Smartly Executive MBA

Has anyone heard of this Smartly Institute that issues free MBA and EMBA that is just a fraction of the price of traditional EMBA? I have always been interested in getting an EMBA but there is a very big financial barrier between me and that piece of paper if its from an established institution like Insead. A quick check on Insead website shows that the price is $191k SGD.  Yes, you didnt see it wrongly. It is more than the price of 1 x 3 room BTO . I guess this is for corporate high fliers or C suite leaders  who are sponsored by the companies. 

I don't think I'll ever get there , thus very minute chance for me to ever do an EMBA. I recently got an linkedIn message from Smartly Institute advertising for the EMBA. I was really skeptical about it, though it advertised itself as an elite online EMBA course, with alumni from world class unis like Yale, Harvard and Cambridge and with acceptance rate of just 7 percent. It also pride itself as a disruptor in the education industry, in the sense that it makes education affordable and everything is done online. Studying and exams can all be performed with any device that can be connected to the internet. Syllabus are all made into bite size courses instead of thick text books.

A quick google search for the top 3 flaws of smartly EMBA are as below

1. Lack of accreditation. Apparently it's a big thing for degree issuing institute to be accredited, if not it's just another dodgy degree mill.

2. It's so cheap and  with short duration. It must be bad. How to trust an institute that gives out EMBA based on minimal effort. Elites should be put through rigorous studying and examination before they can be considered elites In corporate world.

3. Lack of networking opportunities. This is why the prestigious EMBAs can sell at such high price. Basically once you are accepted, you will be rubbing shoulders with the whose who in the corporate world.

I pondered really hard before I decided to apply for it. Got accepted in the first round, aced the web based interview and offered a scholarship for the EMBA with minimal cost incurred. I guess my Alma mater is not atas enough to get a full scholarship , as a Harvard graduate compared to NUS grad will definitely attract more eyeballs. Like maybe 1000percent more.

In the end , I took it because of the following reasons.

1. Interest- I have been in the technical business for more than a decade now. I wanted to a business degree initially but out of pragmatic reasons,decided to do engineering instead. Thus, now is a good time to have an EMBA to be the bridge between what I have  been doing and the business/ corporate side of what I haven't been exposed.

2. Finance- I don't think I will ever be sponsored by a company to do a proper EMBA, and I don't want to spend so much money on a piece of paper that does not promise any returns. Thus smartly EMBA suits me in terms of cost.

3. Time- I travel alot in my work and I have a young baby now. My wife and I take care of the baby without a helper, and the wifey is working as well. I want to spend more time with the family as much as possible. Learning on the phone or on a laptop overseas definitely suits my need.

4. I'm not a power hungry person and all my ambition are long gone, and I kinda realised the world is not my oyster anymore. Haha! I'm currently in a job that pays relatively ok, albeit not very stable. My finance are quite sorted as well since my HDB is fully paid. Thus, whether or not the smartly EMBA is going to make an impact in my career life , does not matter that much as I'm taking it as an avenue to learn more knowledge.活到老，学到老！If it really helps, then really kip dio!

What do you guys think?