hospitality. Chew noted the new majors resulted in a higher interest in their MBA programme as seen in the increase of enrollees.
