How You Can Choose The Right Business Management Course For Your Career

Are you planning to study a business degree? But should you opt for an MBA or any other business programme? Nowadays, you can a wide array business and management courses offered by different business schools and universities worldwide. Hence, it has become important that you choose the right course which will suit all your academic, financial and career needs. Let's take a look at how you can choose the right course....

Choosing the right course

Finding and selecting a business course requires that you follow some steps before you decide on a specific school or programme. First you need start by recognising your academic strengths and identifying your career goals. Once you have done this, you need to start the process of due diligence, which is perhaps the most important stage. You need to evaluate all the prospective schools and courses from every different angle, right from checking the reputation of the institute, quality of course content, tuition fees & other expenses, duration of the course, career graph of past graduates to placement facilities and opportunities for studying abroad.

However, as there are a wide variety of business courses available now, you will encounter various remarkable terms and course titles like “leadership”, “entrepreneurship”, “strategic” or “innovation”. It's important that you look beyond these attractive titles and find out exactly what these courses have to offer.

Michael Flynn, course director of MBA programme at Trinity College Dublin, says although you can find 2 different courses from 2 different colleges with a similar title like “MSc in Innovation and Leadership”, it is highly possible that the structure and content of both courses are rather different. Flynn adds “They need to have a really good understanding of the content, the teaching philosophy, the learning environment that encompasses that programme because quite often the programme’s title may be somewhat trendy or fashionable, but underneath it there’s not much going on that’s different from other programmes.”

Opting for the suitable level

Business courses are usually organised in 5 broad areas, including business studies, management, finance and accounting, marketing and business with technology. You can find courses at various levels from Level 5 and Level 6 to diplomas and degrees ( Level 7 and Level 8), to even postgraduate programmes ( Level 9 and Level 10). These courses also include part-time and online options, which are gaining increasing popularity among students from all over the globe.

Studying the smarter way

If you ask me, pursuing an online business degree is also an excellent idea if you wish to study management while working. This is perhaps one of the greatest advantages of online business courses. It allows you sufficient flexibility and convenience so that you can study a degree course and do a full time job simultaneously. If you wish to save money and time, then studying an online top-up degree in business management can be highly beneficial for you. A top-up business degree from a recognised institute can help you to fast track your qualification to the final year of an accredited postgraduate degree like an MBA, from an associated university.

Once you have completed a top up degree course, it will show prospective employers that are dedicated and you posses the right academic, management and organisational skills required to succeed in the business world. It will open up new career opportunities by increasing your employability and boosting your confidence.

The bottom line

Pursuing a business and management top up degree online can help you progress your career by offering you a competitive edge and advancing you in to leadership or managerial roles. It will not only empower you to build a lucrative career, but also enable you achieve all your professional goals.

What do you think? Which business course do you think is best for your career? Feel free to share your opinions and thoughts with me.

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Upcoming eLearning Africa 2015 : The continent’s leading conference on ICT in education

Africa, a common destination for technology transfer from all over the world, is stepping up and ahead in making education (formal training) more inclusive of modern technological advancements. Modern technology, with its amazing and astonishing new inventions, that were only imagination even in the near past, is opening up new dimension in education. With the newly invented gadgets and accessories, like GoogleGlass for remote learning, and video conferencing facility replacing traditional classroom education, that are heavily used in Western countries, perceived underdeveloped regions of the world like Africa has no justification and no excuse viable, for remaining behind.

eLearning Africa 2015

'eLearning Africa 2015' – a conference to be held in its tenth chapter (version), in Addis Ababa, the headquarters of African Union and the capital of Ethiopia, one of the largest and growing economies of Africa, investing hugely in both education and technology, and their integration .. is a great opportunity to exchange constructively about best learning practices that are in use in African countries, both with and without technology, that can be enhanced with the digital e-learning process. 

With the futurist and visionary theme of 'Enriching Tomorrow', under the light of influential representative figures of the modern world, like : Guenter Nooke, Personal Representative for Africa of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel and Mark Surman (Executive Director of the Mozilla Foundation), the gathering of top-most influential political leaders and businessmen of Africa, in the field of education and implementation of technology, in the conference of eLearning 2015, can come up with feasible, accurate solutions of problems like : 'eLearning for African journalists' and 'Successful formulation of remedy to remove digital illiteracy from Africa,' in the presence of expert educators in conference. 

 

Participation

1200 representatives from all over the world might be participating in the 'eLearning Africa 2015' conference.

Prospect

The annual economic growth rate of many of the countries in Africa, in near about 10%. The 'eLearning Africa 2015' conference is a great opportunity to come up with an agreement firmly, in ratifying the common policy of integrating technology in education as much as possible, which is an essential in training that is up to the mark with the world and is essential in development to keep the momentum in growth going. 

 

Integration of technology can build a new generation of young entrepreneurs, highly skilled technically and technologically .. solving rudimentary problems in agriculture, as well as taking Africa in the level playing ground, as an equally smart and equipped player with others, in this 'Space Age.'

Conclusion

Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Debretson Gebremichael, said his country took “enormous satisfaction” in welcoming eLearning Africa to Addis Ababa for the second time, the continent’s leading conference on ICT supported education and training, that promises to take benifits of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) to the doorstep of every African household. 

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Need for Funding Technology In The Classroom

Hundreds of thousands of people, both young and adult, are now pursuing academic courses online and earning digital degrees to either pursue higher studies or to advance their careers. Are you also planning to go for online management courses to get a career boost? Let's take a look at how technology is a impacting education and if it can actually help you...

EdTech Is Essential

The truth is technology is rapidly capturing the academic system. At present, various educational technology tools have entered the classrooms and is helping educators to create a better learning environment for our students. You can now find tablets in kindergarten, high schools students participating in virtual classrooms, and adults pursuing online graduate degrees. With adequate funding coming in, it is expected the reach and impact technology in education will expand further. But many critics are wary about how technology is affecting our students.

Funding Education Technology

Venture funding for EdTech had reached around $1.87 billion dollars last year. Experts forecast that the figure will rise to almost $2 billion in 2015. I believe this is a significant increase from only $385 million back in 2009, when the venture capital database and angel investment database firm CB Insights began analysing education funding.

Rob Hutter, managing partner at venture capital firm Learn Capital, said “The education space is attractive because it’s a big and important part of the economy. The edtech companies that get funding can be important 50 years down the line, and not just in a few years.” Robert Sun, founder of online maths website firstinmath.com, thinks it is actually a good business to invest in. The company has expanded 20 per cent every year in the past 6 years and does not require any external investment. Sun said “There’s a high profit margin with no warehouses and not much cost except for research and development.”

Is Technology In The Classroom Creating Challenges?

According to a report, it was found that in 2013 schools spent almost $13 billion on high tech devices worldwide. It is estimated that global spending on EdTech will rise to $19 billion by 2019. However, many schools are finding it difficult to find funding. With growing number of US schools seeing cuts in budgets, many of them are now issuing bonds to get the money for using technology in schools. But that might not be the most ideal solution. President and CEO of McGraw-Hill Education, David Levin, said “Some of the challenges schools have is that devices progress quickly and reach obsolescence before the bond issues mature.”

Moreover, there are some academic experts who have started to question effects of using technology in the classroom as well. Art Langer, academic director of the Executive Masters in Technology Management at Columbia University, said “Education technology is not yet a proven solution for learning, and limits the experience of education and human interaction.” Many other educators believe that technology is actually proving to be a distraction than an academic resource. Kentaro Toyama, professor at the University of Michigan, said “If you look over the shoulder of any child with a smartphone, they’re mostly not using education apps but playing Angry Birds. Why should we expect that more of this kind of technology in and of itself will help our children?”

Educational Technology Is Here To Stay

But there are many other educators who are singing praises for education technology. Wendy Eiteljorg, director of education technology for pre-K to grade 12 at the Shipley School in Penna, said “Education technology allows students to share their work and collaborate beyond their schools walls. It’s also providing alternative ways for students to participate in discussions.”

No matter what, it seems to me that educational technology is here to stay. Chip Paucek, CEO of public tech firm 2U, said “Education tech businesses are providing value for investors. And as long as you have high quality outcomes, there will continue to be a market for firms like ours.”

There is no denying that the use of technology in education is helping educators teach better and making learning more engaging and interactive for our students. In fact, as more and more universities and business schools are now offering online programmes and increasing number of employers accepting online degrees, the demand for online education is increasing further. You can now find several accredited online management courses that will not only offer you an enhanced learning experience, but also enable you to get the best career opportunities.

Do you think technology in the classroom is beneficial for education? Share your thoughts and ideas with me by commenting here.

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The Challenges of Nigeria Education system and the way forward

The problematic Nigerian education system and the way forward

Following a paper of Aiyamenkhue Edokpolo, Senior Special Assistant of Edo State Governor, the debate over overcoming the challenges of developing the Education System in Nigeria has come up. Nigeria is a former British colony which was accused of being underdeveloped due to its own citizens. This grievance makes it's place in Edokpolo's writing. Nigeria got its 'republic' status in the year 1963, after 'flag independence' of 1960. The contribution of British colonizers in 'civilizing' Nigeria is a historical debate of crucial and decisive importance, that works as reference that's either to be assumed or negated, in making future policy. This decision will give direction to education policy and orientation to the nation towards future ahead. 

 

Defining education and the grievance of Nigeria about interpreting the definition, in making policy and implementation

According to Wikipedia, that summarises the concept of 'education' in the West, 'education' is : “an act or process of developing and cultivating (whether physically or mentally or morally) ones mental activity or senses; the expansion, strengthening, and discipline of one's mind, faculty, etc; the forming and regulation of principles and character in order to prepare and fit for any calling or business by systematic instruction.” Nigeria, under the rule of British colonizers, were structured to function as a helping hand of the imperial government. The education was also fashioned accordingly to produce executives following colonial instructions. This ideal of following instructions being educated through formal training, is mentioned precisely in the above-mentioned definition. Later, after independece, the country followed the American-model, which was also Western. The commonsensical definition of education being a medium of : 'transmission of knowledge and worthwhile values from a person to another', that transcends generations, is exactly what constitutes arguments of nationalists like Edokpolo who saw the fading away of national cultural values in the centralised education-model of foreign origin. 

 

Recommendations for development

                  

Modernisation has to be balanced with an eye towards local cultural preservation in education as well, that will patronise patriotism.

Now the recommendations made precisely in reaserch, that will pave the way with good intention for the way forward for Nigeria :

1) As mentioned above, the recommended and supposed promotion of Edo language and cultural values in Edo State for example, is to be the model for educating cultural values throughout the extended territory of quasi-federal Nigeria of 36 states. Keeping that in mind, the primitive dogmatic cultism induced in youth to retain power is to be curbed, to promote a healthy environment for education. 
 

2) The issue of fund comes second in the list, for building material infrastucture that's the very raw, crude and physical need for (classroom) education to take place. 

3) Technical education is to be emphasised. Nigeria, which was once a good prospect for the world in producing technocrats in the region, is lagging behind. Lack of initiative and consistent forward-looking decision making has brought this state, in which the country has to import rudimentary material from Asian countries which were far behind them industrially once. 
 

4) Education has to be made cheap and available that makes it accessible to the vast poorer section of an African country like Nigera. So, the affordability matters, that will make education worthy of the effort to reach the grassroot level of the country.

5) Finally, education has to be competitive that's an essential in any case, appealing to the basic human nature of excelling over others in the struggle for survival that will provide the urge to be educated. 

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Nigeria's Investment in Youth Education

Youth power

Youth is the asset of every country. They are the future of a nation. Especially, in an underdeveloped continent like Africa, where poor education and increasing failure in educating the younger generation has led to difference from the rest of the world, the issue of generation gap and increasing conflict between generations, regarding more autonomy and modernisation of youth, in contrast with traditional education remains as the cause. Empowerment of youth requires education, and that requires investment.


Education and investment

 

The current global leader in youth education is South Korea (Republic of Korea)

with 60% of its youth highly educated. Formerly, the United States used to hold this place. Both the nations have taken education seriously, making it as cheap as possible to produce more and more graduates and less dropouts. If Nigeria is to succeed in being the 12th largest economy by 2050, the stated target, then it needs to educate its youth for economic empowerment as knowledge-based leadership and more more clarity and transparency in administration, including business, is becoming the trend in a gradually progressive world.

Comparison with other countries of the world and global scenario

As it is mentioned in the previous paragraph, knowledge has taken the front seat in administration, business and every official matter. Knowledge is being used as

commodity, an object to be bought and sold. It's the currency that is running the world in its material, as well as cultural prosperity. So, naturally, higher education plays the most important role in development, and being successful in enrolling people and making them passouts, is a great achievement for a country aiming higher goals. Take the examples of Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair or Bill Clinton. All of them are highest passouts of apex universities like Oxford or Yale. One of the founding fathers of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, a Cambridge degree holder, in his poineering efforts started a journey that ended up making Singapore a first-world country, from its third world status. World Bank president Jim Yong Kim, professionally a medical doctor have won in running the World Bank in its effort to eradicate socio-economic problems worldwide, without being from economic or political background, solely emplasizing on knowledge-based solution. If Nigeria wants to succeed, it has to follow the path of knowledge as well. And there is no other path of doing so, without educating people.


The future ahead

In a country like Nigeria, with so much political turmoil and obstacles to overcome, making the platform for youth education and following the ideal of developed countries require positive political will. Investment is just one part of it. Financing might fuel the movement towards future prosperity, starting with youth education, but making the cultural shift, building of a conducive environment for the acceptance of modern education requires not only direct investment in making physical bodies like institutes, schools, colleges, universities and with it classroom formalities without assimilation and conscious realisation of what is taught, but also qualitative change in the mind-set that requires investment is other fields as well and building of a general environment that reflects progress and development from backwardness, and promotion of reasonable, productive, constructive, creative scientific thought. Online education can be especially relevant in this regard, as it will provide respite from compulsory classroom education, keeping education itself intact.

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