From Agriculture to Corporate Presence: Celebrating Malaysia’s Foremost Graduate School of Management
By
Prof. ArfahSalleh, Dean
Graduate School of Management, UPM
UPM has come a long wayfrom its humble beginning: from being an agricultural college set up in 1931 through becoming a full-fledged university in 1971 - offering an array of courses beyond the discipline of agriculture - to becoming renamed after the Malaysia’s first prime minister in 1997. The rename from the eponymous UniversitiPertanian Malaysia to the regal Universiti Putra Malaysia marked the transition of UPM from being a venerable institution of higher learning to being a versatile institution that is at the cutting-edge of research and knowledge development for producing the requisite talent for national development.
UPM's Graduate School of Management (GSM) epitomises this strategic move towards making UPM a front-runner in science, technology and management education. Established in 1997, and restructured in 2001 as a specialist institution for post-graduate education and business management training, GSM has set its vision to become a world-class business school.As a dedicated and leading graduate school, GSM aims to mould future business leaders and build values in them through its offering of a variety of post-graduate. These include the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Management (MM), Master of Science (MSc), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
Reflecting the mainstay disciplines at UPM, GSM’s MBA programme offersspecialisation in food services, environmental, agricultural and soilmanagement, food technology and entrepreneurship in biotechnology. These specialisations are in addition to the traditional specialisations in finance, maketing, human resource management, international business, corporate governance and general management. Currently, there are around 1000 post-graduate students enrolled at GSM.
In addition to its academic programmes GSM also conducts for executive development programmes for the industry.
Since its inception, over 4000 graduates have graced GSM’S learning hallways. They now serve society from eminent positions in government and the private sector. GSM’sgraduates are considered a cut-above the rest, as the education they obtain at GSM grooms them to be well-rounded leaders. Over half of its graduates are alumni members. They continue to contribute to the advancement of GSM by serving as mentor figures to the current roster of students. As a result, students are able to develop industry contracts from the outset of their studies and learn much about their chosen industry.
In addition to being listed as one of Asia’s ‘Best MBA Schools’ in Asiaweek magazine, GSM’s MBA programme was also consecutively ranked as the top business school in Malaysia in 2003 and 2004 by Asia Inc. magazine. As an added testimony of its dedication to management education excellence, GSM was ranked 7th among the Best MBA Schools of South-East Asia for two straight years in 2003 and 2004.
The conferment of the Top Business School status by the Ministry of Higher Education further burnishes GSM’s reputation as a centre of excellence.With this awardhas come greater autonomy in itsoperations and an extra allocation of RM 13.5 million plus 25 acres of land to build a new state-of-art-school that is expected to become operational in 2012.
Much of this accolade is attributed to GSM being in the forefront of industry-relevant research and publication. Over its 14-year existence, GSM takes pride in publishing over 200 articles in journals of international repute. Its faculty has also authored over 20 books and over 40 case studies and book chapters. These publications have not only extended the frontiers of management knowledge but have also created an impact on government, industry and society.
Its education philosophy
A sound education alone is insufficient for one to meet the challenges of a fast-paced global environment. So, in keeping with the larger education philosophy of UPM, GSM seeks to impart to its students knowledge, skills and values that will equip them to handle real-life challenges.Lenin once said, “Theory without practice is pointless and practice without theory is mindless.” Accordingly, GSM blends theory with practice in offering its courses to produce market-relevant industry leaders who will make a distinct contribution to the nation. GSM propagates such a theory-practice blend in its teaching througha student- and problem-centred learning approach. This method requires students to apply what is taught in classrooms to resolve, or understand better, issues faced by businesses. That way too, students develop critical thinking, managerial competency and analytical decision-making skills to enable them to succeed in their professional careers.
Ingraining a global mindset among our students is also part of GSM’s education philosophy made possible by the sizableoverseas student body (one-tenth of the total number of students) from over 50 countries. The comingling of local and international students produces a dynamic and synergistic learning environment that allows them to share and benefit from their varied experience and knowledge.
Inculcating ethical values is another mainstay of the GSM pedagogy. Through the profound concept of human governance, students are made to realize that their long-term success and that of theorganisation they will work for are very much dependent on their positive beliefs and attitudes. No external regulation can govern actions better for the common good than those beliefs and values within an individual.
To promote healthy governance practices, GSM collaborates with other related institutions, especially, the Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, in conducting the corporate governance specialisation of its MBA programme. UPM has the distinction as the only public institution of higher learning offering such a programme. GSM’s MBA in corporate governance could not be timelier given the current backdrop of corporate governance practices taking centre stage in the economies of the world, especially after the recent global recession.
The GSM education philosophy has been made largely possible through smaller class sizes. It is also made possible by the wealth of knowledge and experience of a highly-professional faculty - local and overseas - with doctoral qualifications, vast teaching experiencein related fields and actual industry-work experience.
Future Direction
Over the last decade, GSM has achieved fame and momentous milestones in its journey of excellence. Much of this triumph can be attributed to its teaching, research and professional services that are specifically tailored for the industry.
As they say, it is easier to reach the pinnacle of success than to retain it. As such, GSM strives even harder to maintain its status as a centre of management education excellence in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
The commitment to promote excellence, especially, in research, is the cornerstone of GSM’s long-term success. More particularly, GSM wants to be relevant to the industry. It wants its research not only to extend the frontiers of knowledge but also to solve problems for the industry. Accordingly, GSM will introduce this year (2011) the Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA). Research under this programme will be heavily skewed to solving problems in the company from which the candidate hails. His or her graduation will partly depend on the acceptability by the company concerned of the solutions proposed.
To further strengthen its industry-relevant research function, GSM will attract faculty members who are active in research and those from the industry.GSM will also invite more companies to establish professional chairs in the faculty such as the Renong Distinguished Endowed Chair of Marketing as part of its strategy toforge greater industry linkages and collaboration.
To further pursue industry linkages and collaborations, GSM will set up an Industry Advisory Board to advise GSM on the development of its curricula so that these remain relevant to the industry.
To enhance its international reputation and to become a world-class institution, GSM became the first Malaysian graduate school to be a member of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). This remarkable feat is the first step towards AACSB international accreditation, which represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. An internationalaccreditation will draw to GSM top faculty members worldwide while enhancing the global job prospects of its graduates. As such, GSM is determined to obtain the coveted international accreditation.
GSM hopes that the human governance that it propagates across its programmes will catch on and become part of the curriculum across the university, so that human governance will become part of UPM’s brand and differentiate it from the rest of the institutions of higher learning in the country. More importantly, this human governance will inculcate ethical values while reinforcing inherent morals and core spiritual principles to develop leaders who are so grounded in morality, ethics and a love for society that they will promote a 1 Malaysia that puts its citizens and the society above all else.
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