MBA Singapore, Japan, or...?

Question

I am currently trying to figure our for which MBA(s) I should apply. I suppose that my situation is rather unique:

[my profile]
male, 31, Swiss
bachelor in Business IT
5 years work experience at Dell and IBM in different sales positions (once as C-level sales manager)
very strong focus towards Asia due to personal interest as well as due to the fact that my wife is Japanese
no international work experience yet
GMAT 640 points

[my goals]
work in Asia (preferably Japan or Singapore) for a few years after my MBA, and move back to Europe later while still being able to "profit" from my degree when back in Europe

[I currently consider the following schools]
- International University of Japan, Japan (great school, internationally known, but in Niigata - the worst location possible)
- Waseda University, Japan (currently my favorite choice, great reputation in Japan, but I am afraid about the international reputation)
- Hitotsubashi University, Japan (again, great reputation in Japan, but internationally it is virtually unknown)
- Nanyang University, Singapore (great school, international reputation, but with an average of ~640 + GMAT points, so I am not sure how my chances are)

Do I consider the right schools for this? On which school(s) / countries should I especially focus?

Thank you for your opinions

greenoak · Answer

Hi wwww,

Your situation is indeed somewhat unique. I’m not a specialist in Japanese market or in Asian market in general, but I think you might find this thread about MBA's with strong Japan network useful for you:
 https://gmatclub.com/forum/106-t65153

The problem with Japanese market, as I understand it, is that it is somewhat ‘closed’. There could be some good MBA programmes, but I don’t think that they are recognizable outside the Japan that much.

So, if your goal is to receive an MBA which would have provided you with an easy access to Asian market  and  was recognizable in Europe too, I believe that HKUST might be of interest to you: 
 https://mba.ust.hk/ftmba/

Their typical GMAT is 550-700 (info from their site). However, they report that 70% of their placements are in Hong Kong, and if you are interested in Japanese market  only , perhaps, it will not be that useful.

Again, I’m not a specialist. Perhaps some other people will give you more detailed answer. Anyways, good luck to you!

wwww · Answer

Thank you for your post greenoak, it is exactly the kind of information that I am looking for. I am not only focused to Japan, but I was mainly looking at it since it was the most obvious in my my situation. You wrapped it up nicely. I am looking for an MBA that keeps me in Asia for a while.

I am really interested in getting to know more universities in Asia, which i should consider for this purpose.

Thanks everyone :-)

togafoot · Answer

oops .. missed this one ...

If your goals are only within these 2 countries, then you should target schools inside them. However, getting into the Japan market is extremely difficult if you haven't got Japanese language skills OR previous living experience in Japan. Note that its is an OR not an AND. Secondly for Japan, without near fluent Japanese, you are mostly restricted to 3 industries, Finance, Teaching and recruiting, in finance you will be competing with bi-lingual Japanese.

GMAT is not a concern, assuming you are European or N.American. The number of applications from these parts to Asian schools means it is a less competitive pool. It is important to emphasise your interest in Asia and previous experiences in Asia. Interms of the actual schools you propose to apply to :-

Waseda - great reputation in Japan for the Japanese, as a foreigner in Japan, it will depend on your Japanese skills. If you are to go there, I highly recommend you spend a lot of time studying Japanese as well as the MBA. Very locally focused
Hitotsubashi - Same for above, even less well known internationally.
IUJ - Probably the only 'international' MBA in Japan. However not a great recruitment ground for Japanese companies. It Ranks higher than the other 2, mainly due to diversity. They have a lot more international students there and their MBA therefore reflect the more international flavour in their teaching.
Nanyang - On a par with NUS, in Singapore, no real differentiation in MBA level, Although I would say that NUS are opening a new business school building and IF they leverage their excellent undergraduate business program and make their MBA as respected they could certainly become a much better school. But as it is, i don;t see any competitive advantage in applying for either school. Singapore uses English, languag will not be a main issue although a lot of post-MBA jobs will require you to have an Asian language due to lots of regional work within Malysia, Indonesia etc.

General things to note :- Internships are not common in Asia, there isn't an internship culture like the USA. Be prepared to battle it out to find a meaningful internship.

After your first few years after the MBA, where you got your MBA is less important than the actual job/role you completed. The MBA gives you leverage straight after completion and afterwards depending on how string the Alumni are.

Lastly, the stronghold in Asia is China, there is plenty of opportunity there, even under the current economic situation. So you may want to consider some 'China' focused MBA's e.g CEIBS, HKUST

antapple · Answer

I would consider the two top schools in australia I think they are well regarded in the far east.

wwww · Answer

Thanks for your input...I will certainly consider HKUST, especially since I know how they elect their students. I found an interesting article about this (link below). https://74.125.39.104/search?q=cache:SG7 ... =firefox-a I dont think i'll have any chance at CEIBS with my 640 gmat score though

MBAbot · Answer

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MBA Singapore, Japan, or...?

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