The university’s Doctor in Business Administration (DBA) programme is unique in that it is delivered on a “block release” basis to cater to its largely high flyers and busy executive market segment. A significant percentage of its Doctorate students are from the international market. The program is open to those with a relevant masters degree and with a minimum of 5 years working experience.

The DBA program which is the highest level management qualification that can be conferred by a university is a 3 year programme comprised of 6 taught modules and a thesis. Students will fly in twice a year to attend the lectures cum workshop for a period of 10 days each where two modules will be covered during each session. The 6 taught units will be covered in 18 months and students are allowed another 18 months to complete their thesis without the need to fly in for classes. Upon successful completion of the DBA, graduates are entitled to use the designation of “Dr.”.

“While the PhD and DBA both leads to the title of a “Dr.”, many people remain confused about the difference. The DBA is an applied management programme that helps one to develop and apply relevant management research to organisations to achieve strategic goals. Unlike the PhD, the DBA equips one with research tools, rather train one to become academic researchers. The DBA is a practical-oriented professional doctoral degree and originated from the United States of America explained Dato’ Professor Joseph Adaikalam, the Vice Chancellor/CEO.

“Our DBA programme is supported by a research centre. The Binary Research Centre (BRC) is headed by Professor Dr. Peer Mohammed, a post-doctoral with extensive research experience and a team of Research Committee. The BRC produces a refereed journal of international stature, the International Journal of Management and Entrepreneurship (IJME). This is very important for doctoral students as they need to conduct research and publish articles. Many foreign DBA’s that are conducted at colleges (not universities) do not have the research facility and the culture to support DBA students,” explained Dr. Allen Lim, the Postgraduate School Manager.

“The BRC won the JDE Research Excellence Award in Washington, USA, not long ago. Our IJME journal is subscribed by universities in Europe, USA and the Asia Pacific. More than 25 international researchers sit on the advisory panel of the IJME,” added Dr. Peer Mohammed.

“The Binary DBA offers specialisation in Entrepreneurship, HRM, Marketing, Logistic Management, e-commerce, Finance & Banking, Information Technology and Quality Management. To maintain the quality of our DBA, those lecturing in this program either hold a PhD or doctorate degree and possess extensive working experience. This is extremely vital as at a doctoral level, lecturers must have the practical experience to relate theory to practice,” added Dr. Allen.

“To maintain the quality at its highest levels, external examiners and supervisors from a range of universities have been appointed,” added Dato’ Professor Joseph Adaikalam.
Apart from the DBA, the Postgraduate School at Binary offers the Binary MBA, the Binary MSc in Information Technology Management (MSc ITM) and the Binary MSc in Financial Planning.

“Arming oneself with an in-depth knowledge of marketing, HRM, finance, and a string of other business subjects only, does not prepare one to lead companies in today’s challenging global business arena. Many of these MBA graduates, especially fresh graduates end-up as ‘paper-graduates’ who know very little about the demands of the industry within which a company operates. What the world lacks today is an Industry Specialist MBA, an MBA that not only provides a solid foundation in general management but more importantly equips one with an in-depth practical knowledge about specific industries where an MBA graduate will want to work in the future. If one wants to be a top management personnel, one needs to know the company’s industry at the back of his/her palm,” emphasised Dato’ Professor Joseph Adaikalam.

“Binary’s Industry Specialist MBA provides extensive hands-on knowledge about a specific industry. For example, when an MBA student specialises in the Logistic industry, he or she is expected to complete up to 10 hands-on practical assignments focussed on the Logistic industry. These hands-on projects are led by a faculty of industry practitioners (FIPs) who have extensive experience” added Dato’ Professor Joseph Adaikalam.

The MSc in ITM is a hybrid programme which equips students with a strong foundation in management and information technology. Graduates from both IT and non-IT disciplines can pursue this program.
The MSc in Financial Planning is unique in that it provides the maximum 5 out of the 6 papers exemption from the American-based Certified Financial Planner (CFP) qualification, which is the world’s largest professional body for Financial Planning. 

The intake for the DBA is on 7th November 2008, whereas for the intakes for the MBA, MSc in ITM and MSc in Financial Planning are on the 19th November 2008. For further details please visit our web site at www.binary.edu.my or email info@binary.edu.my.

October 2008