Dear Members,

We are pleased to present the opportunity to attend the MBA Info Session Kuching presentd by the Chief Operating Officer of the Asia School of Business (in collaboration with MIT Sloan) for your consideration.

“In 2015, Bank Negara Malaysia entered into a 10-year agreement with MIT (currently ranked as the world’s number 1 university http://news.mit.edu/2018/qs-ranks-mit-worlds-no-1-university-2018-19-0606)  to set up the Asia School of Business (in collaboration with MIT Sloan).  We are currently accepting admissions and offering generous scholarships for our fourth intake.

I am writing with the intent of reaching out to the broader Sarawak professional network on the opportunity to pursue a world-class MBA in Malaysia.  The ASB-MBA program is currently touted to be the most innovative in the world (https://poetsandquants.com/school-profile/asia-school-of-business-in-collaboration-with-mit-sloan/?pq-directory-type=school-profile); and one of its key elements is offering its students exposure up to 4-6 countries in the region including 5 weeks in the US with classes at MIT Sloan itself.  In our increasingly interconnected world and economies, this is a great opportunity for young professional Sarawakians to gain exposure and networks that will benefit their careers and the organizations that they belong to.

As a personal testimonial as a Sarawakian who was privileged enough to obtain a scholarship to attend Cornell for my MBA in 2006-08, I recall my experience in a world-class institution far exceeded my expectation of what graduate education could be like; or what it did to my personal and career development.  Prior to pursuing my MBA, I practiced as a lawyer in Kuching; and spent my early years of education at Lodge School & SMB St Teresa. My ability to contribute to organizations and communities has definitely increased with the knowledge and exposure that I obtained as a result of my MBA.

Had the ASB-MBA been in existence 12 years ago, I would have had chosen this over going to the USA.  First, having access to MIT faculty in Kuala Lumpur yet in the Asian context (Action Learning projects in multiple cities in the region -e.g., Bangkok, Jakarta, Hong Kong) is a very powerful proposition. When I first came back to Malaysia, I had to spend time adapting Western theories to emerging market realities as Western concepts ‘tak boleh pakai’ in full here.   Also, the financial investment in doing an ASB-MBA is significantly less than a program in the US; especially with generous scholarships available ranging from 50-100% scholarships.

It is with the intent of being able to share this opportunity with Sarawakians (with ~3-7 years work experience) that I have persuaded the Admissions team to do an event in Kuching on December 1, at Kuching Hilton from 2-4pm; and I hope that I will be able to reach the next generation of business leaders.  I sincerely hope that you would be able to share this with your professional networks.

Please have them register for the event here: https://apply.asb.edu.my/register/InfoSessionKuching

Rhoda Yap

Chief Operating Officer”