The MDIS experience provides students with the dexterity that will give them a seamless head start into the working world. Marketing student Wai Hoe shares exactly how.

By Nabilah Husna A. Rahman

An education with the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) is one that will secure you with a promising future. Through its six distinct schools, MDIS imparts vital technical and soft skills of various disciplines. The students are trained to be adept at their course of work and Fong Wai Hoe is no exception.

The Singapore Polytechnic alumnus made the vast switch from engineering to marketing after quickly learning that the popular choice of engineering was not quite aligned with his interests.

“I wanted to try something new because I didn’t wish to be stuck in just one specialisation,” Wai Hoe shares. “I want to have more skills, learn more things, so I branched out to marketing. MDIS offers a wide variety of courses and I feel that the content of the modules really suits me.”

The Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Marketing programme offered by the University of Bradford, United Kingdom at MDIS fully equips Wai Hoe to fulfil his desire to become a businessman. Now into his second semester, Wai Hoe studies subjects such as Accounting, Business Law and Business Economy, all of which give him the basic groundwork to progress in the course.

“There’s one module called Organisational Behaviour, which I find quite important because it helps me to be able to relate to certain kinds of people,” says Wai Hoe. “It also helps me know how people behave at their workplaces. Hopefully, if I start up my own business, it’ll help me to relate to my employees and stakeholders.”

While his switch to marketing is a stepping stone towards his prospective career in business, Wai Hoe also acknowledges that having little or no background in the discipline has been challenging.

“Because I came from a non-business related diploma, I have to study for three years instead of two. It’s difficult because of the extra workload compared to the other students,” he admits.

The MDIS Experience
Currently pursuing his degree part-time, the first-year student also has to juggle his National Service while studying.

“The greatest challenge is the time factor,” he highlights. “Because of National Service, I have to rush from camp to school.”

Despite the difficulties of time management, Wai Hoe looks forward to every lesson because of his lively educators.

“Even though I’ve been here for quite a short while, the biggest experience I take away is the life experience of the lecturers. I find it very useful even though some people might find their stories a bit long-winded!” he chuckles. “But they really share it from their hearts. Now I know what I should and should not do based on what they share.”

Opportunities for learning are ample at MDIS, even beyond the technicalities of the course materials. “A lot of the lecturers’ experiences are relevant to my own life,” Wai Hoe says. “It’s more than just learning the theories. I learnt things that I can apply even right now in my army life.”

MDIS offers a conducive learning environment for its students – a feature that allows its students at both campuses (Stirling Road and Orchard Road) to focus on their studies. Wai Hoe, who frequents both campuses, finds that “even though it’s two separate places, the studying environment is the same”.

“MDIS is really a place where I can concentrate on my work,” he says simply.

Set for the future
The ambitious 21-year-old also has his sights set on working at the soon-to-open Integrated Resorts in Singapore.

“I’d like to work for a few years after graduation, and after that, maybe start my own business in the area of retail,” he shares. “I hope to use what I learn in MDIS for my future.”

It would also seem that the bonds developed between Wai Hoe and his fellow students are the kind to withstand the test of time. “The friendships here are unlike those in polytechnics or secondary schools, because all of us are working adults and busy with our own things,” he divulges.

Wai Hoe adds, “But aside from all this, the lecturers make it a point that we have connections with our friends instead of just attending lectures, and then heading home. We have group discussions, group work, tutorials. And from there I started to know the peers in my class and made networks and connections with them which I may use in the future.”

For students like Wai Hoe and others, MDIS is more than just an educational institute; the homely atmosphere gives them a chance to work well and experience plenty.

He concludes, “The culture in MDIS is extremely different from other institutions, it’s more like a family type of culture here because everyone’s close to one another. Even the lecturers aren’t just our lecturers, but they’re also our friends. For prospective students who wish to study at MDIS, I would say that it will be a great experience!”