For Sponsored Page: Singapore Corporate Education
For Sponsored Page: Singapore Corporate Education
Singapore -- the region's hub of corporate education
Known worldwide as a thriving, dynamic center for commerce and industry, Singapore has not only evolved into a preferred academic destination for overseas students but also a corporate learning and training hub.
With education being the key to the development of Singapore's society, numerous educational institutions have been established to meet the need for quality education.
Over the last several years, Singapore has been attracting international students thanks not only to the quality education offered by its schools, but also because of its strategic location, excellent infrastructure and accessibility.
Located at the crossroads of the world in the Malacca Strait, Singapore is home to at least 7,000 multinational corporations and several thousand financial centers and trading firms.
The presence of numerous global corporations has not only encouraged the establishment of many quality educational institutions and training and consultancy service centers, but also has prompted companies from neighboring countries, such as those from Indonesia, to study the successes of the island's corporations.
Many international professionals and executives travel to the country to attend corporate training courses. Others also seek out MBA or doctoral programs to prepare themselves for the next stage of their personal and professional development.
"Commonly, corporate education programs also include a visit to a company through which participants can gain information on relevant matters," said Singapore Tourism Board's education service division manager, Selene NG Lin Ying.
It is no wonder that with a lively, inspired and challenging environment to develop one's potential, Singapore has become a significant destination for corporate education.
At least 40 educational institutions and related service providers are available, with many running programs targeted at professionals and executives.
The Center For Creative Leadership, Management Development Institute, Novation Business School, Raffles International Training Center, Singapore (RITC), National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), Nanyang Technology University (NTU), Singapore Human Resource Institute (SHRI), Tourism Academy and the US-based Chicago Graduate School of Business (GSB) Asia Campus, to name but a few, are among the corporate education service providers that help professionals and executives enhance their professional and managerial skills.
Most corporate education service providers are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including lecture theaters and tutorial rooms, seminar rooms, video-conferencing facilities and computer laboratories and wireless broadband connectivity.
Several education service providers also have on-campus executive centers, financial trading rooms and e-commerce labs.
"We really want participants to feel comfortable when attending a training session," said Nanyang Business School's director for marketing and admission division, James Quek.
The Chicago GSB Asia Campus features a lecture hall that can accommodate at least 90 students, 20 fully equipped study group rooms, a "Nobel Laureate Hall of Fame", a function room and an e- library, as well as an elegant and exquisite glass-walled student lounge.
Courses
For executives interested in taking short courses, there are at least 300 courses offered by different educational institutes in Singapore.
A schedule of courses and information on topics, objectives and costs can be found in the Corporate Education Guide published annually by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
The short courses for professionals and executives range from management development to skills management workshops.
A wide range of topics is offered in areas such as business development, international marketing, information technology, business management, creativity and innovation, hospitality and tourism and leadership development.
However, most training providers are able to customize executive programs to fit a company's requirements. "If a company needs a special program, then we should first make a training needs analysis and program design," said Singapore Institute of Management corporate training director Lim Kuan Meng.
Commonly, a short course ranges from two to five days, except for courses on languages that usually run for two weeks.
The cost for a course depends on the topic, duration and the institution.
For instance, a two-day course on Financial Modeling In Excel at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School costs S$380 (about US$220). A two-day course on the topic: How To Conduct an Effective Performance Appraisal Discussion at Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI) costs S$685.
A three-day course on Effective Budgeting - A Strategic Approach, at Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) costs S$1,081.50. A three-day course on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at NUS Business School costs S$2,300.
Apart from short courses, several top schools also offer MBA and Phd programs. They include Nanyang Technological University and Chicago GSB Asia Campus.
A full-time MBA program usually runs for 16 months, with school fees raging from S$24,000 to S$40,000, depending on the school.
Generally, most short-term executive training providers exclude the cost of accommodation and food from the training course.
For practical reasons, most international participants of short training courses prefer to stay in a hotel. The price of hotel depends of the class. An average medium-class hotel costs around S$200 per day, with other costs estimated at S$40 per day.
Staying in an apartment by sharing a room with a colleague is one of the popular options for participants of a long-term course. Staying in an apartment will cost you some S$100 per day.
Benefits
While prospective participants of short or long-term courses are required to prepare an estimated budget before traveling to Singapore, those who are attending or have completed their course are able to share their learning experience in the country.
For Indonesians, for example, in addition to international standard curricula, attending a training course or studying in Singapore is economical because Singapore is close to Indonesia.
"Thanks to the proximity, we spend less money on air fares, compared to when attending the same course in another university in a Western country," said Bina Nusantara University's manager for performance and career management Yosafat M. Hutagalung, who took a four-day training course on Allen Management Leadership at Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) recently.
The training methods contributed to the enhancement of participants' professional and managerial skills considering that the course was practice-oriented. "We spend more time on practice during the training session. In this case, we were supposed to play a role as a team leader based on the concept developed by Louis Allen, founder of Louis Allen Associates," he said.
The methods ranged from interactive workshops and role-playing to experiential learning like team building activities, he said.
Others highlighted diversity of participants in terms of nationality and professional background as the plus factor.
Dharma Suryaputra, general manager for the marketing division at Jakarta-based PT Star Cosmos, who is currently taking an MBA program at Chicago GSB Asia Campus, said that the school provided an excellent platform for networking as more than 50 percent of the participants were from outside Singapore.
"Aside from learning from lecturers and textbooks, we can also gain worthwhile information from our friends (other like-minded executives) through the exchange of experiences, views and ideas based on the respective case study," he said, adding that the school's system allowed him to attend the MBA program while retaining his current job.
The lectures have benefited him much in terms of his profession. Marketing strategy concepts that he received, for instance, were worth acquiring even though some modifications were needed when applied to the Indonesian context, he said.
Despite the absence of data on the number of Indonesian participants of corporate education programs, the number has been on the rise from year to year given the growing awareness among Indonesia's professionals and executives about the increasingly competitive era, according to Singapore Tourism Board's education service division's manager Selene Ng Lin Ying.
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