Entrepreneurship - A whole new experience on the 12 month MBA at Oxford College of Business
The debate about whether or not you can teach entrepreneurship will always divide opinion. However Oxford College of Business feels creating the conditions in with an entrepreneurial mindset can flourish, and providing its MBA students with the tools and the confidence to take the path toward business creation. They just might not need a classroom to do it !
The three key ingredients to develop an entrepreneurial mindset
Three key ingredients to train and develop entrepreneurial thinking are a supportive network, outstanding mentors, and personal reflection. This is exactly what the 12 month MBA offers, with students in senior levels of management representing all circles of the business community, the faculty members comprises of all industry experts, which gives students abundant examples and practical insight into Entrepreneurship. Personal reflection is almost auto- matic on the 12 month MBA at OCB, mainly because all examinations are open-book exams. Which means while students are allowed to take their text books to the exam, they need to give practical examples to back the theory which they put down. The 12 month MBA offered by the Australian Institute of Business at OCB has understood that, beyond teaching core business skills, the interaction with business leaders and social entrepreneurs provides a massive learning opportunity for their students.
Hearing from the owner of a company that has taken his business to international markets, or a an individual that was recognized nationally/internationally for his/ her humanitarian work rendered, or even a sports personality who’s leadership skills lead a team to outstanding performance at the international level, inspires students at the event to believe they can also create change. You could hear a pin drop in our MBA classroom says the head of academic at OCB. We have had students who had surviving the terror of the war in the North, which left his family with just the clothes on their backs, and starting his first company at the age of 17, coming to Colombo every weekend to buy computer hardware that he then sold back in the North. Twenty seven years later, he is actively involved in everything from manufacturing to agriculture to IT, with total assets in excess of $ 200 million and more than 2,000 employees across Asian countries. We even try to bring in our own students to come back to class to provide mentorship and business training to help transform entrepreneurs’ ideas into thriving business entities. We always tell our students following the 12 month MBA at OCB “Don’t wait for the door of opportunity to open, just build your own door” this leaves listeners feeling they also have what it takes and can accept the risks inherent in a startup says the head of academic at OCB.
But it’s the lessons learned by these successful individuals that offer the real insight for would-be entrepreneurs. So once off the stage, speakers engaged in master classes to share their wisdom and answer questions. Importantly, they shared the microphone with small business owners, the often overlooked pillars of the economy, whose experience and advice is just as valuable, and within reach.
Encouraging a different form of self assessment
For hands-on learning, students are also encouraged to evaluate their own companies by applying for various business competitions such as those organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce or the National Chamber of Commerce and also taking part in various entrepreneurship forum organized etc, which will give them an idea of where their business actually stands and how they can improve themselves and their companies. It may look like handing over the keys will be counter intuitive for many business schools, but that’s the direction they need to take if they want to foster a creative ecosystem. Not only does the experience provide valuable lessons in delivering on commitments, it also provides a networking platform for connections with l i ke - m i n d e d i n d iv i d u a l s . Sometimes it’s good to know you’re not alone. They represent a rare opportunity to ask yourself where you really want to be headed, and who you want to share that path with.
#2 in Australia and #13 in the world
So while finance, accounting, marketing, and other core courses remain the domain of the classroom, when it comes to building new businesses unlike other MBA programmes the 12month MBA at OCB focuses less on teaching and more on creating the conditions that would allow would- be entrepreneurs to flourish, which is the reason why the 12month MBA at OCB is regarded as one of the most sought after MBA programmes in the country. This can be further justified by the current rankings which the 12 month MBA programme holds. According to the International Graduate Forum ( IGF) rankings released for the winter 2013/ 2014 edition of the CEO Magazine (UK), the MBA program of the Australian Institute of Business ranks 13th globally and 2nd in Australia. The Australian Institute of Business’s MBA has thus found its place among the 20 top global MBA programs and also among the top three within Australia for the second consecutive year. For more information contact Malindu Ranasinghe on 0714151547 or visit www.ocbsrilanka.com.