Congrats to our winning students, NUS MBA Class of 2022

We recently celebrated the graduation of The NUS MBA Class of 2022, and spoke to some of our students about their achievements, experience and advice to other MBA students.

What were you doing before your MBA?

Ardelia Djati Safira: I worked for a private equity firm in Jakarta, Indonesia, for around six years. With the company of just 15 people, I massively improved myself as a person, a subordinate, and a manager. I handled several end-to-end investment projects, in which each project had a different focus and industry. My passion in the finance sector or finance-related role started when I studied business management in Prasetiya Mulya University, majoring in Corporate Finance. During the NUS MBA programme, I explored several non-finance modules, did a non-finance consulting project, and immersed myself in a social impact investment sector through an internship. Aside from pursuing a full time opportunity in Singapore, the MBA journey has inspired me to expand my jewellery business, with a plan to collaborate with more Indonesian artisans and to employ more indigenous people in the future.

Ye Baoyang, Mervyn: I obtained a bachelor of accountancy (1st class honours), and joined the public service at the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore for a few years as part of the Customer Experience/Projects team. At the same time, I was a beatboxer in a Singaporean band, HubbaBubbas, and managed the band affairs. I decided to join the MBA programme as I wanted to learn more about managing businesses, particularly in the arts. I was particularly interested in the marketing specialisation. I have since helped build a new arts organisation, Voices of Singapore, which boasts more than 600 passionate singers forming Singapore’s largest choral society. It has award-winning choirs, and a 370-strong children’s choir that has performed for various national and international events. I am also proud of our work with minority/vulnerable communities, including seniors with dementia, and children with special needs. I am currently serving as Voices of Singapore’s General Manager. The band, HubbaBubbas, has also had successful singles released since, with more than 2 million streams online.

Li Ruifen: I was in distributor management, quality assurance and regulatory affairs before my MBA, and now I am a Regional Sales Manager in an IVD company. I have great passion for my new role and I enjoy traveling and meeting distributors, doctors, and lab technicians to deliver quality and innovative solutions.

Alex Ma Weichao: I was in a financial operations role in the banking and fintech industry. I have now transferred to a business development manager role in the blockchain industry, focusing on Web 3.0. My NUS MBA journey has helped reaffirmed my focus on next generation technologies. I enjoy networking socially and exploring new innovation ideas. I’m proud to say that I’ve successfully transformed my role even before I graduate.

Yasuyuki Fujita: Before pursuing my MBA at NUS, I worked for a corporate and investment banking firm in Tokyo and New York. I was eager to transform my career from a Japan/US focus to an Asia focus, as I strongly believe that Asia will offer the most prospects for new business opportunities, and a person who can provide professional advice on Asian business will be highly appreciated in the next few decades. After my MBA, I successfully joined the Singapore office of the corporate and investment banking firm where I have been in charge of the regional business promotion and development of the Asia & Oceania region.

What were your achievements that led to this award?

Ardelia Djati Safira: I am immensely honoured to be elected as President of the 38th NUS MBA Student Council. Through this opportunity, I led 32 council members with diverse backgrounds. The NUS MBA Student Council consists of 12 Clubs, including 7 professional clubs and 5 general interest clubs. Despite the pandemic, I am truly grateful to have arranged over 80 events in just 7 months, hand-in-hand with the NUS MBA Executive Committee members, Professional Club and General Interest Club Presidents and Vice Presidents. The Student Council collaborated with other MBA programmes in Singapore, as well as seasoned industry professionals and alumni. My experience as the first female Student Council President and a student-mum has led to wider acknowledgement and appreciation. I represented the NUS MBA in the Touch MBA podcast and on MBATube, and was also selected as one of 100 Poets&Quant’s 2022 Best and Brightest MBAs, representing NUS Business School, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia.

Yasuyuki Fujita: I shared my professional experiences and perspectives with my classmates through a lot of group projects. At the same time, I received various insights and advice from my classmates and professors, which created a tremendous mutual learning environment. I also exposed myself to the challenging environment such as an internship in a Private Equity firm, a cross-faculty class, and a Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM) class, where I learned the latest trends in sustainability finance and fintech space alongside incredible people.

Alex Ma Weichao: I was the Vice President of 38th Student Council Exco. During my tenure, I worked with the student clubs to organise many events. I also worked closely with MBA alumni, high-profile guest speakers, and NGOs to onboard them as partners into the NUS MBA ecosystem. Last but not least, I helped and mentored students from my cohort who are looking to pivot their careers into the blockchain/crypto industry.

Li Ruifen: Like many other modules, Marketing Strategy came at the right time for my job because I am promoting innovative solutions in South East Asia. All the content covered in the class discussions meet my learning interest, so I am fully engaged in every class, including projects and exams. I’m motivated to ask lots of questions during class, and I appreciate the professor’s patience in answering all of them.

What has been the most stand-out experience of your MBA so far?

Li Ruifen: So far I would say the end-term boot camp of the marketing strategy module has really impressed me. We had to squeeze all activities into one day – surveys, mystery shopping, customer visits, consumer interviews and two submissions…it was a long day but created unforgettable memories, thanks to my great teammates!

Alex Ma Weichao: The most stand-out experience for me was the Launch Your Transformation week. I learned many essential soft skills which I which I could’ve learned sooner in life. Self confidence for me was a big issue before. I’ve always doubted my ability to make an impact, and my personal image. The deep sharing sessions really helped me to build up my self-awareness, which benefited me a lot when I transferred to a business development role.

Ardelia Djati Safira: The MBA Consulting Project is probably my favourite experience. I had the privilege to form one of the best teams ever. The team had the opportunity to work on a project for an AI-driven services company. The team members had different characteristics and working styles, but we had great teamwork. We successfully combined our diverse key strengths and our recommendations were praised by the CEO of our client company. It was amazing to take on a serious project and be able to have fun at the same time.

Yasuyuki Fujita: Through my MBA journey, I was able to gain opportunities to build relationships with amazing people of different backgrounds from all over the world, and to be connected with various alumni from the huge NUS network, especially in Asia.

Ye Baoyang, Mervyn: It wasn’t a single experience – the connections, warm community and invaluable knowledge are something I’ll keep forever.

What advice would you give to other MBA students and aspirants?

Ye Baoyang, Mervyn: Do not see the MBA as an academic pursuit. Apply what you’ve learned to your job, your hobbies, and new ventures. You will get the most out of it this way.

Li Ruifen: Plan your MBA journey carefully so you can enjoy the learning process, instead of viewing it as a burden or just as a means to get the certificate.

Ardelia Djati Safira: Be courageous and open-minded. You may have an extensive professional background before your MBA, but you’ll never know how much you could learn from the MBA, and especially from your diverse cohort.

Yasuyuki Fujita: An MBA offers a great chance to transform yourself and improve your career. I’d recommend exposing yourself to new challenges and learnings as much as possible by leveraging NUS’s resources and network. You may discover new interests and your future goals through these activities.

Alex Ma Weichao: It’s good to understand what you want to get from an MBA from the start. You will get lots of interesting opportunities and possibly meet many impactful people. If you don’t figure out what you want, you may easily get lost in endless networking events. Do your own research before joining events and find out how they fit into your ultimate goals after your MBA. However, if you have the time, do try to join other eventstoo as they may inspire you with innovative ideas. The most important thing is to enjoy yourself as much as possible during the MBA, before you immerse yourself into that important role in your future company when you graduate!