Byline ICS

Interested to know what careers do alumni take after the MBA program at Hitotsubashi ICS? Then take a peek at the Alumni Talk Session held online on Saturday, June 27! We welcomed three alumni panelists:

Deciding to get an MBA requires careful weighing of multiple, often competing, factors: time, money, career stage, personal and family needs, not to mention post-MBA goals. The Hitotsubashi ICS MBA eases the stress of this balancing act by offering a fully customizable second year that gives students enrolled in its Two-year Program the flexibility to tailor an experience perfectly fitted to personal and professional goals. Two-year Program students can select from a wide range of interactive, immersive activities designed to stretch, challenge and inspire.

The job search results of the August 2019 graduates from Hitotsubashi ICS are just in. We sat down with Kazue Sasaki, the career services director, who shared with us the preliminary results of those graduating last summer, who have already started the next stage of their career in Japan. 

In this Byline ICS edition, second-year MBA student, Jian Mou (Jeff), shares his internship experience at one of Japan's leading companies in the construction industry. Read his reflection here:

I had the privilege of completing an internship at Technos Co. Ltd., a Kumagai Gumi Group company specializing in the development, design, and maintenance of equipment and parts for construction work. I interned in the Department of Overseas Business Development, which works together with the company's overseas offices in Singapore, Taipei, and Ho Chi Minh to monitor the implementation of regional business development activities.
The time I spent was immensely eye-opening in terms of being exposed to real overseas business expansion issues that a globalizing Japanese company faces every day. Challenges such as how to ensure its corporate culture remains intact while being flexible to cater to the local business context.

In January, Hitotsubashi ICS launched a new course titled “Japanese Business and Economy 2: Practicum” (JBE 2), as a response to the MBA students’ requests for learning and speaking practical business Japanese to help them thrive in a Japanese professional environment. 

“A little over a decade ago, I decided to do something “new” after work. Something that at the time seem ordinary or irrelevant, but that changed the track of my life path forever". 

To welcome our Class of 2019 (entrance year), alumni returned to ICS to join #foundationweek for a panel discussion, in which they shared with the incoming class their most memorable learnings from their time at #HitotsubashiICS and how they have leveraged their MBA throughout their careers. Perhaps the most valuable insight was their advice for this journey the #HitotsubashiICS2019 students have embarked on.

In this #bylineICS piece, we want to share the reflections that Miku Suzuki prepared for last week's alumni-panel discussion, as her busy agenda prevent her from joining us this time. 

As director of Hitotsubashi ICS Career Services, I take a lot of questions from prospective MBA candidates. Two of the most frequent are “Can I do any internships during my MBA in Japan?” and “Does Hitotsubashi ICS help me to find internships?”  My answer to both is “Absolutely”. Actually, Hitotsubashi ICS Career Services works hard to help students find good internship opportunities. We believe that internships are the best way to gain on-the-ground knowledge/experience and to strengthen a CV before the post-MBA job search.

- Risk and Return, there is a positive correlation between risk and return, so the bigger the potential of return, the higher the risk you must undertake. You have all gone through a very tough program, so you are now prepared to take big risk, so go ahead and take on your next challenge, as the biggest risk is not taking any risk. These were Professor Tomonori Ito’s send-off message to the Hitotsubashi ICS graduates.  

The Year Is 2039 - Travel in time, forward 20 years. It is 2039, and you’ve worked towards a vision for your life and career. Describe this journey, telling how you engaged the integrated whole of yourself in adding something new to the world… (Jody Ono, Class of 2018 Knowledge Report Assignment, Wise Leadership Capstone)