This year’s participants of the International MBA had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, explore transformation in the digital and innovation hub of Singapore. During the second week of May, participants took their learning out of the classroom and traveled to immerse themselves in the transformation story of Singapore and its development into a smart nation hosted by the prestigious Nanyang Business School of Nanyang Technological University Singapore.
This week-long immersion programme consisted of in classes, company and lab visits that undoubtedly provided new perspectives on technologies, digital transformation and leadership in Industry.
They explored:
- Singapore Growth Story
- Singapore as a SMART Nation
- Singapore Centre for 3D Printing
- Schneider Electric
- Entrepreneurship ecosystem and visits to Startups
- Digital transformation classes
- Leadership in Industry 4.0
We interviewed our International MBA participants and here they share their learning takeaways from this trip:
Ernesto Matos, Spain:
“During our visit to the Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP) we were introduced to the various research projects at NTU which range from highly critical airplane turbine components to hospital food. The visit inspired us about the technological capabilities in various industries (from aerospace to hospital food) and the role it can play in achieving a more sustainable future.”
Twan den Hartog, The Netherlands and Maria del Pilar Matute, Colombia:
“We have learned that Information technology makes building and scaling platforms easy, but they are challenging to launch. Companies need to artificially incentivize one user group in order to attract the other side. When the number of users grows, the ecosystem’s value grows simultaneously and leads to networking effects, which is a driving force of the Internet economy.”
Javiera Ortega, Chile:
“Without any doubt, this week has been extremely important for us. Not only because we have been experiencing an incredibly smart & innovative city and culture, but also because we have been connecting with the Science and the Business world since day one.Singapore is leading the innovation venture from many different perspectives by focusing on big challenges and by attracting the best talent possible, I am sure that this is a unique opportunity for us to be immersed in such a dynamic scenario. On top of the aforementioned, we were able to visit one of the world leading companies in Sustainability in the Energy sector, Schneider, where we could see how they are investing in cutting edge innovation to contribute to sustainability, even more focused now than ever in the past 20 years they have been doing it.”
An opportunity like this can enrich participants’ careers as they learn from different fields in business, enjoy different experiences, and network with international executives and entrepreneurs that can open doors for them around the world.