10 things I will do , If I were a Dean of Business School

" Talents with the right qualities are still a concern "-Industry players
" Lacking of communication and soft skills among the graduates are a great concern"- Recruitment Agency

and so on so forth.

Below are some of the things that I will do if I were a Dean of Business School in Malaysian university [area that I am familiar with] based on 12 years experiences in the industry and corporate world for first degree programs and even for post graduates programs;

1. Revision- The syllabus shall be reviewed every (5) five years with the input from industry players. I shall engage multinational companies, government agencies, professional organizations such as Malaysian Institute of Accountants [MIA], CIM, ASLI, MICPA, CIMA, ACCA, ICAEW and AICPA, Bank Negara, NEC, MIER ,recruitment agencies to make the syllabus relevant. Of course, the revision shall not compromise the qualities and standard of the qualifications;

2. Collaboration & Benchmarking- with top business schools in each of the region- Australasia, Asia, Middle East, Central Asia, Europe, North America and South America. The collaborations include peer reviews and benchmarking of the courses offered. In addition, allow more exchange programs among the students and lecturers more frequently and encourage more join researches and development, and eventually commercialization of the innovations;

3. Foreign Languages-Graduating with at least two foreign languages of students choice beside English and mother tongue- Choices from Arabic, French, Mandarin and Spanish. Having graduates with this skills are of critical importance in a globalized world and would certainly put these students ahead of others;

4. Leadership -Emphasis the development of communication skills, creativity, cultural sensitivities, leadership qualities in the courses. These qualities shall be presence in each of the courses that they take and shall carry at least 30 % of the course works. Presentation of case studies and public speaking are among the elements to be emphasized in the coursework ;

5. Networkingg- with other students from other universities in Malaysia and the world through blogging and social networking [YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and others]. I shall make a mandatory for each of the students to have a blog on topics related to the courses or personal interest or future career upon graduation;

6. Business Plan-Presenting a business plan on the areas of interest a must to enable students to graduate from business school. For instance, students will be required to form a group , form a virtual company from the very first year of their studies. As the students doing the course works they will eventually developing a business plan which will be presented during their final year, as pre-requisite to graduate by applying all what they have learned throughout their 4-year or 2-year studies. They will be assigned an advisor or mentor for this project, and perhaps learning from the industry captain through collaboration with companies in Malaysia;

7. Traveling & Internship -around the world or the region- For one, I shall not allow the students to take any summer classes during their studies for the sake of completing the degree programs soonest possible.

I shall ask them to travel and to learn from others which eventually will help them with their business plan. The students shall learn not only from classroom but also from the world, to explore and learn from the world.

Internship shall be made mandatory for every year for at least one month to prepare the students with corporate and real world. It is not an option and a requirement to graduate;

8. Volunteering- I shall require all students to do certain hours of voluntary works during the period of studies for them to graduate. In fact, would make them organize fund raising activities for the approved charity organization at the very least once during their studies and to compete with other groups. Surely, this kind of activities enhance the soft skills of the students- communication, marketing, negotiation, team work, leadership, public speaking which are of critical when they graduated from the business school;

9. Professional Qualification- Encouraged , motivated students to do professional qualifications on part time basis, especially for Accountancy students -ACCA, ICAEW and CIMA and others for other courses in the business school. The universities may provide financial assistance for the students to pursue the qualifications with the syllabus are preparing the students to take the courses;

10. Certification of Standard Office Applications Courses- Collaboration with Microsoft or other widely office applications for students that leads to certification- at the very least beginner to intermediate level. This shall also be part of the courses for students to pass to graduate.

What do you think ?

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