As we enter 2011, the economic outlook appears far better than it did at the beginning of last year. However, the financial meltdown that shook the world remains a painful reminder that we should never rest on our laurels. 'We are living in a world that is getting more complex, day by day,' says Professor Wong Wing-shing, dean of Chinese University's (CUHK) graduate school. 'Knowledge acquisition plays an increasingly important role in helping us address the new challenges.' The head of one of Hong Kong's leading business schools thinks this is the right time to return to the classroom. 'The recent economic environment has been a wake-up call for all of us,' says Professor Kathleen Slaughter, dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business (Asia). 'We all have gaps in our understanding of not only the capabilities of business, but also the characteristics to be an ethical, empathetic leader.' You can return to the classroom for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you want to fill in some gaps in your professional skill set. Maybe you want to update your professional knowledge or expertise. Or possibly, you simply want to learn something new for its own sake. 'When you lose the passion to learn something, you lose your edge,' Slaughter says. 'At the beginning of a new year, we hear a lot of people saying, 'I wish I had ...' It could be anything from learning to play the piano to pursuing a degree. This year, have a bias towards action and get on with it.' Those wanting to return to the classroom can take short courses to fill specific gaps in their knowledge. They can also enrol in full-time or part-time programmes leading to a master's degree or even a doctorate. Wong says postgraduate degree programmes 'offer a structured, comprehensive solution that has proven to be effective' for most first degree holders. 'The curriculums of our masters' programmes cover in-depth relevant topics in a variety of academic disciplinary areas,' he says. 'They are designed to help our students acquire comprehensive, state-of-the-art knowledge and professional skills in the chosen discipline.' There is a profound difference between sitting in a classroom full of fresh secondary school graduates in your first year of university and returning several years later with many years of professional experience under your belt. You and your classmates have now had real-life professional experiences to share during class discussions. As a result, in a postgraduate programme, you can learn as much from your classmates as you can from your professors. 'The combination of increased knowledge and exposure to many different industries with a dynamic, diverse group of professionals can quickly reignite and reenergise any executive,' Slaughter says. 'Graduate business education exposes you to new ideas; you work with individuals from many different cultures with very different perspectives.' Like-minded people tend to work for the same kinds of companies performing the same kinds of tasks. They tend to think alike as well. One of the benefits of returning to school after you have had some working experience is that this new environment can take you out of your comfort zone. In class discussions, you will find that the challenges you look at one way can be looked at from different perspectives by people in different jobs and industries. Many students opt for postgraduate degrees because they want to change careers. There is a wide variety of programmes that will help them realise their goal, such as CUHK's juris doctorates, master's degrees in social science in social work, and Chinese medicine. 'We should all strive to be continuous learners and I cannot think of anyone who should not consider some form of higher education,' Slaughter says. 'It's what makes all of us better individuals.' Corporate leaders need a global view and a strong foundation in ethics if they are going to enhance the attractiveness of their organisation, their products and their services. To achieve this, they need to be prepared. 'It's the decade of action, but it is also a decade where the workforce has changed and talented individuals have many opportunities,' Slaughter says. 'It requires a different type of management to lead the new generation of workers. We are facing a workforce with high expectations of themselves, their superiors and their organisations.'