Victoria University MBA Students : Making an Impact on Society

What better way to learn something than to actually experience it first hand. This was just what students of the Victoria University, Melbourne (VU) MBA programme at Sunway University College did. The students, who are all working adults and members of the VU MBA Club have organised many events, including community support and field trips to factories and corporations.

As part of management in a modern environment, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an issue of increasing importance. CSR aligns the interests of the corporation to that of society. As such, the VU MBA Club organised a charity event recently at the Rumah Hope in Paramount Garden, Petaling Jaya. The objective was to remind students of their responsibility to society. Rumah Hope provides shelter, love, care, peace and security for 60 orphans, abandoned and/or abused children. It is managed by a group of dedicated volunteers from all walks of life.

Despite the VU MBA students’ busy work schedule, 13 of them took time off to participate in this worthy event which included planning and conducting various children’s games, distributing goodies and foodstuffs, and even providing a free hair-cut service to the children!

Henchard Too, President of the VU MBA Club, said, “Remembering the less fortunate and giving back to society is an essential part of being a good person. Even though we are working adults in the corporate world, there is always room to help the less privileged which is all a matter of choice and will. The business world must not forget that it owes its living to society. Organising this event helps our members to put their education and work objectives in perspective vis-à-vis those of society”. Support to charity homes and charitable activities by the Club is organised at least twice annually.

Where academic aspect of education is concerned, field trips enhance learning. In this regard, the VU MBA Club recently organised a visit to Asian Composites Manufacturing Sdn Bhd in Kedah, which manufactures composite material products for the aerospace industry. Students had the opportunity to observe a lean manufacturing set up; how parts flow in single part orders along moving lines in lay-up cells through autoclave, trim, paint, assembly inspection, test and finally to shipping. They had also been briefed on the Company’s quality and operation systems.

Jeannie Ng, Vice-President of the VU MBA Club, said that “This visit was very informative and relevant as it gave us, MBA students, a practical perspective to the theory we learn in class. It contextualised our learning, in terms of understanding and application of knowledge, in a practical scenario”.

The Head of the VU MBA programme at Sunway University College, Stanley Yeow, said that nurturing the MBA student into a holistic person, both in terms of academic education and being a responsible citizen, is what is needed today. He added that learning at the MBA level needs to be orientated towards the discovery and practical application of new knowledge within the framework of CSR. This has been the aim of the VU MBA programme at Sunway University College from the outset.