Our Engineering Programs Have Seen A 3-Fold Growth: Ashish Srivastava, Country Manager, MDI Singapore
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Talking to BW Businessworld, Ashish Srivastava, Senior Country Manager, MDI Singapore shares his views on education system, Singapore education and opportunities in the institute.
What is the eligibility criterion for the university and what courses are witnessing maximum demand among students?
MDIS offers different programs and have different eligibility criterion but in general, one of the basic requirements would be to have an appropriate level of English language competency; sitting for the TOEFL or IELTS might be required to determine this. Another thing would be taking up a postgraduate course, for which prior work experience is preferred.
For Indian students, we see demand for Business and Management programs, and BSc in Business Studies and Finance followed by engineering, fashion and design, tourism and hospitality programs. However, the ratio is changing as more and more candidates are now looking to pursue careers in other fields too.
Two of our engineering programs have seen a significant increase, of more than 3 times, in student numbers from 2015 to 2016. Additionally, the Master of Science in Health Sciences has seen increasing popularity with students from India too.
Universities became a brand by the quality of education, but universities are now becoming a brand by employing marketing money. Your comments
A key factor for success for any education institute is its quality; not just of its programs and facilities, but also its business processes. Marketing comes into play to make known this quality and help the education institute stand out among the competition.
The right mix of marketing tools, above and below-the-line advertisements can help brand a university with a desired image and recruit students. It helps universities connect with prospective students when employed right and also help to connect with university and industry partners for collaborations.
To deploy marketing does not necessarily mean to spend heavily on such efforts. Digital media channels are very effective in connecting with prospective students and tend to be more responsive to web and social media platforms, on which universities can utilise inexpensive marketing tools.
How to create students that are job ready?
MDIS has always strongly focused on student learning outcomes, including developing and nurturing students' skills; both industry and soft skills, to produce graduates who are industry-ready.
We aim to provide globally recognised and competency-based programs to maximise the future readiness of individuals and organisations. Additionally, training students to experience workshops, seminars and immersion programs overseas helps them in both hard and soft skills. This focus supports the industry’s needs for transferable skills and enables students to develop skills mastery for the industry and enhance their future employability.
What is the enrollment ratio of Indians in the university and job opportunities for them?
The institution has diverse population of students from 82 countries. Over the past two years, student enrolment from India has been about 160 annually. Typically, we have around 20 percent Indian students in the classroom.
There are several opportunities for students and graduates to interact with prospective employers. A Career Assistance Unit (CAU) provides training and equips students with the necessary knowledge and skills to increase their chances of securing jobs. In addition, CAU helps create the links to industry and assists students and graduates in their job search.
What is the placement season like in MDIS and what courses attract maximum offers?
There are two to three intakes for each program and they are spread out in different quarters of the year. Across the board, Tourism & Hospitality, Business Management, Engineering, and Information Technology are among the most popular skills-based courses, with take-up by both local and international students.
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