The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is offering new programs for startups, entrepreneurs, and individuals with science, technology, engineering, architecture, agriculture, and medicine backgrounds.
“Our new programs are responsive to the emerging needs of the current landscape. With the global spotlight continuing to be trained on Asia, the region needs managers, entrepreneurs, and leaders who deliver meaningful and sustainable growth to Asian business and societies,” says Dr. Jikyeong Kang, President, CEO, and Dean of AIM. “We are cognizant of the vital role that innovation and entrepreneurship play in delivering the promise of inclusive growth, and we hope to engage Asia’s future leaders through the new programs that we are offering.”
The AIM-Dado Banatao Incubator aims to promote inclusive innovation in the Philippines, eventually becoming a hub for founders, angel investors, and venture capitalists from the ASEAN region. Unique to this incubator is the ability to scout and select start-ups from other pre-incubation facilities.
Formed through a partnership between AIM and the Philippine Development Foundation (PhilDev), the AIM-Dado Banatao Incubator is expected to take in four start-ups to ensure focus, with practical and Socratic mentorship to be provided, founded on AIM’s proven curriculum developed by founders for founders.
“The betterment of the next generation will be enabled not by politicians, but by engineers and entrepreneurs rich in ideas for innovation, and by businessmen who know the dynamics of wealth accumulation,” explains PhilDev founder Dado Banatao. “This is the reason why AIM and PhilDev are partnering in the creation of a unique incubator. New ideas and business practices will be developed to enhance the probability of enrichment success.”
AIM is also offering the Master of Science in Innovation and Business (MIB), primarily for fresh graduates and employed professionals aged 20 to 24 years old and with STEAM undergraduate degrees: science, technology, engineering, architecture, agriculture, and medicine.
The MIB program provides its students with business, innovation management, and project leadership skills, enabling them to produce technological innovations for business, society, and the planet; break the “invisible ceiling” in STEAM careers; and increase marketability and post-program compensation significantly.
In a span of 10 months, MIB students study the following modules: mastering the business toolkit; spotting entrepreneurial and social impact opportunities; managing technology products and projects; leading people and cross-functional teams; and driving science and technology-based business innovations. The program also includes an immersion activity to innovation hot spots, such as Silicon Valley, Tokyo, and Kyoto. Students will also have an opportunity to engage with researchers, investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders via collider projects, which may result in new venture creations.
The MIB program also responds to current realities faced by STEAM graduates. In 2014 alone, for every one job opening in Manila requiring a STEAM background, there were 21 competing candidates. Moreover, new engineering graduates take as long as four years to rise from cadet to full-fledged engineers.
“What we have seen in the market is that STEAM professionals face an ‘invisible ceiling’ as early as eight to ten years out of college,” explains Dr. Kang. “The MIB program complements their technical knowledge with real-world analysis and decision-making, teamwork, communication skills, and business sense, to enable them to ease into managerial roles or redefine existing technical positions in established firms.”
AIM is also relaunching the Master in Entrepreneurship (ME) program, an 18-month program designed for individual entrepreneurs managing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with about Php1 million assets and/or Php5 million in annual revenues. The program is also targeted towards second- and third-generation strategic business unit managers of family corporations, with P&L and balance sheet responsibilities, as well as intrapreneurs, nominated by corporations, managing strategic business units in growth industries.
The ME program has three terms. The first term focuses on the fundamentals of the business and on self-understanding and self-mastery, with students developing a one-year plan for the business and a one-year learning agenda midway through the first term. The second term focuses on system developmentÑthe presence of an operating system differentiates entrepreneurs from those merely self-employed. The third and last term focuses on long-term and strategic matters, delving into a deeper understanding of the business, industry, and environment, and culminating in the development of five-year plans. The program also presents students with an opportunity to join an international study tour, giving them a chance to understand challenges and opportunities in other markets.
“The design of the ME program enables entrepreneurs to leverage their time and resources, grow their business, and balance both their business and personal goals,” says Dr. Kang. “The program allows students to learn by doing, with classes complemented by projects to apply learning to the business. The students will also have access to the expertise of a diverse range of industry mentors, including AIM alumni who are also founders and directors of successful entrepreneurial ventures throughout the region.”
AIM maintains small class sizes of 30 to 40 students in a class to ensure quality learning and discussion. One of the key features of an AIM education is the case method, wherein students analyze, discuss, and decide on real-world issues in teams and in class.
“Creating Asia’s leaders and managers who will deliver on meaningful and sustainable growth means honing individuals who think boldly and critically, collaborate with others of different backgrounds and experiences, and act with impact in mindÑand this is developed through a combination of rich discussion in class and action-oriented learning,” explains Dr. Kang.
Application to both the MIB and ME programs are currently ongoing, with classes starting in September 2016. For more information about the programs, please visit www.aim.edu.
About AIM
The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is the Asian pioneer in management education. Since it was founded in 1968 by the Harvard Business School and academics as well as prominent business leaders of the Philippines, AIM has been committed to contributing to sustaining the growth of Asian businesses and societies through developing professional, entrepreneurial, and socially responsible managers and leaders.
AIM’s 41,000-strong alumni, who have profited from its proven strength in practitioner-based education offered through Washington SyCip Graduate School of Business and its unique development management education provided by Zuellig School of Development Management, all under one roof, are well recognized for their ability to navigate complex and dynamic spaces, and occupy key positions in business, state and development corporations all over the world.
AIM’s education and training meet the global accreditation standards of the US-based Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). AIM offers five degree programs: Master in Business Administration (both full time and executive), Master of Science in Innovation and Business, and Master in Entrepreneurship, and Master in Development Management. The Institute is also highly recognized for open enrollment and custom executive programs for business as well as non-business organizations. For more information please visit www.aim.edu.
For more information about this press release, please contact:
Milanny Odon/Mika Palileo
Ogilvy Public Relations Manila
Tel: (632) 238 7000
E: milanny.odon@ogilvy.com or mika.palileo@ogilvy.com[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]