Graduate Studies Blog
NANYANG FELLOWS MBA
SHAPING MY PUBLIC SECTOR CAREER THROUGH THE NANYANG FELLOWS MBA
Despite having a record of stellar career accomplishments, including the appointment as an investment consulate in New York from 2012 to 2015, Polapat still had a burning desire to elevate his career to the next level and beyond. “Being at the crossroads of my career and seeking another level of achievement, I knew I had to step out of my comfort zone,” he shares.
Polapat didn’t have to wait long for the answer as the greatest investment of his lifetime came knocking on his door. He was offered a sought after scholarship for the Nanyang Fellows MBA programme under the ASEAN Development Scholarship scheme—a journey that transformed his life beyond his expectations.
Singapore’s cultural familiarity and thriving ecosystem
Polapat’s cultural familiarity with Singapore wasn’t just the sole reason why he chose the city-state as the destination for his studies. He also wanted to take up the opportunity to pick up best practices from Singapore’s highly efficient and thriving investment ecosystem and learn more about best practices in policy management for policy redesign in his home country.
The curriculum at the Nanyang Fellows MBA programme equipped him with the technical knowledge and advanced soft skills needed to enhance his professional competence.
“The programme placed a great focus on well-rounded skills development to become capable business leaders. Not only did we learn fundamental modules, such as accounting, economics, human resource management and finance, but we also sharpened our business acumen with highly relevant corporate skills, such as leadership, business negotiation, culture intelligence and much more,” he explains.
“Mastering all these diverse skills gave me the confidence to think more critically and invent new work approaches to improve my efficiency,” Polapat adds.
Cultural Quotient as the key driver of innovation
“Before I joined the Nanyang Fellows, I had always known about IQ (Intelligence Quotient) and EQ (Emotional Quotient). But the programme also introduced us to another facet of leadership called cultural intelligence or CQ (Cultural Quotient), which pertains to the ability to relate and work more efficiently across different cultural settings,” he explains.
The importance of CQ in professional development became even clearer when Polapat was studying in the USA and Israel as a part of the Nanyang Fellows MBA programme during his residential segments. He shares that the concept had helped him re-examine how the intricacies behind cultural practices and values across the globe have shaped distinct innovation ecosystems today.
“The programme has given me the global exposure to adeptly understand how cultural differences can have a profound impact on policymaking from one market to another,” Polapat explains.
The Nanyang Fellows MBA Programme seeks to redefine modern leadership by cultivating better cultural awareness among professionals. Polapat was highly intrigued by this previously unexplored concept to improve workplace innovation and enhance productivity.
“During our Business Study Mission overseas, we examined how countries that embedded strong risk culture into their policy frameworks, such as Israel with its prolific startup scene, tend to become viable hotbeds for technological innovation,” he explains.
“My time in the programme has surely helped me craft better investment policies to see the growth of new sustainable businesses in Thailand. More importantly, I have built my self-confidence to challenge the business world with more sophisticated and innovative solutions for a win-win outcome.”
Beyond theoretical understanding, Polapat also had the opportunity to apply his knowledge on CQ in his class environment. The cultural and intellectual diversity across campuses in three different countries allowed him to build strong relationships with professionals from various backgrounds and sectors across the globe.
“Studying at Nanyang Business School gave me access to a strong network of mid-career professionals like me. I became good friends with people in various sectors from Singapore, Japan, China, India, and France, among other countries,” he says. “I have become culturally and professionally enriched by my interactions with my classmates as each contributes new insights and perspectives to my career development. This is, perhaps, the greatest benefit that Nanyang Business School has offered to the fellowship candidates,” Polapat adds.
Putting the learning into practice
Learning business theories is one thing, but putting them into practice is another. That is why the Nanyang Fellows MBA programme offered a capstone strategy project to challenge Polapat and his peers to put their business knowledge into action. Under the guidance of highly qualified faculty, he and his team became consultants for a local government agency to promote greater public participation in the local sports scene.
“I was thrilled to take part in this real-life consulting project as I was able to collaborate with my peers and fully utilise my knowledge to come up with creative solutions. We researched and leveraged different cultural mindsets across global markets, such as the USA, Australia, and Canada, to figure out the appropriate policy frameworks that could help our client push sports activities into the limelight,” he explains.
When being asked about how his overall experience with the consulting project could enrich his career, he said, “Positioning myself in different professional contexts gave me a better understanding of how to deliver the best results in time-sensitive industry collaborations in the future.”
The invaluable mentorship from the faculty, the access to a strong international alumni network, and the global perspective are some of the best assets that the Nanyang Fellows MBA programme has offered Polapat. The programme also inspired him to set his career goals higher. The academic environment was brimming with business ideas, and it has certainly lit a fire in him to push his creative boundaries without fear.
Click here to learn more about the Nanyang Fellows MBA programme or contact us at fellows@ntu.edu.sg.
