NANYANG PROFESSIONAL MBA

The inaugural Professional MBA orientation

Article written by Ravi S. Adhikarla, PMBA Class of 2019. 

The Nanyang Business School (NBS) at NTU Singapore recently commenced its inaugural Professional MBA programme, with 44 students forming its first cohort. This programme went from conception to reality over the last 2 years, and is designed to – among other things – enable high-calibre individuals fast-track their careers, while balancing work and family commitments.

I am proud to be a part of this prestigious programme, and look forward to my journey with an excellent group of individuals as my peers, over the next 18 months.

We kick-started this journey with a 2-day Orientation session on 1^st and 2^nd July, 2017, organised at the Keppel Leadership Institute. Most of us were already “connected” to each other, through the usual social media channels. Nonetheless, each of us awaited the Orientation event with excitement and enthusiasm, as the day approached to finally meet the cohort and the NBS faculty in person. The excitement was evident enough, with most participants showing up early at the venue, meeting peers and engaging in conversations over breakfast before the day’s events started.

Day 1:

Dr. Douglas Streeter Rolph, Academic Director for the PMBA programme, started the day’s proceedings and briefed us on the programme, the ideas behind its conception and how it germinated from just an idea to the reality we were experiencing today. He also shared details of our class profile, and how we represented a wide mix of nationalities, industries, age and experiences. It was particularly encouraging to note how diverse the cohort was, and how enriching that makes this programme in terms of networking opportunities and peer-learning for every single one of us.

The day’s events continued, with Professor Peter Giulioni (fondly known as Pete) introducing us to the NBS Graduate Studies Career Services team, and how it will play a crucial role in our career strategy and planning over the course of this programme. Prof Pete made sure he had the audience rapt, with his energy and anecdotal humour, while sharing valuable suggestions on how we could plan, draft and execute winning strategies for our career goals.

The post-lunch session comprised team-building activities organised by the famous Albert King. Albert fired the session up with a simple, but thought-provoking question – “Where do trees come from?” – I’ll let you readers contemplate on the philosophical and practical implications of that question. ?

Another interesting activity that each of us did, was write a letter to our future selves, meant to be read at the conclusion of this programme. I’m certain that this activity made each of us visualize our journey over the next 18 months, and imagine ourselves at that juncture in our career and lives.

Albert then got us into the neighbouring room, where the real action started, and we soon began playing out various team building activities – some as individuals and others in groups. Through each activity, I had the chance to meet another, know some more about him/her and in turn share something about myself with them. Our final event was a variant of the “Blind Square” activity that served as a form of experiential learning, exemplifying the importance of seeing the end-state of things (or the “big picture”).

The day drew to a close with a group photo of the participants, and a loud cheer on our faces – we are a well-knit family now, and our mission has officially begun!

Zhang Ran, a PMBA programme participant, had this to say about the Orientation programme: “I would say we benefited not just in those 2 days alone…the atmosphere we created in that group has built trust among ourselves. We remind each other, share what we know, and we help and take responsibilities that benefit the group.”

Day 2:

A key agenda of the day was the Individual and Group Photoshoot. The ladies were dressed to the nines and the gents were dressed to kill! Well, hyperboles aside, the photoshoot of the day would give us our most suitable LinkedIn profile photo, fit for the next couple years (or longer?). We were all dressed crisp and smart, and looked every pixel like the businessmen and businesswomen we aspired to be.

Following the photoshoot, we had some quick but informative sessions on using the School’s IT and Business Library resources.

The post-lunch session was probably the highlight of this 2-day Orientation – the “Introduction to Case Study Method” by Professor Vijay Sethi, winner of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s “Business Professor of the Year” award. This 4-hour session introduced us to the case study method, but more broadly speaking, the importance of critical thinking.

Prof Sethi’s session was laced with several examples and real-world scenarios and their implications, and how they tied back to us being astute and analytical while assessing them.

Wei Keat, one of the programme’s participants, felt the following about the Case-Study method: “the case study method introduced by Prof Sethi was really an eye opener for us. It gave us the insight on how to read, understand and tackle a case study. This was a good warm up session for us before the courses start, and it builds our foundation in analytical thinking.”

We completed the day’s proceedings with an actual Case Study exercise, and with Professor Sethi summarising the right way to think for us: “It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience”.

Our final event for the day was the networking session, where the PMBA programme candidates met each other, in a more informal setting over light refreshments and drinks. Interestingly, the day also saw us witnessing what was probably practice sessions for the NDP 2017 State Flag flypast – a metaphorical symbol marking the beginning of our own journey that started today! “Majulah Singapura”.