“Make sure that the program has the options you are seeking. If you want a finance career, make sure that they are reputable in that area, or you may not be able to leverage that diploma. Go to the best school you can get into. It’s worth it if you can afford it. It’s a rare opportunity. You wear that badge the rest of your life, it’s on your resume, and it does matter. Candidates from more reputable schools can leverage it forever.”

Steven DeKrey, Senior Advisor and Professor Emeritus at HKUST Business School, has over 40 years of experience in building and running top-ranked MBA programs worldwide, including at Northwestern Kellogg, the University of Florida, Asian Institute of Management, and HKUST, where he was Founding Director of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program.

Darren asks Professor DeKrey about the value of top MBA programs in Asia, how applicants can stand out in the admissions process, who should apply to Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA and Executive MBA (EMBA) programs, and whether leadership can be taught. Listen carefully to materially improve your chances of finding a great business school and getting in!

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• What makes top MBA programs in Asia and Hong Kong different? (4:06)
• The quality of top Asian MBA programs vs. top US programs (10:30)
• How important are local language skills for MBA graduates outside the US? (14:10)
• What questions applicants should ask when researching MBA programs? (18:35)
• MBA rankings and other signals of quality (24:30)
• Who should apply to Full-time MBAs, Part-time MBAs and Executive MBAs (EMBA) (28:30)
• Understanding EMBA Admissions (34:50)
• Can leadership be taught? The importance of learning agility (38:45)
• How can MBAs demonstrate leadership skills to employers? (46:40)

About Our Guest

Steven DeKrey is Senior Advisor and Professor Emeritus at HKUST Business School. He has over 40 years of experience in building and running top-ranked MBA programs worldwide, including at Northwestern Kellogg, the University of Florida, Asian Institute of Management, and HKUST, where he was Founding Director of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program. He served on the EQUIS accreditation board and AACSB’s Asia-Pacific board, and today, teaches graduate students and executive training programs in leadership, corporate governance and board member development.

Steven has written over 15 cases for the Thompson Case Center, 9 of which have been published by Harvard Business School Publishing. Before starting his career in business education, Steven worked as a School & Sports Psychologist in Iowa. He got his PhD in School & Sports Psychology from the University of Iowa and his MBA from Northwestern Kellogg.

Show Notes

• Follow Professor Steven DeKrey on LinkedIn
• HKUST MBA
• Kellogg-HKUST EMBA
• Tiger, Peacock, Owl, Koala – Which Kind of Leader Are You?

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