Cambodia has over 100 universities that offer MBA programs, which has led to an increase in competition and a decline in enrollment at the National University of Management in Phnom Penh. Aside from standard university rivalry; many companies are establishing similar business programs for consumers (i.e banks offering programs in finance and banking). To differentiate itself, NUM was looking to develop a new Master’s Program in Management & Innovation. Developing this specialized master’s program was ideal due to vast changes happening in the region and rise of interest in entrepreneurship.
GBSN hosted a Cross-Border Coffee Break: Fulbright Specialist Program Offers Opportunity to Two GBSN Members on Thursday, July 19, 2018. Participants heard from members Bryan Andriano, Executive Director of Global & Experiential Education at The George Washington University School of Business (GW) and Stephen Paterson, Dean of National University of Management (NUM) International College and Co-Founder of Mekong Business Challenge.
Following discussions at the GBSN 2017 Annual Conference in Washington D.C., NUM submitted the development of this program as a project to the Fulbright Specialist Program and requested Bryan Andriano from GWSB, to be the specialist.
The Fulbright Specialist Program sends U.S. faculty and professionals to serve as expert consultants on curriculum, faculty development, institutional planning, and related subjects at academic institutions abroad for a period of 2 to 6 weeks. Following the approval of the project, Bryan traveled to Phnom Penh and spend three weeks at NUM. With the aid of Bryan’s expertise, the NUM Master’s Program in Innovation and Management was created.
The desired outcomes of the program are to create market-ready graduates, create an impactful educational experience for students and an engaged ecosystem. The NUM Master’s of Innovation and Management leverages the location of the institution, engages topics important to local employers, uses current instructional methodology and activates the NUM ecosystem.
Addressing some of the challenges from the current iMBA, this new program follows a different program structure, engages industry partners and utilizes new learning methods.
It will offer two to three days of formal classes with additional new online learning modules. Instead of a traditional thesis, students will have to produce a project-based innovation capstone. The new online learning modules will include MOOCs, innovation sprint courses, and a short-term global immersion component.
A specialized program like this will be expensive but NUM is currently working with organizations for financial help to create scholarships to make for diverse cohorts.
As a follow-up to this virtual conversation, Christina Dinh, Program Officer of the Fulbright Specialist Program will be talking about the institutional benefits of the Fulbright Specialist Program, structure of the program and application process during an upcoming GBSN webinar on August 2nd at 9am EDT. Register here to join
About Cross-Border Coffee Breaks
Cross-Border Coffee Breaks are a series of curated webinars featuring research, expertise, innovations and lessons learned by GBSN member school faculty. The purpose is to not only provide network members visibility within the network, but also to foster cross-border knowledge sharing and collaboration. Its intent is to capture and promote information on best practice and lessons learned from GBSN and its members’ experience in building the capacity of management education for the developing world.
Cross-Border Coffee Breaks are administered by GBSN and presented by its member schools. Click here to learn more
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Nicole Zefran is the Communications Officer at the Global Business School Network.