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SCMP Reporter

Continuing education seems almost impossible for busy executives who need to work globally.

One business school has seen the needs of these people and is offering flexibility to its programmes by allowing them to continue with their studies.

The Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) teaches in Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney, Australia, and is one of the largest external providers of postgraduate management education taught face to face in Hong Kong. Former student Bill Bowman,  an Australian, has benefited from its Asia-Pacific teaching network.

Mr Bowman, director of Infineon Technologies  Asia-Pacific, is based in the regional headquarters in Singapore.

He has a regional role focusing on internal control and financial compliance, in particular Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

Infineon Technologies offers semiconductor and system solutions, addressing three central challenges to modern society: energy efficiency, connectivity and security.

Company sales last financial year amounted to Euro4.1 billion (HK$43.54 billion) and there are about 30,000 employees worldwide.

Infineon employs more than 12,000 staff in the Asia-Pacific and has manufacturing facilities in Singapore, China, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange  and the New York Stock Exchange.

Mr Bowman has been living in Hong Kong and Singapore for 16 years. He started the MGSM programme in Singapore  when he was working there. Part way through the programme, employment opportunities took him to Hong Kong and he was able to continue the programme uninterrupted, and ultimately graduate with an MGSM MBA in 2000 in Hong Kong.

Employment opportunities have since taken him back to Singapore.

'One of the major reasons that I chose MGSM was the programme's flexibility, allowing me to study in three locations and be able to move seamlessly between them,' Mr Bowman said.

'My career is about managing regional functions across Asia-Pacific and I appreciated the flexibility the MGSM programme offered to allow me to continue my studies without interruption even when my base of employment changed around the region.'

Mr Bowman's earlier tertiary and professional studies were in accounting and finance, and he was still involved in that field as president of CPA Australia, Hong Kong China Division, in 2001-2002.

He said the MGSM MBA allowed him to develop a deeper understanding of the roles of other professionals in managing a business such as marketing, logistics, IT, human resources and strategy, and how important it was to have an understanding of each other's fields of expertise.

'I also found it to be of advantage in my career development when pursuing future employment opportunities to have a qualification from a well-respected tertiary institution as proof of my having received a well-rounded business education. And it certainly helps when it comes to salary negotiations,' Mr Bowman said.

'The MGSM MBA is a serious programme and involves a real time commitment. It is very much a face-to-face programme with the academics and it includes substantial interaction with your fellow students. It is a collective learning experience.

'However, the rewards are well worth the effort expended and, although when you commence the programme you are sitting in a classroom of strangers, they soon become your colleagues with whom you share the learning endeavour. And many become your lifelong friends and contacts around the region.'



Versatile course suits travellers