The NUS MBA cohort typically represents more than 30 countries and a wide array of industries and professional backgrounds, providing a global learning experience. NUS MBA alumna Delphine Morandeau (Class of 2017) shares how she adapted to life in sunny Singapore when she moved from France to pursue her studies.
An MBA is not just another round of studies. It happens at a time when you have enough experience to reflect upon, share, and grow.
The NUS MBA delivers this promise in a unique and supportive environment. I got many “haha” moments when interacting with professors or classmates, especially when it came to understanding business strategies in Asian countries. While European countries are culturally different, we still operate in a single market, but Asia is another playing field altogether. Understanding, and working in Asia require a deep understanding of the political, economic and social landscape of each country, and that’s why this MBA programme at NUS, with its diverse cohort, was so meaningful.
My background is in the government sector, where I negotiated and deployed environmental and urban policies. I had some exposure to smart city projects, in both France and Singapore, and that raised my curiosity for technology companies as providers of scalable solutions to environmental challenges. With that, I started to consider a move to the private sector.
I chose the NUS MBA to explore different career options in Asia and find out the specific industries and business functions I would eventually focus on. At 17 months, the full time programme is designed to be a very intense academic start, progressing into hands-on electives and corporate missions. This is a transformative journey, as long as you spend time understanding what drives you as a professional. While I was still on my exploratory journey, I started a full-time internship at Microsoft Singapore, in their central marketing organisation. Two years later, I am still working for this incredible, fast-moving company but with another team, called Microsoft Philanthropies Asia, whose mission is to empower nonprofits through technology for a bigger social and environmental impact.
I now find myself combining my former experience in the government space and newly developed skills in business development and social good marketing. Connecting the dots, I am doing a job that I love and find meaningful, covering a region I had hardly explored prior to my MBA.
The NUS MBA has undoubtedly been a key milestone for enabling this jump. I feel very lucky to have gone through this program together with incredible classmates, who are now colleagues and close friends. It has been a unique experience, the one you wish to do again, even more intensively, as you realise the impact it had on your own personal and professional growth.
For more information on the NUS MBA programme, please visithttp://mba.nus.edu.sg/.