Bank Negara, MIT Sloan to set up business school in KL

Massachusetts Institute of Technology president Dr Rafael Reif and Zeti signing the 10-year collaboration pact.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan) have entered into a 10-year collaboration to establish Asia School of Business (ASB) here.

The central bank said in a statement that ASB was envisioned to be a premier business school that developed transformative and principled leaders who would contribute to a better future and the advancement of the emerging world.

It said ASB would offer both degree and non-degree programmes to serve the needs of Asia and the broader global economy, with the first master of business administration programme scheduled to be launched in September next year while non-degree executive education programmes in September this year.

Bank Negara governor and the co-chair of the ASB board of governors, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, said the rapid growth and remarkable resilience of Asia in recent decades had significantly increased the importance of the region in the global economy.

“While the journey ahead for Asia has tremendous promise, businesses will need to rise to new challenges arising from the changes that are reshaping the regional and global environment,” she said.

MIT Sloan Dean, David Schmittlein, said the founding of ASB was viewed as an opportunity to help shape the next generation of leaders in this rapidly developing region.

“We are delighted to join forces with Bank Negara, and in particular governor Zeti, who has an exciting strategic vision and is a champion of a robust private sector,” he said.

As part of the 10-year collaboration, a dedicated committee of MIT Sloan faculty and staff would provide comprehensive support to ASB, including in curriculum development, faculty recruitment, student admissions, academic administration and campus design.

A permanent ASB campus would be built on an approximately 8ha piece of prime land in the cusp of Kuala Lumpur’s business district, and while the architectural plans are under way, ASB would be located in Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara’s state-of-the-art centre of excellence in knowledge and learning. — Bernama