Graduate programmes take pride of place at HELP University
KUALA LUMPUR: Graduate programmes offered under the aegis of the ELM Graduate School takes pride of place at HELP University.
‘ELM’ which stands for Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Management is a framework denoting the three elements functioning in tandem to generate productivity and performance in organisations and businesses.
Ideas behind the formulation of ELM framework are a prominent feature of the educational philosophy of HELP University to attain successful leadership position in Malaysian private education sector.
It also explains why HELP University has built its strength in management and businessrelated courses.
ELM Graduate School offers 13 Master’s and four Doctoral programmes including in special fields like Economic Crime Management, Project Management, Corporate Governance, and MPhil and PhD degrees in Psychology.
HELP Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) stands out for its popularity, relevance and appeal with emphasis on applied research for working professionals with interest in management research to take up doctoral studies.
Typically, candidates have a practical research question related to specific problems at their work environment that they formally investigate and present in a dissertation with findings and insights to benefit their companies.
They also benefit from the collective experience of peers who bring business, leadership roles and other strategic responsibilities into the classroom to be studied, shared, critiqued and refined.
They acquire intellectual discipline, higher order thinking and enhance their conceptual capabilities. Selecting a research topic or investigating a research problem that is directly related to their area of work also benefit their careers as it enables them to dissect and understand the problems and issues with enhanced clarity and depth, and view them from the appropriate perspectives and prescribe accurate solutions.
The DBA usually appeals to highly ambitious and motivated professionals with more than 15 years’ experience and hold good positions.
The DBA is the highest academic qualification in the field of business and management. Unlike the PhD, it focuses on practical oriented research that aims to fulfill the needs of industry and the economy. Although the DBA is more suited to working professionals who plan to advance to higher management positions or be management consultants, the rigour of the DBA qualifies the DBA graduate to be competent researchers and academics.
The experience of a distinguished recent graduate illustrates the value of the HELP DBA.
Astro Go Shop chief executive officer Dr Grace Lee was heading the Finance and Risk Management portfolios at Astro when she joined the HELP DBA programme. For her dissertation, she chose to do a pioneering study of Corporate Risk Governance in 100 Malaysian listed companies.
The study provided new insights on risk governance practices and has the potential to help regulators gain greater awareness of their value. It also helps them to formulate training and development programmes for board directors to enhance their oversight of corporate risk governance.
Although her subsequent promotion as CEO of Astro Go
Shop took her away from the risk management responsibility, the significant findings of the study, such as increasing the role of independent directors or increasing the number of independent directors does not necessarily improve risk governance, served to enhance her awareness of the dynamics of corporate governance and consequently strengthen her role as a CEO.
As Lee is also an independent director and chairman of the Audit Committee at MaGIC (Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre), the benefits of her insights in corporate risk governance gleaned from her DBA research extend to multiple sectors.
She also admits to the benefits of the programme’s rigour.
“It demands a lot of discipline: first, there is the extensive reading, and then you have to complete the assignments which require case principle application of the readings. I think the discipline that comes with it is good even in the corporate world,” she said.
Further testimony of the value of the HELP DBA is provided by dean of ELM Graduate School Dr Wendy Liow.
“The DBA is one of our most popular programmes. People recognise its value and the opportunities it offers for upskilling and career advancement. Business leaders and entrepreneurs welcome the challenge to re-think their ideas and experience with the help of rigorous academic tools and investigative methodologies to offer a different perspective. New dimensions are created to help develop their enterprises, strategies and management styles.
“We normally admit people in the 30-50 age group, many of whom are entrepreneurs and senior level management. In such a diverse environment, they have so much to learn and share,” she said.
For enquiries, contact Emily Chin at 03-27162220 or email to emily.chin@help.edu.my.