The Program

The Asia-Pacific Executive Master of Business Administration Program (APEX-MBA) has been offered since January 1997 by NUS’ Graduate School of Business. The program is designed primarily to provide busy senior executives with the opportunity to sharpen their management skills and improve their ability to thrive in the rapidly changing international business environment. The School has also earned the distinct honour of being one of the first in the region to offer an Executive MBA in Chinese. The topics covered in the program include leadership, corporate strategy, economics, corporate finance, marketing, human resource management, as well as statistics for decision-making and operations management.

The Format

The APEX-MBA Program is conducted in six 2-weeks full-time residential segments. Typically, a class of 20-25 students is admitted to the program. The group follows a rigorous preset course of study lasting 18 months. All students take classes at the same time and the schedule of residential study is pre-determined by the School.

Each segment lasts 2 weeks, during which classes are held for 10 hours daily. The curriculum consists of 12 modules of study, each module lasting a week and including lectures, case studies, simulation, group work and/or individual preparation.

Students must be able to balance the stringent requirements of the curriculum and their work-related commitments. The integration of their education with their professional careers allows each to bring their experience from their workplace to the classroom and the new knowledge acquired can be immediately applied upon returning to work. Support of employers, namely, by releasing candidates from their professional duties during the residential segment, is also vital to the success of an APEX-MBA candidate.

Candidates’ Profile

The APEX-MBA Program brings together an elite group of like-minded, goal-oriented professionals from all around the world, each with at least a decade of full-time work experience after a first degree or its equivalent, and all of whom represent a wide spectrum of professional experience.

Overseas Campus Design

One of the unique features of the APEX-MBA program is its overseas campus design. Both the English and Chinese programs bring their students across Asia. Some of the sessions are taught in:

During such overseas sessions, the classroom discussions are further complemented by guest speakers from the local business community and visits to carefully selected companies.

Challenges

Though the program is still in its infancy, the number of applications has grown steadily over the past 3 years. With the Government expanding its efforts to develop Singapore into an educational hub in the region, the School faces increasing competition from other universities that will be setting up campuses locally. Thus, there is a greater need to create awareness of the program internationally. To achieve this, a series of promotional briefings in China, India, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong has been organised for the rest of 1999.

While the APEX-MBA curriculum is comparable to the best MBA programs, where appropriate, modules have been designed to adapt Western business concepts to meet managerial challenges in Asia. This new model of management education has been well received by our past and present students. To meet the needs of senior executives for the latest management concepts, the professors in the program are leading researchers in their areas of interest and consultants highly demanded in the region. They are able to bring their expertise and the most current proven management practices to the classroom.

The intensive period of learning during the residential segments allows students and instructors to share and discuss their thoughts, insights into management and best practices. This often creates opportunities for instructors to develop Asian case studies. In addition, after working closely during the residential segments, the candidates and instructors have forged close bonds that are expected to form a strong and vibrant alumni community.