Business Schools Put Accent on Fintech and Entrepreneurship

Business schools are focusing on financial technology, or fintech, and entrepreneurship to help MBA students apply new skills. This comes as fintech innovations continue to disrupt long-standing financial structures and change the way that traditional financial instruments are used.

Designed to develop the skills needed in a fast-moving business environment, Shige Makino, Professor of Department of Management and Co-director of MSc in Management (Master in Management/MiM) Programme at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School, says in an interview with South China Morning Post the new one-year, full-time, MiM programme, aims to help fresh or recent graduates succeed in a rapidly evolving digital age. “The programme will help students make sense of the implications and deeper meaning of the digital and technology buzzwords that are constantly being used,” Prof. Makino says. “We believe the programme is being launched at the right time to allow our students to capture the opportunities that are being created.”

MiM’s courses cover some of the most challenging topics industries face and those that are likely to become more prominent in the future. “We are looking for people who have good leadership potential. That can be assessed in a variety of ways – academic performance is just one of them. We place importance on face-to-face interviews. We want to assess the person as a whole.” Prof. Makino believes the program will inspire students to achieve the creativity, flexibility and problem-solving skills they need to prosper in a digitally driven environment, where opportunities exist for those who know how to identify them.

With fintech, AI and entrepreneurship and innovation hot topics across the business community, Stephanie Villemagne, Associate Dean of Graduate Programmes and Director of MBA Programmes at CUHK Business School, tells South China Morning Post its MBA curriculum will offer two concentration options that will focus on finance and technology, and entrepreneurship and innovation. To provide robustness and rigor, the School offers comprehensive entrepreneurship programme to nurture students’ creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial mindset. “Our courses are very practical because they feature real-life cases,” Villemagne says. “We have also launched new courses to focus on fintech, social entrepreneurship and sustainability.”

In addition to the interactive classroom sessions and opportunities to network, CUHK MBA includes business field studies to emerging markets. “As well as cultural and social issues, students are able to broaden their horizons, get an insight into local business practices, acquire a range of new business skills and enhance their business acumen,” she says… Read More (PDF)

This story first appeared in the Professional Education Guide 2018, a print booklet published by South China Morning Post with headline “Switch to new skills” on 1 January, 2018. Please click the image below (page 15-17) to view the full article.

Source: South China Morning Post
Date published: 1 January, 2018 / 5 January, 2018 (scmp.com)

Photo: South China Morning Post/Dickson Lee