Mark Chan

Discover SIM GE Mark Chan who has more than two decades of engineering experience was keen to take up a postgraduate programme to enhance his career skills. (Photo by Singapore Press Holdings) Striking a balance between a hectic work schedule and study commitments can often pose its set of challenges. Despite this, Mark Chan who already has more than two decades of engineering experience under his belt was determined not to let this obstacle stand in the way of enhancing his skills and progressing in his career. Mark who currently works as the head of a manufacturing plant was keen to take up a postgraduate programme that enabled him to work around his busy schedule. He decided to enrol in the Master of Science in Engineering Business Management course offered by the University of Warwick at SIM GE. “The delivery mode of the programme supported the demands of a busy professional life. The programme was delivered on a part-time block-basis over 24 months. Each module is offered on alternate months….this allowed me to plan around my schedule ahead in time and eventually enabled me to work towards my Master’s qualification whilst fulfilling the vigorous demand of my work commitments,” said Mark. The Master’s programme also enabled him to deepen his understanding in engineering and broaden his knowledge on various business concepts. “The modules were very applicable to the interest of my work, which served as a motivation for me to perfect the engineering aspect of the programme. We were also able to validate the learning in post-module assignments that required us to conduct research intensively. Through this means, I was able to gain more in-depth knowledge to business concepts,” he shared. Staying Focused Though the journey was not always smooth sailing, Mark was able to steer ahead with sheer grit and the drive to succeed. “The programme required a lot of self-discipline and focus in order to complete an assignment on time. The increasing demands of my job made it more challenging to balance between work, family and study commitments. This was made more challenging when I was required to travel for work. Fortunately, people development has been always a cornerstone of my company’s human resources policy and the management quickly recognised the challenges that I faced. “Given the flexible delivery mode of the programme, I could plan ahead my travelling and critical schedule milestones around them without any impact to my work commitment. With the management’s support, I planned ahead to apply leaves whenever necessary in order to conduct my research and complete the assignments. It was all about effective time management and self-discipline in order to overcome the challenge,” he explains. Mark was promoted from senior manager to director at his company while pursuing the Master’s programme. Since graduating, he has been tasked with more responsibilities and is currently overseeing a manufacturing plant in Thailand. “With the completion of the Master’s degree programme, I will be able to further enhance my performance in my appointed roles and responsibility. The Master’s programme has prepared me with new skills and knowledge to look at challenges of subject matters at a higher level in much greater depth, which in my opinion is necessary in preparing me for future career growth,” he said. Posted online, 22 August 2016