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Flexible management course allows for study on the road

The MBA programme is targeted at middle managers who spend much of their time travelling

ABOUT 150 STUDENTS will receive their master's degrees from Britain's Leicester University at a ceremony to be held in Kowloon on August 20. The largest number, or 90 per cent, will be receiving MBAs.

Others will receive their Master of Science (MSc) in finance and marketing, and Master of Arts in mass communications. The university also offers an MSc in customer service management in Hong Kong.

With about 450 alumni in Hong Kong, Leicester University is represented in the city by the Singapore-based Hartford Institute, which offers programmes from degree to doctoral level in two categories. The first are programmes developed by Hartford itself. Subjects run from business administration to tourism and financial management. The others are offered in conjunction with overseas universities in Australia, Britain and the United States.

In addition to Leicester, the institute represents Huddersfield and Surrey universities in Britain, California State University, East Bay, in the United States, and the University of Newcastle in Australia. Established in Hong Kong in 1999, the institute has 3,500 students attending its classes.

The Leicester MBA, one of the institute's most popular programmes, is targeted at middle managers who spend a lot of their time travelling. Fully 88 per cent of the participants are 31 years and older. Fifty-five per cent have first degrees and 28 per cent have diplomas. Half are managers or professionals, 21 per cent are executives, 21 per cent are senior managers, and 8 per cent are directors or chief executives. Twenty-eight per cent have three to five years of professional experience, 51 per cent have six to 10, 14 per cent have 11 to 15, and 7 per cent have more than 15 years of professional experience.

'It's a flexible programme for students wanting a thorough grounding in general management,' said Danny Ho, programme director of Leicester MBAs programmes in Hong Kong and centre manager of the Hartford Institute. 'Even though students enrol in Hong Kong, they do not have to be in Hong Kong to complete it. They can take their materials on the road and access the programme through portals, assuming they have internet access. They can also receive support in Singapore and Malaysia, where Hartford also has offices.'

The programme takes two years to complete, and comprises five core modules, two electives and one dissertation. Each module consists of 15 to 20 contact hours with a locally based tutor, a two-day to three-day faculty visit with a professor from Britain and various types of online support and video conferencing with students in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Leicester's home campus in Britain.

'By having faculty from the UK and local tutors, students can integrate local knowledge with knowledge from Britain,' Mr Ho said. 'Students also have access to Leicester's online library resources, with articles from reputable journals and periodicals for research.'

Reputation is one of Leicester's top draws. The school has been offering programmes in Hong Kong for about 15 years, and has been represented by the Hartford Institute for six. 'A lot of our graduates hold key positions in the public and private sectors,' Mr Ho said.

Another key selling point was the support students received from the university and from Hartford. 'We are very supportive of our students, organising events for current students and alumni, providing them with many networking opportunities. We go beyond the learning experience by providing many value-added services.'

Ranked Britain's 19th best university in this year's Financial Times League Table, Leicester won Queen's Anniversary Prizes in 1994 and 2002. It has also been accredited by the Association of MBAs since 1999. It is one of only seven distance learning programmes to be so accredited, placing it among the top 15 per cent of European business schools.

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