Last year, South Korea's largest financial services firm, Shinhan Financial Group, asked the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Business School to develop a graduate business management programme tailored to its needs. Shinhan required a speciality course for its executives tasked with global expansion. Rather than bringing in external talent, they opted to groom their own people.
HKUST custom-created an intensive six-month master's of global management programme. Only 25 of Shinhan's executives passed the school's stringent entry tests. Those who got in have been doing remarkably well. 'It has been a phenomenal success,' says Professor Steven DeKrey, senior associate dean and director of master's programmes.
'It takes heavy commitment from the company to select, support, and give candidates time off to return to school. The faculty has been very impressed by the candidates' commitment.'
Shinhan's move reflects a rising demand, especially from Asia, for specialist master's business degrees. Last year, demand for graduate business management qualifications swung towards specialisation, away from the more generalised MBA, the 2011 Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) annual application trends survey revealed.
A total of 649 programmes from 331 business schools and faculties worldwide participated in the annual study conducted between early June and mid-July each year. While GMAC reported growth in applications to all specialised programmes, master's of finance programmes led with 83 per cent of respondents reporting an increase in applications, followed by master's in management programmes at 69 per cent, and master's in accounting programmes at 51 per cent.
The findings indicate that both organisations and talent have realised that specialised master's degrees offer differentiation and an edge in the market. For candidates, such qualifications open doors to further opportunities. 'In the past, a bachelor's degree was sufficient education for employment, but increased job competition and stricter industry requirements have encouraged applicants to return to school,' the GMAC researchers said.