[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Despite having some of the fastest growing economies in the world, Asia has never produced the world class business school one would expect.
According to the Financial Times, the top business schools in Asia are CEIBS, moving all the way up to # 8 this year, HKUST at #14, and the National University of Singapore at #18. Not an overwhelming total in the top twenty for a region that accounts for over one-third of the world’s economy.
Part of the reason for the lower rankings is that the Asian schools have traditionally heavily drawn students from local countries, with few students coming from North America or Europe. For example at CEIBS, almost 90 percent of students come from Asia. However, the Asia School of Business is working to change this.
Located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ASB is a joint venture between the MIT Sloan School of Management and the Central Bank of Malaysia. Claiming to be the “most innovative MBA program in the world,” this becomes immediately evident when, in lieu of a GMAT score, “candidates who may have had a more entrepreneurial and unconventional career path,” can submit a 2-minute video pitch.
ABS actively recruits students from all over the world for this 20-month program. The current 82 students on campus, come from 21 different countries across 6 continents.
Distinguishing itself even more from traditional MBA programs, ABS is heavily grounded in an Action Learning based curriculum. MIT Sloan was the pioneer in this type of learning which they describe as “simply the process of learning by working on real business challenges in collaboration with host companies, using tools and frameworks taught in the classroom with the support of mentors, faculty experts and industry leaders.” ASB’s connection to Sloan remains deep, as students spend some 4-weeks on the Sloan campus in Cambridge, and additional time in the US making connections in Silicon Valley, New York, and Washington, DC.
In real terms, this means groups or 4-5 ABS students travel the world helping companies tackle real business problems. As of now, the first semester projects are all done in Malaysia, with the remaining four actions learning projects sourced from host companies around ASEAN (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand). There is certainly a chance that an ASB student could graduate having completed five action learning projects in five different countries. Students work for some of the largest companies in the world, including P&G, Citibank, Google, and even some startups. As Emily Preiss, the Director of Admissions, notes, “it is through our impressive and diverse portfolio of action learning hosts that our students get relevant exposure to the industries and functions they are interested in pursuing.”
Though Asia Business School will only graduate its first cohort this month, the program has had an impressive start, the key to which is its distinguished partnerships around the world. As Preiss notes, “The level of support and interest from Sloan, the Central Bank of Malaysia, and our industry partners has been humbling, and it’s only just the beginning!”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]