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MY PAPER MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2009
EXPLORE, EDUCATE, EXPERIENCE MDIS THE ONLY SCHOOL WITH JOINT AWARD DIPLOMAS
SAYING ‘NO’ TO SPOONFEEDING: Miss Windy Lim, 21, a business diploma student at MDIS, appreciates having to do her own research to gain a clearer idea of how the economy affects people worldwide. (PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN)
Diploma aids corporate climb MDIS business-management course hones students’ managerial skills
This is the last of a four-part series brought to you by MDIS KOH HUI THENG
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ISS Windy Lim has morphed from a student who slept through all her lessons and dropped out in Secondary 2, into a diligent 21-year-old business-management student who now clocks in for class regularly at 8am. The once-rebellious teenager said she got a much-needed wake-up call in 2007, when prospective employers in the banking and marketing industries told her that they were turned off by her poor resume.
She said: “I realised that to get somewhere in this society, we need a paper qualification. No certificate, no talk.� She sees a certificate as her ticket up the corporate ladder, as she expects it to open more doors to greater things, like her dream career in marketing. So the former sales executive returned to the classroom after spending four years in the workforce. She enrolled for the joint diploma programme offered by the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) and the University of Bradford last October. She intends to obtain a marketing degree after finishing her diploma and advanced-diploma studies. “One of the reasons I took up the diploma course is the joint award. People know that the University of Bradford is a reputable school,� she explained. The prestige of having a diploma awarded by an international university also convinced ESPN Star Sports promotion scheduling executive Don Bosco Cai, 24, to enrol for the MDIS-Oklahoma City University diploma in mass communications in April this year.
“Having a stamp of approval from a renowned university gives the diploma programme more credibility,� he said. MDIS offers eight other programmes that award diplomas in tandem with foreign universities. It is the only private education institution here to do so. Credentials aside, the joint diplomas’ real-life applicability is another plus. Mr Cai credited an advertising module for giving him a better understanding of the industry, and his company’s advertising-guideline strategies. Miss Lim, too, felt that her diploma course gave her a broader overview of business operations and the challenges of running a company. For instance, instead of focusing on textbook cases, Miss Lim’s management lecturers often bring up real-life examples to enhance students’ understanding of how the economy works, such as the collapse of Lehman Brothers investment bank and the 1997 financial crisis. “From these examples, I gained a better idea of how things function,� Miss Lim said. “Instead of rote-learning or having lecturers spoon-feed us,
we had to do our own research to gain a clearer idea of how the economy affects people worldwide.� She also credited her lecturers – all veterans in the industry – for passing on valuable management and legal know-how. “Through classroom discussions, I gained a clearer idea of how the legal system here works. It brought home the importance of having certain business practices, like keeping proper accounts,� she said. With the knowledge gained, Miss Lim hopes to eventually become a marketing manager and head her own team in the next five to 10 years.
kohht@sph.com.sg
HELPDESK Morphed: biĂ n tÇ? Reputable: shÄ“ng yĂš hÇŽo de Credentials: pĂng zhèng Spoon-feed: tiĂĄn yÄ shĂŹ de guĂ n shĹŤ zhÄŤ shi
THE Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) is the only private education institution here that awards diplomas jointly or in association with foreign universities. Besides business management and mass communications, MDIS also offers joint accreditation for eight other diploma programmes. These comprise accounting, business, business computing, information technology, international business, marketing, psychology as well as travel, tourism and hospitality management. The joint certification is a mark of both academic and quality assurance. No other education provider here has this unique quality. The partner universities of MDIS include Australia’s Edith Cowan University and Southern Cross University, and the University of Bradford in Britain. Lecturers from both schools decide on each course’s standards, the curriculum's structure, the teaching materials used and the examination topics. The courses are taught by lecturers based in Singapore, many of whom are veterans in their respective industries. For instance, the teaching staff in the marketing faculty typically have 15 to 20 years of experience in their respective fields, and hold both graduate and postgraduate qualifications. So students benefit from dynamic discussions on case studies and real-life examples, rather than just textbook-based learning. The programmes last between 61/2 months and a year, and cost between $3,500 and $4,500. For more information, call 6247-9111 or e-mail etc@mdis.edu.sg