MBA life: Hitotsubashi, Tokyo

Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy (ICS) is the MBA course of Hitotsubashi University, launched in April 2000. Located next to business district of central Tokyo, it is the first full-time MBA program in a Japanese national university to be taught entirely in English. It is also famous for its low student-faculty ratio, which is close to 3 to 1.Chang Hyo-jung, right end, 31, is in the two-year MBA program. She worked at Industrial Bank of Korea before coming to Hitotsubashi and still in search for her next path in Business.

Why did you choose Japan as the country for your learning on business?

Japan is one of the most developed countries, and has a huge market. I am also expecting the business between Korea and Japan to grow, and I thought there must be some opportunities after attending MBA here.

Among many MBAs in Japan, why did you apply to Hitotsubashi ICS?

I have four reasons altogether. First, there is the popularity and the reputation of Hitotsubashi in Japan. Secondly, it has small classes with around 50 students per year. Thirdly, the tuition fees are reasonable since it is a national university, and lastly, it offers English classes.

Were there any interesting events that you experienced in Hitotsubashi?

Last February, we had “Strategy Simulation Week”. This is a virtual business competition. Each group (5 to 6 people) picks an automobile company and runs the company for one week. One week is considered as ten years in the competition software program. Although the actual total competition period is only one week, we all were in charge of management and making strategic decisions including financing, marketing and manufacturing. The performance of the companies was evaluated after that. It was a good opportunity to apply theories that we have learned so far.

How was the outcome?

We didn’t do that well. We ranked fourth place out of five teams. I don’t think the brain matters in this competition. What matters is your teamwork. The meeting time can be as long as it can be. I really learned the disparity between theories and hands-on experience.

What is the most memorable class till now? And why?

To me, Professor Yoshinori Fujikawa’s marketing class was the most memorable class. The class is conducted through cold-calling, where the professor randomly picks a student and asks questions, and we are graded based on how we answer. Korean students in our school were really abashed because we were not accustomed to this.

What did he teach?

He has modules one to five. Most of them are case studies. First, he teaches how to understand a firm through simple tools such as 4C and 4P. After that, he even tought mathematical calculations on corporate revenue and things like that.

Are you planning to do an internship any time soon?

I finish my first year here this July, and I am planning to do an internship after that. But I have to first talk to the career placement office to check out on firms that has partnership with Hitotsubashi.

What’s your plan after MBA?

I am quite open to different paths. For now, I am considering going back to financial industry or working at a non-profit organization.

It sounds unusual for a MBA student to work for a non-profit organization.

I used to sponsor non-profit organizations like World Vision from way back. Also, many non-profit organizations are run inefficiently. They have plenty of space to be improved and I think I can help them.

Could you tell us some things that need to be changed in your school?

Since our school is a national university, they offer less scholarship than private schools such as Waseda and Keio. Besides that, I am satisfied with everything in Hitotsubashi.

Interview by Chung Min-uck