The Telfer Executive MBA Class of 2017 has spoken and the candidates will be going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

The votes were cast and decision was made during the week of June 6, 2016, after insightful presentations from 7 teams that form the cohort. The presentations focused on four key factors: 

  • Strategic importance of respective international market to Ottawa and Ontario.
  • The number of Canadian organizations already invested in the market.
  • Market interest or focus by local associations such as Export Development Corp and the Canadian government.
  • The level of impact each respective international market would have on the cohort’s international market experience, careers and global resume going forward.

This was the final step of the International Market Evaluation & Selection course that started in March. In total 14 different international cities were evaluated and Kuala Lumpur was selected on June 8, 2016.  The course mirrors the strategic approach that an organization would take when evaluating and making a decision on a specific international market on expanding its global footprint. The process forms the compelling nature of the Telfer Executive MBA program, a program that strictly focusing on a Global, Practical and Relevant curriculum by anchoring key learnings on the Signature Series of Six Business Consulting Projects. The program works with over 50 client organizations in addressing business challenges and market opportunities. The Class of 2017 will be working with Canadian companies on exploring the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market as it marches the client organizations to Kuala Lumpur in April 2017.

About Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia and is located in Southeast Asia bordering with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei. It is home to a diverse and multicultural population of 30 million, with over seven million located in its most populated urban centre. The country’s annual GDP growth for 2015 was down from their 2014 growth of 6% but exceeded economist expectations by closing at 5%, reported by Financial Times in February 2016. Malaysia’s growth and opportunity has caught the attention of several of Canadian international groups, including Global Affairs Canada that listed the region as a priority market for Canadian business. Export Development Canada recognized Malaysia as a key market and it is also listed on Ontario’s top ten Asian markets. 

Kuala Lumpur (KL) is the economic and business centre of the country and is considered one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in South-East Asia.  KL is one-hour flight time from the highly-developed and dynamic business environment of Singapore. The frequency of business is evident by the over 30 daily flights between KL to Singapore. 

This is the second time a cohort of Telfer Executive MBA program has chosen Kuala Lumpur as a market destination for their International trip. The Class of 1997 departed to Kuala Lumpur to pursue opportunities of Malaysia’s emergence as a high-tech hub of the Far East exactly 20 years ago. 

The Next Steps for the Class of 2017

Over the course of the next eight months the Telfer Executive MBA teams will be engaging with seven Canadian organizations that are looking to increase their business footprint in the Malaysian market.  This global component of the Telfer Executive MBA curriculum focuses on leveraging both primary and secondary sources to conduct a market and business analysis, and to validate the market potential prior to the teams traveling to KL. The Class of 2017 will be in KL in April 2017, respective teams will leverage other data gathering methodologies including in-country with key stakeholders to validate the market potential.

The Telfer Executive MBA consistently provides compelling business value to respective client organizations as each candidate learns international business is not difficult with solid planning and precise implementation.