Business schools put accent on fintech and entrepreneurship

Business schools are focusing on financial technology, or fintech, and entrepreneurship to help MBA students apply new skills. This comes as fintech innovations continue to disrupt long-standing financial structures and change the way that traditional financial instruments are used.

Professor Chen Tai-yuan, associate dean (MBA Programs), at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) business school, has noticed MBA students taking a greater interest in the entrepreneurial space. He says this has led to students favouring a combination of a “traditional” MBA programme that incorporates fintech, digital marketing and big data courses. “These are topics that MBA students are looking to gain insights into,” Chen says. “It reflects the change in the current business market place where disruptive technologies are fast becoming the norm.”

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Hong Kong and Shenzhen Report 2016/17, the growth of start-up businesses in the two jurisdictions more than doubled from 2009 to 2016. In mid-2016, early-stage entrepreneurial activity among Hong Kong’s population was estimated to be about 9.4 per cent (3.64 per cent in 2009) and 16 per cent (4.8 per cent in 2009) in Shenzhen. A shift towards entrepreneurial intentions indicates that nearly 60 per cent of Hong Kong’s population have a positive view of start-up opportunities in Hong Kong.

To ensure students are one step ahead, Chen says the business school’s MBA curriculum reflects an increase in the offering of technology disruptive-focused courses, and the business school is strengthening its ties in fintech. In November, the business school and HKUST Entrepreneurship Center jointly hosted the first 24-hour HKUST fintech Hackathon that brought together teams of students and alumni from Hong Kong’s public universities who presented their ideas to technology industry leaders.

Chen says MBA students can build on technology-related learning opportunities offered through the business school. Recent opportunities have ranged from courses on fintech and big data analytics to social entrepreneurship, where students came up with a business plan and “pitched” to a panel of experts.

Recognising that busy professionals need to manage their time carefully, Chen says the business school has structured its part-time MBA programmes to be delivered weekly and bi-weekly. The weekly MBA for Professionals (MBAP) takes place every Saturday in the first year of study, with electives offered on weekday evenings and weekends. The bi-weekly MBAP is offered on alternate weekends with about 40 per cent of the courses conducted at HKUST Shenzhen campus. Electives are offered bi-weekly, but students are able to attend weekly electives if they prefer. “We take great pride in delivering a ‘full-time MBA experience’ offered on a part-time format,” Chen says. With over 100 academic courses to choose from during their MBA academic studies, programmes are robust, rigorous and adaptive, and meet the needs of career-oriented students. Chen says workshops that hone students’ professional development, and international exposure via exchange programmes and study tours, provide students with the insights they need to think creatively and become inspirational managers and leaders.